What are /r/NationalPark's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Beehive Loop is short and has great views: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/maine/the-beehive-loop-trail

Cadillac Mountain at sunrise is great: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/maine/cadillac-summit-trail

In Grand Teton I'd suggest camping at Gros Ventre

A lot less busy then the campgrounds in the park proper but way more wildlife. Bison regularly walk through. Moose in the morning. Fox. Antelope across the street. Nice big hill across the street to walk to the top of. The cliff swallows are fucking crazy. I can spend the day just watching them while drinking beer and fishing.

On your drive from there to Yellowstone stop at Huckleberry Hot springs

Do yourself a favor and get some guide books, like this one.

Reddit can be good for getting tips, but if you're looking for help to plan the details of your 14-day itinerary, that's asking a lot, frankly.

https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/colorado/rocky-mountain-national-park

3-5 days to explore. however you could spend 1-2 days in a different at part of the park, then move to another area and spend 2-3 days etc.

Please don't ignore parks that don't have the "national park" designation.

Here is an interactive map with park ratings, links, and photos.

You might also want to get a book, like this one.

Buy mesh sun shades for your rear side windows. The kinds you keep on while driving. Like this.

It’s not just heat that you’ll have to watch out for, it’s also the risk of wildfires. The west is experiencing record droughts and the PNW just had record breaking heat. Forest fires are already breaking out. Accept that you may have to cut your trip short if wildfires force evacuations or cause air quality that is dangerous.

All of the national parks have their own social media accounts. Follow all the ones on your list. They post weather warnings and other pertinent safety information.

I have spent the last couple of months during lockdown working on an app for national parks. The result is available on the app store as Alper - National Parks. Android version is here: Alper.
I have always wanted to have the same level of information in Europe as the US when it comes to national parks. However, it does not exist in the same way. This is why I created the app.

Alper is very much a work in progress. This is the initial beta release and I only have a fraction of the national parks listed in the app. I would love some feedback on the concept or specific feature requests for the app.

Make time to stop at hot springs! Heaven on earth. I know there are a ton in SW CO, and amazing ones throughout the entire western half of the state. A particular gem is Strawberry Springs outside Steamboat (North by NW CO). The free Hobo hot springs in Saratoga WY was really wonderful, we lounged in the naturally heated part of the stream for hours. I also went to some great ones that could accommodate RVs in MT.

If you haven't been to one yet: every hot springs is different and a lot of them have a range of temperatures, so no worries if you're somebody who gets hot easily or doesn't like being hot. There are all different styles from puddle on a hillside to fully developed public pool style with a bar. Any trip would benefit from an effort to find out when it's least busy (call them and check google maps), b/c it's all the more magic without a crowd, or maybe that's just social-anxiety-me.

This amazon link should work for you to be able to look at the table of contents from this excellent CO hot springs book. Just click the "Look Inside" that's right above the thumbnail of the book cover. Or buy the book/kindle edition, or borrow it from the library, but with so many states to cover maybe it's easier to poach a list from a table of contents then research ones that are in your path.

There's just something I find very healing about taking a bath outside.

Came here to comment because I have the exact same boots and I really like them! I did all my hiking at Zion in them and they held up great.

Another cool parks representation in games: https://www.amazon.com/Keymaster-Games-KYM0501-PARKS/dp/B07SVNZXY4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3OUJF9YJG9PKV&keywords=parks+board+game&qid=1670468122&sprefix=parks%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-3

Absolutely love this game, beautiful art of the parks. Highly recommend!

death in yellowstone

Sure! We went to the Seattle area specifically for National Parks. We spent 2 days hiking in North Cascades. We first drove through the park and made a few viewpoint stops along the way then we did the maple pass/lake ann loop and the cascade pass to sahale glacier hike. That one had to be our favorite hike of any park we have been too. We stayed a bit out in an Airbnb in Sedro-Whooly. The drive isn't bad and it was very affordable. Then we spent three days in Olympic. We stayted in the Port Angeles area. This Airbnb is the one we stayed at and was amazing! We did Hurricane hill, klahhane ridge trail to lake angeles, ozette triangle, Ruby beach and the hoh river trail. Olympic is beautiful but it can get very crowded compared to Cascades. Then we spent two days in Mt. Rainier. We stayed in Ashford and we did the Panorama point skyline loop and Tolmie peak trail.

