Your Favorite USA-Canada Hiking Destination/ National Parks

[shadowcat]

So many awesome places to visit you can spend all your time trying to second guess which is the best place to visit. Well you guys are a well-traveled bunch so I'm reaching out to you for input on your favorite travel destination/ national parks - continental usa. Things I'm looking for are: best wildlife viewing, best month to go (to avoid bugs & rainy season), best accessibilty to spectacular views (meaning awesome veiws can be found in days hikes, not just by backpacking into the back country), when are crowds at the lowest or which parks tend to have less tourists (I know a lot of the smaller parks are supposed to be fantastic but get passed over for the more touristy ones like Yellowstone), best eco-friendly parks (ones that limit motorized vehicles etc & try to maintain the pristine conditions) & lodging suggestions. Also, if there's something in the area you would definitely recommend seeing that maybe isn't in all the tourist guidebooks, etc.
I have to get outta here this year and I don't have tons of leave so I need to get the most "bang" for my buck. As much as I'd like to hit Denali I can't see trying to go there unless I can give it a good 2 weeks altho it is probably my dream destination. Talk to me about your travels! Thnx

 

[dvbl]

Grand Tetons, just after Labor Day. Shhhhhhh.......don't tell anyone.

 

[Bob]

Mt Monadnock

Mount Monadnock in NH

 

[shadowcat]

Hey Dvbl On Teton Secrets...

Tell Me More About The Tetons. There Was A Special On Last Wkend & It Was Chosen The #1 Nat'l Park For Seeing The Most Wildlife. Any Input On Lodging? Maybe A Nice Cabin? Def Looking For Rite After Labor Day Or How About Spring Time When All The Flowers Are In Bloom? Or Is That Too Iffy With Rain And All?

 

[AMF]

Tell Me More About The Tetons. There Was A Special On Last Wkend & It Was Chosen The #1 Nat'l Park For Seeing The Most Wildlife. Any Input On Lodging? Maybe A Nice Cabin? Def Looking For Rite After Labor Day Or How About Spring Time When All The Flowers Are In Bloom? Or Is That Too Iffy With Rain And All?

Springtime is not flower time in the Tetons (or anywhere else in the northern Rockies or Cascades, for that matter). That typically occurs in mid-summer. Post-labor day will definitely limit the crowds, and should still be pre-snow. For two weeks you couldn't go wrong with a Teton / Yellowstone trip, although IMO the Tetons really require camping in the backcountry to appreciate the mountains.

Another good 2 week trip would be the pacific northwest - you could take in Rainier (if its open!) & the Olympics in that time. If you are looking for day hikes, I think both of these offer more variety than the Tetons. The alpine flowers at both places are the best I have seen, should you go in mid-summer.

Just my 2 cents.

amf

 

[dvbl]

Tell Me More About The Tetons. There Was A Special On Last Wkend & It Was Chosen The #1 Nat'l Park For Seeing The Most Wildlife. Any Input On Lodging? Maybe A Nice Cabin? Def Looking For Rite After Labor Day Or How About Spring Time When All The Flowers Are In Bloom? Or Is That Too Iffy With Rain And All?

We stayed in Colter Bay village in the cabins. About $65 per night, no tv, no radio, enough electricity for the two lamps and to charge your camera batteries. It ain't the Hilton, and we loved it that way. Spring time is wet, and the high country is still buried in snow. Some of the high passes were still closed. So you could be hiking up one of the canyons in 70F weather with snowshoes strapped to your pack. We went in June, and several rangers told us if you ever come back, and you will, come in september. I loved the place. The best word I can use to describe the place is "raw". I loved Yellowstone too, but I found it more "polished". The Tetons seemed more primitive. And yet, we spent about the same amount of time in tetons as in yellowstone, and we saw much more wildlife in yellowstone. Go figure. We loved both. If time and money allow, don't see one without seeing the other.
p.s. Bring binoculars!!!!!!!!!!! One regret of ours was not bringing binoculars to spot the wildlife. Go out at dawn and dusk and scope out the "transition zones", where water turns to land, where meadow turns to woods, etc. Lots of animals at the transition zones. Bring binoculars!!!

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Among my favorites are Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Yosemite, and Capital Reef - there are many to choose from. Also, some of the big peaks, like Rainier and Lassen are also NP's.

 

[sapblatt]

Cannot speak much for the best times of year, but Yosemite (mobbed in the summer - but not too bad from what I hear if you venture off the tourist areas) is incredible - I was there in the summer...
Canyon de Chelly and Gila NF (both are very uncrowded) in New Mexico are among my favorites as well...ancient ruins, huge, open - very cool.
Also love the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest NF and Grand Canyon (obviously crowded in the summer and early fall) in AZ...
I cannot think of a bad place!
Do not forget about close to home...WMNF and Acadia are top notch - it is hard to beat Acadia for mountains and sea at the same time!

