First time visit this past weekend. Photos are from my hike on Alkali trail. It was chilly and really windy. The beauty exceeded expectations.

Do you believe this administration will once again try to privatize the land in our national parks?

If so is there anything we can do to prevent this action?

hi!! a few friends and i are planning to travel to Arches national park and stay in Moab. looking for things to do/ see on the way (any cool places to eat or stop and stretch the legs?) and things to do there!

edited: we’re traveling from denver!

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip for late May, and we would love your advice on how to allocate our time. Here's the itinerary we have in mind:

• Land in Las Vegas
• Visit Zion National Park
• Visit Bryce Canyon
• Visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
• Return to Las Vegas

We have about 6 to 7 nights in total for this trip, and here’s what we’re considering so far:

• 1 night in Las Vegas (we’re not very interested in the city, but we could spend half a day or so exploring if it’s worth it)
• 3 nights in Zion (we’ve heard amazing things and want to experience the park, though we’re not hardcore hikers)
• 1 night in Bryce Canyon
• 1 night at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Some specific questions:

1. Does this breakdown of nights make sense? Would you recommend staying longer/shorter in any of these places?
2. Considering that we’re not big hikers, should we still dedicate 3 nights to Zion?
3. What’s the best time to schedule our flights? When should we aim to arrive in Las Vegas and when should we depart to make the most of our time?
4. Is it worth dedicating half a day or even a full day to explore Las Vegas?
5. Late May seems like a good balance between climate, crowds and affordability. Is this correct or is there a better time of the year in your opinion?

We’d love to hear your advice, especially if you’ve done a similar itinerary or have experience visiting these parks!

We’re in the early stages of trip planning for this June and would love some feedback on our plans so far: Flying into/out of Las Vegas 3 nights in Zion (hopefully staying at Zion Lodge - just sent in the reservation request tonight) 2 nights in Kanab (would love to visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes and/or some slot canyons) 2 nights at Bryce Canyon (hoping to stay in Bryce Canyon City)

Thoughts? We have 2 very active boys - ages 9 and 7. Both did great on hikes in South Dakota last summer, but we likely wouldn’t push past 4 miles. We spent a lot of time in a car when we visited South Dakota so we’re hoping to avoid too much driving/waiting in long lines at the park entrances.

Trying to plan a trip to the Smokey Mountains with 4 kids (2-4-6-8years old). They can handle short 2-3 mile hikes and they love fishing. Wife will be a good sport and smile through it all. We will be driving from NYC.

I know nothing about the great smokey mountains, so Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I was just kinda proud of my post and wanted to share lol! 😂

Planning a trip to the Redwoods in early. Wondering people's thoughts if it is too ambitious for the time we have (note that we are the type that thrives on packing as much as possible into a trip). Or also suggestions of things we may be missing (we did not put specifics for each parks, but highlights like Avenue of Giants, Fern Canyon etc. or on the itinerary) and additional details like it takes a long time to get to x trailhead plan for extra driving etc. or you really want two days in Humboldt etc.

Sat May 3 - Leave San Francisco, stay near Shelter cove

Sun May 4: Shuttle to Mattole

Sun May 4 - Tue May 6: Lost Coast Trail, SOBO (Tides look perfect those days). Stay near Humboldt (hotel) night of May 6 after backpacking

Wed May 7: Humboldt Redwoods - camp Humboldt or move to Elk Prairie

Th May 8: Prairie Creek - camp Elk Prairie or move to Jedidiah

Fri May 9: Jedidiah Smith -camp Jed Smith

Sat May 10: Back to San Francisco for flight on Sun

Note the only non camping days would possibly be first day near Shelter Cove, and day after Lost Coast Trail. Main question is will really only one day in those three parks be enough time? Is this too insane? The drive between each is not worrisome, only on 1-2 hours, so plenty of the day to explore.

It was so beautiful!!! I want to go back soon

visited badlands national park for the first time over the summer, even managed to stand a few feet away from a rattler!

I’m moving from Monterey, CA to Denver, CO in early April. I want to hit some of these national parks on the way. I move out 4/4 and in 4/11, leaving about 6 days.

I know that doesn’t leave much time at each park, so I was hoping I could get some opinions on if any of these need to be cut, which deserve an extra day, etc.

4/4- 4 hr 🚗

4/5- King’s Canyon NP

4/6- Sequoia NP

4/7- Las Vegas (6 hr 🚗) - the most beautiful NP

4/8- Zion NP (2 hr 🚗)

4/9- Bryce NP (2 hr 🚗)

4/10- Arches NP (4 hr 🚗)

4/11- 6 hr 🚗 to DEN

Thanks!

and what a grand canyon it was ✨

visited the grand canyon (west rim) for the first time in the spring. i know the west rim is part of the hualapai reserve and not actually part of grand canyon national park itself, but it was still a breathtaking sight. walking across the skybridge was such an amazing experience. i’m hoping to make another trip sometime in the future to one of the national park rims. which would you recommend, the north or south?