The main scenic drive has a number of pullouts with viewpoints and short hikes. You'll get scenery and wildlife spotting and it can be done in a few hours, obviously more time if you linger on the views or wait for sunset . The Notch trails is less than two miles and, hopefully, the SO enjoys the the hike, the scenery, and the ladder climb.

Stop at the rest area in Chamberlain SD on your way there (assuming you're coming from the east on I90). Great views of the Missouri R, Lewis & Clark stuff, and Dignity.

Hopefully you have at least another day or three for the Black Hills and Custer SP and Wind Cave NP and Jewel Cave NM and more.

Yes, here is the location, follow signs for Old Toll Road. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/darwin-falls-trail-via-old-toll-road

We hiked this trail from AllTrails and the photo was taken at the second to last cave viewpoint on the map. Are you going to that area soon?

I am not sure about the condors, I did not see any in the summer when I was there.

I would recommend this hike -- you can probably split it into two days if you're camping because half is in the east side of the park and half is in the west.

I think technically camping in all California national lands are closed for the stay at home orders, though.

Found it: https://www.amazon.com/National-Parks-Inspirational-Insights-Journals/dp/1608879585/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=BS1NPRNRRLG3&keywords=the+national+parks+an+inspirational+journal&qid=1660918759&sprefix=the+national+parks+an%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1

The Superintendent who killed the turtle program is so bad his previous park workers wrote a book about him

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https://www.amazon.com/HARD-LESSONS-LAND-experience-retaliation/dp/B0948BCGL6

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/us/wyoming/yellowstone-national-park?a[]=hiking&f[]=ada

While at alltrails, set the search criteria and adjust the filters for your accessibility.

You can get lots of info on those hikes and others here: https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/wyoming/grand-teton-national-park

The tent campsites at the park are first come first serve, with Gros Ventre being the biggest site and usually latest to fill. There are also other camping sites around the area, like KOAs and national forest sites.

Still would be lots of alternatives if the tribal lands extend the closures, assuming UT doesn't need to close down again - Goblin Valley state park, Kodachrome Basin state park, Red Canyon in Dixie NF, Grand Staircase Escalante, Hole in the Rock trail, Hells Backbone road, Burr Trail, Cottonwood Canyon Road.

You need these to hold them in a binder! I saw these in another post that I didn’t save but I ordered them for my collection. Ultra Pro Platinum Series 3-Pocket Coupon Storage Page (Package of 20 Horizontal/Currency Pages) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0141O8DTA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_2YRDWQBVT11GPJWQQNAK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

> Dunwell Photo Album Refill Pages 12x12

It looks like the one on amazon that I'm seeing has dividers for each 4x6 photo (so six 4x6 slots). Did you tear the dividers between the photo sleeves to fit the the unigrid maps?

https://www.amazon.com/Dunwell-Photo-Album-Refill-Pages/dp/B08MYHSD2M?th=1

Is this the one you are referring to?

There is a wonderful hike back up past the east entrance that has a full view of the canyon. It’s walking on the plateau until you reach the top of the canyon. Super light trafficked. Let me pull a google link. It’s not on the park maps I believe...

Found it!: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/east-mesa-trail-to-observation-point

Glad it was helpful though the Sylvan Lake link goes to a trail in CO. You should probably use a SD one so you don't get lost or confused.

Jewel cave is right next door to Windcave. As well as you can go checkout Black elk peak which is the highest point in South Dakota. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/south-dakota/black-elk-peak-south-dakota-highpoint-trail

There is also some history close to badlands with the missile silo which you can visit. As well there is Mount Rushmore. There is a lot you can do driving around that area, lots of cool drives and hikes.

It's on the west side of the park just a little north of Lake McDonald lodge.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/avalanche-lake-via-the-trail-of-the-cedars

It was taken in early August (this year). According to the trail guide my grandparents have, it was called Marmot point (the short hike begins off of old Fall River road)

Edit: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/marmot-point-trail

You might enjoy reading:

Diary of a Sea Captain's Wife: Tales of Santa Cruz Island

Mount Storm King. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/mount-storm-king

Some pretty good elevation gain as you climb switchback after switchback. There are ropes at the very end going up a little scree hill to get to this view, don't let the "unmaintained trail" sign spook ya!

Canyon Overlook trail is an easy hike with a great view (but not an Angels Landing view).

