Everybody has favorites. We have favorite colors, favorite ice creams, even favorite uncles and aunts. And no doubt we all have favorite national parks.
My favorite park would have to be Yellowstone National Park. It's a wild place, it has great backcountry trails for exploring, great lakes for paddling, the incredible thermal basins, and more wildlife than most parks. A close second probably would be Acadia National Park, both because of its setting and because it was the first national park I ever visited.
But what's your favorite national park? Tell us which one, and a little bit about why.
Comments
I've worked in a few parks where my experience was soured by my co-workers and based on that I have to say Zion is my current favorite, right up there with Assateague Island. I'm a little biased since I"m currently working in Zion but I feel like this is the park that is really taking the mission seriously. The visitor center and the EOC (emergency operations) are both 'green' buildings and will be 100% sustainable when the solar panels are put on. The shuttle system is also a great idea and has really helped the park without ruining the exerience for the visitors. On top of all that, it is one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen and the beauty still takes my breath away. I really feel like this place is a sanctuary.
And I just really love Assateague because I grew up near the Chesepeake reading Misty of Chincoteague so that place makes me think of home and steamed blue crabs...yummmm....
Ranger Holly
http://web.me.com/hollyberry
Although I live within the boundaries of V.I. National Park on St. John, I have to say that Canyonlands is my favorite. A few years back, DH and I did a canoe trip down the Green River through Canyonlands. It was my all time, number one, five-star vacation. That said, DH said Yellowstone was his favorite. But then, the back country car camping trip we did in March in Death Valley was spectacular. The appeal for me is the ability to get off the beaten path without backpacking. We've been to quite a number of national park sites and they all were wonderful. Even the one where I live.
This is too much like asking a mother which child is her favorite, but I'll play. Links are just shameless plugs for my vacation photos. :-)
Kurt slipped up and didn't say "U.S." National Parks, so I'm going vote for Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. Just got back from a couple weeks there, and I'm almost at a loss for words to describe it. Imagine a look-alike to Yosemite Valley, 2,000 foot vertical rock walls, only a quarter mile across, waterfalls plunging off the cliffs everywhere....but the bottom of the valley is a 600 foot deep freshwater former fjord....and no crowds. And that's just one corner of the park. It's full of whales, caribou, and other odd critters. And despite the lack of crowds, you might hike a few miles back into the woods and run into two guys, first people you've seen in hours, and after chatting a while, realize they are friends and colleagues of Traveler's own Bob Janiskee. That's a true story.
My favorite in the U.S. has to be Olympic National Park. Sea-stack studded beaches, some of the world's best temperate rainforest, and glacier filled mountain valleys....all of which you can see in one day. And despite its popularity, it's very easy to get away from the crowds.
Honorable mentions:
Congaree National Park. A unique and truly hidden gem. I'm a sucker for old growth forest, and there isn't much old growth cypress left.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Yellowstone without the crowds. No, it doesn't have the vast grandeur of Yellowstone, but the wildlife there is underrated and it's easy to feel a sense of complete isolation and remoteness just a couple miles from I-94. The scenery is unique. More subtle and mysterious than the South Dakota Badlands.
Fundy National Park, New Brunswick. Another Canadian gem. Moss gardens that rival Olympic, and tides that can approach 50 feet! Wading amongst some rocks and watching the tide rise at over an inch a minute is fascinating, and a bit frightening when you quit paying attention for more than a few minutes.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. My "home" park. Canoeing, kayaking, island wilderness camping, 400ft. dunes...
-Kirby.....Lansing, MI
Dang, Kirby, I hate when I screw up. But I gotta admit, Gros Morne sure looks pretty. If it wasn't so far from Utah, I'd put my canoe atop my rig and head there!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is my favorite. Spring wildflowers, fall color, waterfalls, wildlife - a wonderfully relaxing beautiful place. And less than 8 hours from DC so I'm able to get here several times a year.
I always try to get to Shenandoah in May or June when it's rainy. After dark heavy fog settles on the mountains, and the owls come out to hunt. Lots of wildlife come out to take advantage of foggy camouflage. It's spooky and super special. I don't even mind when the cabin leaks. When the sun does come out, the wildflowers pop up! It's my comfort and my refuge.
A second choice would be Prince William Forest; quiet, green, never crowded, and entirely trash-free!
This is a tough one. So many great parks to choose from. However, if I have to narrow it down a single one I guess it would have to be Katmai. It has a dynamic mixture of active volcanism, terrific fishing, great wildlife viewing, opportunities for water travel, expanses of true wilderness, world class hiking, comfortable lodge and campground accommodations, etc., etc.
This question is tormenting me, because each park I've been lucky enough to visit is so unique and magical. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd go with Olympic because it's like visiting three parks in one. We caught it on an absolutely beautiful clear day -- Hurricane Ridge looked like something out of the Sound of Music. A short distance away is another world at Rialto Beach, where the forest meets the ocean. Not far south of that is the Hoh Rainforest, an absolute wonderland where everything is dripping with green. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!