 

[jrbren]

I like to hike peaks that can be done in a day, so:
USA - North Cascades, WA - 2H July & August (http://www.amazon.com/Hikes-Washingtons-Cascades-National-Region/dp/0898866944)
Canada - Banff NP July, August (Get http://www.rmbooks.com/books/kanscr.htm)
Places that are crowded are crowded for a reaosn and worth visiting, IMHO.

 

[Darl58]

I have to vote for Glacier National Park, went last year early July before the crowds and perfect weather for hiking, flowers in bloom and tons of wildlife to see with short day hikes. Longer hikes were incredible also and pricing at campgrounds & hotels was very reasonable! Have traveled to a lot of places, but saw the most wildlife in Glacier!

Also Banff gets a big vote, scenery beautifull, tons of hikes. Lots of big mountains, lots of biking also. Just a beautifull area. Heading out next week to ski!!! Lodging can be a little higher priced, but you can always stay off the beaton path for reasonable prices. Spring will have too much snow to hike. Fall is amazing after Labor Day is perfect.

Yosemite was beautifull too, and tons of day hikes and it's definitly a must see on one's life's adventures! Grand Canyon after Labor Day & crowds are gone. Weather at top can get cold, but warm at the bottom and a wonderfull hike with views that are only seen from the bottom!

 

[shadowcat]

Oh Dear....

I want to go to them all! Geez I wonder if that divorced trucker who won the $340M likes to hike?
In any case, best for me are places where I can get to awesome summits on day hikes . Can't do the heavy duty packing for multi-day trips.
Don't you think it's great tho at how many beautiful and unspoiled places we still have. I just hope we can continue to hang onto them and keep them pristine and wild.

 

[HikerAmiga]

Tell Me More About The Tetons.

Shadow...

PM MattS on here about this as he visited Grand Tetons last September or September 2005, actually. He later gave a slide/show and talk on his trip and I was very impressed. Definitely the place for wildlife as he and his buddies encountered many right on the trails. His slides were abolutely amazing!

Good luck whereever you decide to go!

 

[TCD]

Yosemite. The Eastern Sierra in general. Anywhere, the week after Labor Day (both our trips to Yosemite were the week after Labor Day, and we had no problems with crowds). There were some people, but no crowds. And if you stay out of Yosemite Valley, there are very few crowds anyway. Toulomne is great!

 

[HikerAmiga]

...additionally, I've not been but want to make an effort to go to Denali National Park one day and hopefully soon. See http://www.denali.national-park.com/ for all you'd want to know about visiting.

 

[nartreb]

I'd have mentioned Denali Park too but Shadowcat said (s)he wanted day-hiking possiblities. With only one road and just a couple of camping areas, Denali Park is fantastic for backpacking but I imagine it'd get old if you were car-camping. The scale of the landscape is so huge that the scenery doesn't really change with just one day's hiking. It's not always easy to get out of sight of the road (required to find a legal backcountry spot) in one day.
took two days to hike up here from bend in valley

 

[roadtripper]

Canyonlands National Park (Needles District): fantastic day-hikes and 1 or 2 night backpacking trips; backcountry sites must be reserved and are very limited by the NPS (at some camp sites you will be MILES from your nearest neighbor).

Badlands National Park: classic off-trail wandering and a sweet backcountry that doesn't require permits

Zion National Park: i don't care how crowded the Narrows & Angels Landing are, they are amazing.

Arches National Park: becoming more crowded every year, but I love the formations you can day-hike to, and the base town of Moab is my favorite small town in the whole country.

I am not a fan of the super parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Acadia, Bryce, etc.) from May-September. It's just not a wild experience for me. Except for BANFF!...I'd go there even on holidays

 

[dentonfabrics]

Great thread! Brings back fantastic memories....

USA: Acadia, Glacier, Zion, Death Valley
Canada: Gros Morne, Fundy NP

 

[SherpaKroto]

Not a National Park (thank goodness!), but Baxter State Park has enough to offer me serenity for a lifetime. It's a must visit place IMO.

 

[marty]

Not a National Park (thank goodness!), but Baxter State Park has enough to offer me serenity for a lifetime. It's a must visit place IMO.

I second that. Guess great minds think alike, SK. I was thinking about that today, but never got around to posting! BSP definitely rocks.

 

[jjo]

A few years ago, my son and I went to the Tetons/Yellowstone in mid Sept,, Great idea and generally good timing. But, one of the famous "drives" (forgot the name) in the mts was already closed for the season due to snow @ higher altitudes..For your planning info...