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Started By
Message
re: National Park Suggestions
Posted on 4/22/17 at 9:09 pm to amgslg
Posted on 4/22/17 at 9:09 pm to amgslg
quote:1) Bear, Emerald, Dream Lake hike. Best in the park, but show up about 5:30 AM to avoid all the nasty people. You might consider camping near the trailhead?
It was fantastic, and we are now planning our next NP trip which will be Rocky Mountain NP this summer.
I'd recommend starting up Glacier Creek Gorge and seeing Mills Lake with Long's Peak in the background then heading over to all the lakes. This is the scene featuring Long's Peak is on the Colorado quarter, and deservedly so.
So, all of that is very close together on the east side of the park not far from Estes Park. I did everything mentioned above (plus more) on a single day hike. I think it was about 10 miles, but not terribly difficult. I'm looking forward to doing it all again this summer with gf this time.
2) On the west side, the Alpine Visitor Center will me mad with people, but great hiking can be found around Milner Pass. Mt. Ida was a challenging 10 mi out and back hike, but well worth it. We saw a herd of longhorn sheep, and took in views of unspeakable panoramas. We started that hike around 5:15 am and were welcomed by grazing elk around the lake near the road. Euphoric.
I will not be doing that one this summer. Instead we will be backpacking the Never Summer Wilderness, which can be seen from the entirety of the Mt. Ida trail...it's just across Trail Ridge Rd. from RMNP.
3) I'd consider visiting the Mummy Range in RMNP to avoid the crowds and check out some wildlife. Mt. Ypsilon is a popular trail there, meaning you might see two or three other groups of hikers.
Sounds like ya'll had a great trip! We too are starting out in that direction.
Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, La Sal Mountains, Durango, Yampa, Steamboat, RMNP, Beaver Creek/Vail, home
MILLS LAKE and LONG'S PEAK
LONG'S PEAK headed toward the Lakes Trail (very few people out this way)
IDA
This post was edited on 4/22/17 at 9:20 pm
0
Posted on 4/23/17 at 8:17 am to TheDude
quote:
heading over to North Cascades National Park. If anyone has any tips, they would be appreciated.
There's a permit system and it's harder to get one compared to Olympic NP.
Posted on 4/23/17 at 10:55 am to Tigris
quote:Drove through it in one day. Turned around and drove back through it the next. It is akin to a religious experience. Humbling and breathtaking. It makes you feel VERY small in the grand scheme of things.
Rocky Mountain National Park has great hiking trails and areas to backpack in.
Posted on 4/23/17 at 12:26 pm to tigerpawl
quote:
Drove through it in one day. Turned around and drove back through it the next. It is akin to a religious experience. Humbling and breathtaking. It makes you feel VERY small in the grand scheme of things.
Have you been to Glacier, Death Valley, Olympic, etc? RMNP is quite small compared to other national parks.
Not including the parks in Alaska.....
1M acre club:
Death Valley 3.4M acres
Yellowstone 2.2M
Everglades 1.5M
Grand Canyon 1.2M
Glacier 1.0M ----- (Waterton-Glacier 1.13M)
Half a million acre club:
Olympic 922k
Sequoia/Kings Canyon: 863k
Big Bend 801k
Joshua Tree 794k
Yosemite 747k
North Cascades 684k
Isle Royale 571k
GSMNP 521k
Quarter of a million acre club:
Canyonlands 377k
Grand Teton 309k
RMNP 265k
This post was edited on 4/23/17 at 12:31 pm
Posted on 4/23/17 at 12:54 pm to PNW
quote:But packs one hell of a punch. I'd take RMNP over Yellowstone all day. RMNP is truly underrated nationally as is Grand Teton, which gets overshadowed by Yellowstone for reasons unknown. It's bewildering.
RMNP 265k
Posted on 4/23/17 at 3:55 pm to bayoubengals88
quote:
I'd take RMNP over Yellowstone all day.
That's great of you. Not everyone else would.
quote:
RMNP is truly underrated nationally
It's a great park, but that's your own opinion. Underrated in what way? The park received 4.5M visitors last year. Yellowstone received less, 4.2M.
quote:
as is Grand Teton
Again, underrated how? Everyone knows this is a beautiful park. The options for recreation are limited though compared to the likes of
quote:
Yellowstone
quote:
for reasons unknown
The size limits opportunity.
All parks are awesome, but the sheer size is what sets some apart from others.
This post was edited on 4/23/17 at 4:09 pm
Posted on 4/23/17 at 5:46 pm to NobleCrawfish
Just came back from a vacation to Hawaii. Flew over from Honolulu to Maui for a day and drove up to Haleakala National Park. It's the largest volcano on the island and a breathtaking drive from the coast to the barren summit at 10,000ft.
There are beautiful trails down into the caldera. Just such a surreal setting in the tropics with ancient red cinder cones without a plant in sight. I'll have to post pics soon.
There are beautiful trails down into the caldera. Just such a surreal setting in the tropics with ancient red cinder cones without a plant in sight. I'll have to post pics soon.
Posted on 4/23/17 at 7:46 pm to PNW
I'm just basing everything on personal perception. What I see, hear, read.