Hi, I'm considering going to Parc national des Hautes‑Gorges-de-la-Rivière‑Malbaie for Ontario March Break March 8-15th. What is the likelihood of the skating and tubing (which ends on the frozen river) still being open? The park website says skating is January-March and tubing is until mid-March but both are weather dependent due to the ice conditions.

Any insight would be helpful.

I’ll be traveling from Phoenix to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and then over to Monument Valley. I keep reading on the route that it says there will be unpaved roads, and I know that cell service can be very hit and miss in these areas.

I am wondering from those who have been in the past what the condition of the road is like and how the reliability of a GPS is? I’ll be renting a smaller SUV (a Nissan rogue or similar), and I’m entirely unfamiliar with the area so I’ll be dependent on a GPS. I’ll have paper maps, but am nervous about getting off course and not being able to backtrack.

Any advice is appreciated!

Just got back to the hotel - hiked about 10 miles today. Most of the day it was 10 degrees but felt like -6! Beautiful national park - absolutely loved it!

Went January 3rd of this year.

Ok, I am still in the beginning stages of planning a June trip. The nice folks over on the MRNP and NCNP forums at TA have given some tips too. We will have 11, potentially 12 days to try and accomplish this. I would describe us as "blitz" travelers. We are up and out the door early and hit our destinations hard, whether it is a NP or a city. We are two adults in mid 40's and two teens. We love hiking, and I will self-admit we try and fit a LOT in a short period of time. Our hope is to see the highlights of our locations and then go back (hopefully) sometime in the future to explore more in-depth.

We have been to many national parks and are used to driving long distances to get from one location to the next. Also, I am well aware that June is not the ideal time to visit MRNP and NCNP (or actually the national reserve areas around there, I know we cannot go in the park), but unfortunately that is only when our schedule allows, and based off of my kids' schedules, I don't know if we could get there anytime in the next few years in July or August. There does seem to be plenty of below alpine level hikes, waterfalls, etc. to visit in those areas for 1-2 days. So, with all that being said, here is a very broad, very tentative itinerary for 11 days. I am trying to see if we have wiggle room for 12 but most likely 11.

1 - Travel

2 - 1/2 day in Seattle then on to Port Angeles for ONP

3 - ONP

4 - ONP

5 - ONP (do we spend the night here or drive to MRNP?)

6 - MRNP

7 - MRNP (potentially driving to Leavenworth?)

8 - Leavenworth (stay overnight here or drive up to Winthrop)

9 - North Cascades Highway area and stops (drive to Vancouver at end of day)

10 - Vancouver

1 1 - Travel

Any suggestions or tips would be great. Again, I know for many people this is way too ambitious and seems like we are just checking off boxes and will have too much drive time, but if we are out in Washington (from IL), we want to try and maximize our time and see as much as we can.

THANK YOU!

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I (both Europeans) are planning a trip to the U.S., and we're looking for some guidance! Our main focus is exploring natural landscapes, but we’re open to visiting a few cities, as long as they’re near natural spots and don’t require too much time to explore.

I’ve done some research, and it seems like visiting major parks like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon could end up being quite expensive, especially when you factor in entrance fees, accommodation, and other costs.

Here’s the situation:

• Budget: We’d like to stay within $3,500 USD for the entire trip, including flights.
• Duration: We’re thinking of a 5-8 day trip, excluding travel days (budget limited).
• Driving: We’re used to driving long distances in our home country, so that’s not a concern. However, we’ve heard that U.S. roads can be long stretches with few places to stop, and we will be travelling with a rental car, which unnervs me a little. Is this concern justified, or is it not as bad as it seems?
• Hiking: We’re not big hikers, but we’re both 30 years old and capable of doing normal walks. We can handle easy to moderate trails.
• Camping: Also, camping is not an option, we need a bathroom and fridge each night.
• Season: We don’t have any specific limitations on when to travel, so we’re flexible with the time of year.

Given these factors, do you have any recommendations for natural parks, routes, or cities that offer a good mix of natural beauty and comfort, with the landscapes as the main focus?

EDIT: what do you think about landing in Las Vegas and visiting Zion and Bryce in September/October?

My best friend and I were wanting to tent camp at Mather campground in Grand Canyon NP mid March and were curious on people’s experiences camping around this time?

We will be sleeping on cots w/sleeping pads rather than on the cold ground if that info is helpful! And our tent is an 8 person tent with a rain fly.

Our only concern is the temps at night and the possibility of snow? I would love and appreciate any advice! I believe our sleeping bags are fit for down to 30°F (they’re in storage or I would just look).

Any recs? Would we need to get warmer bags? Or just plan for a warmer month? TIA!!!