You can still get to Observation Pt via the East Mesa trail. Not as interesting a hike as from Weeping Rock trail head but the end view is the same. Take the North Fork County Rd (easy to miss) east of the park north to Zion Ponderosa ranch. Not obvious, but you have to drive into the Zion Ponderosa Ranch resort to access the dirt roads to the trail head. Roads are rough (drive slow) but should be passable this time of year unless recent rain.

I'd still try to hike Angels. Get to the shuttle pickup at about 6:45am or earlier to make sure you're on the first one. You'll start off with a busload of people but they'll quickly spread out. You'll encounter a lot more people on the way down. If you can, bring or rent bikes the night before and bike the five miles from the visitor center to the trail head starting at 6:30am or so (it'll be dark, bring headlamps). Biking that road is a real unique experience - no cars, get off the road when a shuttle approaches as they have to stop for bikes and it messes up their schedule if you don't, be wary of plants that can rip and tear clothes and skin). Alternative is going later in the day as the weekend crowd thins out (might need headlamps if you go towards evening as sunset is around 10 minutes before 7pm this time of year; last bus is around 7:15pm so don't stay too late)

Check the average temperature of Death Valley vs Joshua Tree in September and see if that's a factor. That's trending down in both places in September, but still possibly brutal. I'm assuming there won't be flowers in either place unless it happens to rain.

One consideration are their locations. I could see stringing Death Valley together with other parks in California or Las Vegas and onto Utah. Joshua Tree would fit in better with a southern route including Arizona and New Mexico.

Ultimately, I'm doing Death Valley. I was looking forward to exploring Joshua Tree more this year because when I went through it last time, I appreciated the beauty but in the end there were just lots of piles of boulders and lots of joshua trees. Death Valley has Badwater, Zabriskie Point and a whole lot of other crazy stuff to see.

Harsh? Oh, heck no. After at least five replies about Angels Landing after being extremely clear about it would make me grind my teeth much more than you did.

Yeah, 9 or 10 hour drives with 2 drivers are easy. Glad to hear you have full travel days between. Mt Nebo is a fun diversion but it will add a couple hours to your travel time and 12 hrs on the road is just a bit past my limit.

There are so many options in Yellowstone and you only have a few days. That doesn't leave you much beyond seeing the staples like old faithful or the falls on the Yellowstone. Someone mentioned Fairy Falls, which is good. Mystic Falls is an option too as is Lone Star geyser or Mt Washburn up from Dunraven Pass.

I recommend Craters of the Moon in ID, Devils Tower in WY, Minuteman Missile is the exit before Badlands - might as well hit that while you’re there. Also do stop at Wall Drug in SD, there are signs everywhere, you can’t miss it. I really enjoyed Scott’s Bluff and Agate Fossil beds in NE if you want to detour. Effigy Mounds in IA, and Dry Tortugas off of FL - you’ll have to take a boat.

And finally I like to use Roadtrippers to find oddities along my route. They also have an app. Put in you route tell them how far off your route you want to go and select your filters. I enjoy points of interest and offbeat attractions. I’ve seen some neat stuff I would never have stopped at otherwise.

I throw this together after doing some digging into the distinctions between some of the NPS's different names for the sites it manages. Is this accurate? What would you change / add?

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Credit to Do Studio for the NP typeface and Eucalyp for the icons.

Terrific new book about the National Park Service and Badlands National Park, "Hard Lessons in a Hard Land," by Brian Kenner.

https://www.amazon.com/HARD-LESSONS-LAND-experience-retaliation/dp/B0948BCGL6

I highly recommend A Junior Ranger's Guide to the National Parks - Second Edition: Reviews of Parks Visited from 2015 through 2020 by Eric Feichthaler. It is a journal that highlights a lot of interesting hikes and places in many national parks. I also hear there is a new version coming at the end of this year. It has fun illustrations and is easier to digest than some other travel books.

These are from amazon but I have seen them at Home Depot also.

Overkill for this application but, they are cleanly finished and easy to work with .

You're skipping a bunch of parks, and I don't know if that's intentional.

Do yourself a favor and get a book like <em>Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West</em>. And go the park websites, many at nps.gov.

I think Reddit is better for answering questions of a smaller scope than this.

I'm really into national parks and trying to visit all of them. I have this book and it has been a great resource for me! You can also find a lot of good information on the websites for each park.

Be aware that the parks can be very spread out from each other and you should generally expect to do a lot of driving. You may want to choose a specific region you want to explore. Here's a map I made with one route I recommend to explore some of the Southwest. I'm dreaming of doing a road trip to hit all the California parks someday.