No one is wrong, but I do hold a special hatred for Yellowstone because of its popularity among the masses...you know, the type to throw their hat off the board walk or allow "the wind" to take it off their head.
I'm not a geologist. I don't care about a thermal...yeah they're cool, but 8,000 other people think they're cool too...and they're there to remind you.
I love alpine lakes, perennial snowfields, and tundra. I can't get enough of it. I share an equal love for solitude. Yellowstone only has an extremely small section the things I just mentioned. So yeah, it is about preference, and I prefer RMNP, GTNP, and Yosemite to Yellowstone, but Yellowstone gets the TV shows.
One more thing, I was unfortunate enough to visit Yellowstone AFTER a three day backpack in Teton...where I saw more animals than people, and views that leave me daydreaming. I was completely underwhelmed by Yellowstone after that.
Yes, you have objectivity. I don't.
Yes my imprisonment in the swamps of Louisiana have caused me to drift further from sanity every month. I leave whenever I can.
"He was born in the summer of his twenty seventh year, Coming home to a place he'd never been before."
There's just nothing quite like the Rockies.
No one is wrong, but I do hold a special hatred for Yellowstone because of its popularity among the masses...you know, the type to throw their hat off the board walk or allow "the wind" to take it off their head.
I'm not a geologist. I don't care about a thermal...yeah they're cool, but 8,000 other people think they're cool too...and they're there to remind you.
I love alpine lakes, perennial snowfields, and tundra. I can't get enough of it. I share an equal love for solitude. Yellowstone only has an extremely small section the things I just mentioned. So yeah, it is about preference, and I prefer RMNP, GTNP, and Yosemite to Yellowstone, but Yellowstone gets the TV shows.
One more thing, I was unfortunate enough to visit Yellowstone AFTER a three day backpack in Teton...where I saw more animals than people, and views that leave me daydreaming. I was completely underwhelmed by Yellowstone after that.
Yes, you have objectivity. I don't.
Yes my imprisonment in the swamps of Louisiana have caused me to drift further from sanity every month. I leave whenever I can.
"He was born in the summer of his twenty seventh year, Coming home to a place he'd never been before."
There's just nothing quite like the Rockies.
This post was edited on 4/23/17 at 11:01 pm
Posted on 4/23/17 at 10:04 pm to bayoubengals88
quote:
There's just nothing quite like the Rockies
I agree, the northern Rockies are awesome as well
This post was edited on 4/23/17 at 10:06 pm
Posted on 4/23/17 at 10:59 pm to PNW
Rode a bus from Banff to Lake Louise in February! It was like nothing I'd ever seen. Is that what you mean by northern Rockies?
Posted on 4/24/17 at 12:03 am to bayoubengals88
Yea, Montana and up!
Posted on 4/24/17 at 1:42 am to bayoubengals88
quote:
love alpine lakes, perennial snowfields, and tundra. I can't get enough of it. I share an equal love for solitude.
You should check out some of the Alaska parks.
Posted on 4/24/17 at 9:00 am to bayoubengals88
Like a couple others in this thread have expressed, I have a love of solitude also (pertaining National Parks). This leads me to a very unpopular opinion of mine. I'll pick Canyonlands all day every day over the Grand Canyon. Many disagree but I find Canyonlands just as beautiful and you have so many less people there.
Posted on 4/24/17 at 9:26 am to TheDude
quote:Going to both in June. Looking forward to Canyonlands...just going to Grand Canyon to use my America the Beautiful Pass and move on to Zion and Bryce.
I'll pick Canyonlands all day every day over the Grand Canyon. Many disagree but I find Canyonlands just as beautiful and you have so many less people there.
So, we're in agreement. Downloaded Desert Solitaire last night. Good read so far.
This post was edited on 4/24/17 at 9:27 am
Posted on 4/25/17 at 11:32 am to bayoubengals88
For the folks that have been to Utahs 5 parks. What is a good time of year. I would rather it be colder than hot.
Is October/November good?
Is October/November good?
Posted on 4/25/17 at 11:43 am to LSUintheNW
quote:
quote:
heading over to North Cascades National Park. If anyone has any tips, they would be appreciated.
There's a permit system and it's harder to get one compared to Olympic NP.
Why is something like this "necessary" for such a remote sparsely visited park?
Posted on 4/25/17 at 2:30 pm to Y.A. Tittle
quote:Because it's remote and sparsely visited, and rangers need to have an idea of where you are.
Why is something like this "necessary" for such a remote sparsely visited park?
Posted on 4/25/17 at 2:31 pm to Nodust
quote:I'll let you know how June is. Might be a bit warm, but comfortable at night. We're tent camping.
For the folks that have been to Utahs 5 parks. What is a good time of year. I would rather it be colder than hot.
Posted on 4/25/17 at 3:28 pm to Nodust
quote:
For the folks that have been to Utahs 5 parks. What is a good time of year. I would rather it be colder than hot.
I did all 5 in May of 2015 and the weather was fantastic.
Posted on 4/25/17 at 3:55 pm to PNW
quote:Can you tell us more about the "must sees/do's", the campgrounds, what NOT to bother with?
I did all 5 in May of 2015 and the weather was fantastic.
Did you see anything else nearby along the way? ie La Sal Mountains, Henry Mountains, Fishlake National Forest, etc.
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