This page is devoted to descriptive reflection upon and daydreaming about hiking and exploring our country's National Park system.

Upcoming Trips

Upcoming trips will take me to three unvisited National Parks and begin my preparation for long-distance hiking.

Exploring the National Parks

I have been lucky enough to visit all but six of the lower 48 states' mainland National Parks. I hope to visit these seven, in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, in the next year, leaving only parks in Alaska and on remote islands unvisited. This page serves as a brief commentary on my visits so that others like me can be advised on how they might want to visit the parks.

I consider myself an average hiker. I'm gung-ho enough to want to avoid the "scenic drives" in favor of trails (though I usually fail) but I've only backpacked overnight once. Therefore, most of the hikes I recommend below are moderately strenuous, half-day walks. I am most satisfied by trails that give me an impression of a park's unique natural terrain, though I might not have tried very hard in some of the parks I visited. In these latter cases, I comment on trails I would try out on a subsequent visit.

Parks marked with an asterisk (*) are designated as World Heritage Sites.

Regional Descriptions

These regional descriptions group National Parks by area. You can probably visit all the parks in each area within a long week. Links in this section lead to my commentary on individual parks.

Colorado Plateau

Of all the regions I've visited, I want to return to this one the most. Instead of a week-long tour, I would instead spend a long two or three weeks here. First, I would raft down the Colorado into the Grand Canyon* (8 days) or at least hike the North Kaibab Trail all the way down to the canyon floor (3 days). Then, I would drive to the free Lava Point campground in Zion, hike the West Rim Trail to and from Springfield, spending a day in Zion Canyon and a couple nights at a bed and breakfast in between (4 days). At Bryce Canyon, I'll take the mule ride down to the canyon floor and probably just camp in the park (2 days). The scenic drive along Utah 12 and up through Waterpocket Fold is perhaps the most beautiful I've ever seen, so I'll be happy to do it again to get to Capitol Reef, where I'll blow some money to stay in the quaint town near the park and hike some of the longer options at the various trailheads (3 days). I should have an off-road vehicle, so I can really enjoy the remote areas of Canyonlands, like the Maze (4 days). After some grungy time there, I'll relax in trendy Moab and spend a day retracing my steps in Arches (2 days). Although on the plateau and definitely worth a visit, Great Basin and Petrified Forest are a bit out of the way of these other spectacular parks and not quite worth the effort to see a second time.

Pacific Crest South

Along the most spectacular segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, linking the High Sierra of Central and Southern California to the volcanic ranges of Northern California and Oregon, lie three amazing parks. Like everyone else, you will probably want to spend most of your time in Yosemite*, but jointly-run Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks deserve nearly as much time. Further away, Lassen Volcanic National Park allows access to some awesome geologic features.

Appalachian MountainsShenandoah Valley

Affording year-round scenery relatively close to the vast majority of North America's population, these parks receive more visitors than any other duo combined. Despite the low elevation of the ancient Appalachians, plenty of steep, challenging hikes can be found here. I've visited Shenandoah more than any other park, but only vaguely remember my family's scenic drive through the Great Smoky Mountains*. The two are connected by the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.

Rocky Mountain National ParkNorthern Rocky Mountains

Of all the areas of the Rocky Mountains (including Colorado and the Badlands, below), I would like to return here the most. Hiking only one trail, I did little justice to Yellowstone*. Although I climbed the western flank of the Grand Tetons, I have never actually entered the park boundaries. Waterton-Glacier* was afforded a few days of my time, but it is definitely worth another look, perhaps on a trip to one of its (expensive) mountain-side chalets.

ColoradoGreat Sand Dunes

Colorado's parks, consisting of the southern reaches of the Rocky Mountains, are definitely worth visiting, but I'm not as into them as their northern counterparts. Rocky Mountain National Park contains the highest road in America (but I'm sick of scenic drives) and a dense collection of 14ers (but I bet Alaskan parks put these to shame). If I lived in Denver or Boulder, I'd be in this park every weekend, but if I had to choose between it and one of the parks in the Northern Rocky Mountains, I'd go with the latter. Although the High Dune defeated me, Great Sand Dunes is not yet a park; I definitely feel like I "finished" the park. It would have been nice to hike down to the floor of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but my sunset visit was perfectly satisfying.

Chihuahan Desert

These parks are the only redeemable part of Texas and give the visitor a taste of Mexico. Big Bend. The Carlsbad Caverns* are world-famous, but the nearly-unknown Guadalupe Mountains are amazing and only about thirty miles away. Transected by the Rio Grande, Big Bend offers a wide variety terrain, little of which I explored.

Mojave & Sonoran Deserts

Death Valley. Joshua Tree. Saguaro

Badlands

Is it wrong to not dig the Dakotas? After entering the Badlands, I decided it wasn't worth $10 to drive through the park, but they wouldn't give me my money back. You can't visit Wind Cave without taking one of the corny ranger-led tours; instead go to nearby Jewel Cave, which my brother points out has the toughest spelunking in the country. I didn't even know I was in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but it was a nice drive on the way to Glacier.

Disparate Coastal Parks

Everglades*. Redwood*. Acadia.

On the Horizon

Long-Distance Hikes

The Appalachian Trail (2008)

It seems foolhardy to try the PCT without having completed this shorter, easier, and closer long-distance hike. Starting in 2005, I'll hike segments of the trail before doing a full thru-hike.

The Pacific Crest Trail (2016)

This awesome trip will require ten months of conditioning and preparation and will take about half a year to complete. I will revisit Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks, along with the following parks for the first time:

The Continental Divide Trail (2026)

Remote Unvisited Parks

Islands (2005-8)

I will have to visit these parks one at a time over a long period of time, because they are difficult to get to. Some require longer stays (Isle Royale, Voyageurs) than others (Dry Tortugas), and most make good winter getaways.

Alaska

These parks look like they have some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. I'd love to simply go and live in Alaska for a year or something, and visit the parks individually for weeks at a time. Most of them are difficult to reach and even more difficult to explore, requiring more experience and guts than I currently have.

  • Denali
  • Gates of the Arctic
  • Glacier Bay*
  • Katmai
  • Kenai Fords
  • Kobuk Valley
  • Lake Clark
  • Wrangell-St. Elias*

Natural World Heritage Sites

Several of the United States' National Parks are also designated as World Heritage sites by the United Nations. I suppose if I'm into visiting as many splendid natural environments as possible, then these sites will eventually make their way onto my list of destinations. So far, I've been to 8 of 154 of these locales.

Of additional interest are long-distance hikes outside North America, the most famous of which are probably the Inca Trail and the trip up Mount Kilimanjaro.

It would be nice to mix international treks in with the long-distance American hikes above.

 Visited Parks

Trip names link to pictures. Park names link to NPS site.

Summer 1986: Family Road Trip

Summer 1998: Cross Country

Winter 1999: Surprise Trip to Miami

Summer 1999: Wandering Around

Summer 2003: Glacier

Winter 2003: Deserts Tour

Spring 2004: Wind Cave

Summer 2004

  • Rocky Mountain, CO
  • Great Sand Dunes, CO
  • Mesa Verde, CO
  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO
  • Arches, UT
  • Canyonlands, UT
  • Capitol Reef, UT: Capitol Reef was the most surprisingly beautiful park I've visited. Of course, the surprise started with low expectations; I hadn't heard much other than the area had been settled by Mormons. The "Scenic Drive" did little to impress me, but it is the only way to get to trailheads for some short but decent hikes. At each of the three parking areas, you have a choice between a short and shorter trail; pick based on your time, though Cassidy Arch is a must if you haven't been to Arches and the Tunnels was almost not worth tne short hike. By far the most impressive part of the park was off the beaten trail: the Burr Ridge Loop (from the Visitor Center, down through the Waterpocket Fold and across the Grand Staircase to Buffalo) was probably the most spectacular drive I've ever done (or at least "surprisingly spectacular") and, had I not missed the trailhead, I have no doubt the Spring Canyon Trail would be the "quintessentrail" for this park. 10 hours gave me time to do three short hikes and the Burr Ridge Drive. Next time, I would consider spendind two days to do longer trails in the northern section of the park, >gasp< drive Burr Ridge again, and hike Spring Canyon.
  • Bryce Canyon, UT: Those who say Bryce Canyon is more spectacular than the Grand Canyon probably didn't get out of their car. Indeed, the vistas along the length of the park road offered nice views of various landscapes and geologic features, but you cannot truly appreciate the park without taking a hike down to the magical orange fairyland of the canyon floor. The Navajo Loop-Queen's Garden-Rim Trail is a wondrous but short (3 miles) loop down into the canyon. My time driving to Rainbow Point probably would have been better spent extending my hike. I saw a chilly but inspiring sunrise at Sunrise Point; it might have been even nicer at Bryce Point, the highest in the park. I was fairly satisfied with my brief four hours in Bryce Canyon, but I definitely would feel better had I done a longer hike like the Peekaboo Trail..
  • Zion, UT
  • Grand Canyon, AZ: Everybody needs to see the Grand Canyon, but you don't need to see everybody. That's why I avoided the South Rim like the plague, and I should have done the same with the North Rim Visitor Center. The views were superior and less crowded at Point Imperial, Angel's Window, and Cape Royal, and I could have saved my energy for a longer descent down the legendary Kabaib Trail. I still don't feel like I have a real feel for the sheer depth of the Canyon, which a future descent (and arduous ascent) or raft ride should remedy. I always knew I would come here twice, but I must admit to feeling somewhat defeated (though impressed) after this brief initial trip. Five hours was enough to feel satisfied that I had "been to" the Grand Canyon, but a multi-day trek to the canyon floor is likely necesary to feel like you've truly "experinced" it.
  • Petrified Forest, AZ: Here I finally gave up on the scenic drive. Two and a half hours driving up from the southern entrance, pulling over at every stop and walking every mile of maintained trail gave me nothing but the feeling that I was in another Mesa Verde. All I needed to do was to go faster so I could avoid the afternoon heat and crowds. Certainly, ONE of the petrified forest trails is a must, and the Blue Mesa trail was cool, but the day didn't start for me until I entered the Wilderness Area in the northern part of the park, which has all the features of the rest but with absolute solitude and the challenge of finding those features without a trail. If only I had gotten here earlier, I might have spent more time in a cooler Painted Desert. As it was, I limited myself to a sweltering but enjoyable three miles of wandering. Five hours allowed me to do absolutely everything in the park. Use the same amount of time to start in the north, find the Onyx Tower in the Painted Desert, and then be selective on your drive south.
  • Guadalupe Mountains, TX
  • Carlsbad Caverns, NM
  • Great Basin, NV
  • Lassen Volcanic, CA
  • Redwood, CA
  • Yosemite, CA
  • Sequoia & Kings Canyon, CA

Fall 2004

  • Cuyahoga Valley, OH: This visit was weak, basically just a drive-through. However, the park's proximity to urban areas and family make a return trip easy.
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