Trip Advice; National Parks

[Pinecone]

Hi Forum - One of the things on my bucket list is to visit as many USA National Parks as I can. I've decided to take 4 weeks off work in Sept 2015 to make a loop of National Parks in the West that I have not yet visited (I live in Washington State). Before I start making reservations, I'm looking for any trip advice you have for campgrounds, things to see, things to avoid, and even how many days to plan in the following NP's:

Grand Teton, WY
Wind Cave, SD
Badlands, SD
Rocky Mountain, CO
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO
Great Sand Dunes, CO
Petrified Forest, AZ
Saguaro, AZ
Joshua Tree, CA
Death Valley, CA
Sequoia, CA
Kings' Canyon, CA

Since I've never been to these NPs, advice from those who've visited is most appreciated!

Greg

[Vedette]

Welcome back Buddy!
We really missed you here on the Forum.
And September 2015??? If you are taking time off, you had better plan on joining us for our Fall Crawl across Hyw. 20
We might even make the direction decision based on your plans.
Remember there are some great NP up in the North west corner......just ask Charlie.
Last night (after picking & crushing grapes yesterday) we sat out under an Okanagan moon enjoying homemade sausage, Ham, slab bacon, & baked potatoes over an open fire. Oh we cooked up a couple of pots of Mulled wine to keep us warm on a wonderful November night!
Had Miss Piggy set up out back for night # 60, but fell asleep on the couch and didn't make it out there.
Maybe tonight??? Weather change predicted for tomorrow means this might be our last chance unless we drag her south one more time??
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[DrCrash]

nice loop there a couple of suggestions. Yellowstone visit it..
Devils tower visit it.
Cody dam visit it
wind cave S.D yes stay away from jewel cave.
custer park drive thrugh it, nice drive and since yourr there dont miss the needles drive..

Were going to be out there most the summer again this year , we might pass one another. Oh and you want to do this befor the first week in Aug Sturgis and 200 miles in any direction is a zoo !

[halfdome, Danny]

Greg, since you'll be in Colorado maybe you could swing by Durango and take the day to ride on the http://www.durangotrain.com


It's a 45 mile narrow gauge train to Silverton, CO and 45 miles back to Durango with about an hour stop in Silverton.
My son & I rode it in the 1980's and really enjoyed it. It's on my list to do again, this time with Jane.
Mesa Verde is fairly close and so is Bryce Canyon.

We ended up on a awful road with lots of hair pin curves to Sequoia/Kings Canyon last summer so study your map and don't trust GPS.
That's why we ended up on that road out of Fresno, CA. We were very lucky there was an open campsite available, so reserve in advance.
Have a great trip, Danny

[shootr]

Hi Forum - One of the things on my bucket list is to visit as many USA National Parks as I can. I've decided to take 4 weeks off work in Sept 2015 to make a loop of National Parks in the West that I have not yet visited (I live in Washington State). Before I start making reservations, I'm looking for any trip advice you have for campgrounds, things to see, things to avoid, and even how many days to plan in the following NP's:

Grand Teton, WY
Wind Cave, SD
Badlands, SD
Rocky Mountain, CO
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO
Great Sand Dunes, CO
Petrified Forest, AZ
Saguaro, AZ
Joshua Tree, CA
Death Valley, CA
Sequoia, CA
Kings' Canyon, CA

Since I've never been to these NPs, advice from those who've visited is most appreciated!

Greg

Just my .02:

Petrified Forest, AZ - It's a drive through imo. I drove through it and the "Painted Desert" back in '98 or so and it was cool, but not multi-day awesome. Throw in Meteor Crater and it's a pretty good, slightly long day. Same with Saguaro, AZ - there are forests of saguaro's north of Phoenix, around Tucson - they're not too hard to find but the park does have a great concentration of them.

[Midget]

Greg,

We live 20 minutes from the Big Stump gate to Kings Canyon. Last summer we camped with Grant and Kay's Tearjerker group in a national forest campground right in between both parks. It was free and a great base camp. Two full days would cover most of both parks. If your heading our way, let us know and we'll open up a bottle of our wine.

Bob and Lynn

[wagondude]

Hi Forum - One of the things on my bucket list is to visit as many USA National Parks as I can. I've decided to take 4 weeks off work in Sept 2015 to make a loop of National Parks in the West that I have not yet visited (I live in Washington State). Before I start making reservations, I'm looking for any trip advice you have for campgrounds, things to see, things to avoid, and even how many days to plan in the following NP's:

Grand Teton, WY
Wind Cave, SD
Badlands, SD
Rocky Mountain, CO
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO
Great Sand Dunes, CO
Petrified Forest, AZ
Saguaro, AZ
Joshua Tree, CA
Death Valley, CA
Sequoia, CA
Kings' Canyon, CA

Since I've never been to these NPs, advice from those who've visited is most appreciated!

Greg

Just my .02:

Petrified Forest, AZ - It's a drive through imo. I drove through it and the "Painted Desert" back in '98 or so and it was cool, but not multi-day awesome. Throw in Meteor Crater and it's a pretty good, slightly long day. Same with Saguaro, AZ - there are forests of saguaro's north of Phoenix, around Tucson - they're not too hard to find but the park does have a great concentration of them.

2+....Painted desert/Petrified forest is a day drive trip. There is a nice campground on the Petrified Forest side with a cool prairie dog town nearby. The meteor crater is cool to see, but you can no longer view it without paying an expensive fee. When I was a kid you could go to the visitors center for free and view it from the windows. Now you pay the fee to get into the center. There is an extra charge for a guided rim tour. The tour is cool (took my wife and son just because my dad would not pay for the rim tour when I was a kid). Just be prepared to spend some cash if you do.

[PubUltraStar]

Glacier national park has ruined many other national parks by comparison with its grandeur and beauty. You should add that to your list. Devils tower is one of my favorite places, but you can have a much shorter stay at that smaller park. If you want to see wildlife, Yellowstone or Roosevelt national park are good to see Bison from the highway. Can't really go wrong with your list, have fun!

[Shadow Catcher]

I would add Teddy Roosevelt NP and Yellowstone. Death Vally is one of our favorites but do it in winter only it is the hottest place on earth

[grant whipp]

... I'm looking for any trip advice you have for campgrounds, things to see, things to avoid, and even how many days to plan in the following NP's:

Grand Teton, WY ...

Hey, Greg!

I'll start here ... avoid this park on the weekends, some of the rudest folks we encountered on our 10K-mile vacation last year were here and parts of Yellowstone. Can't say much for the campgrounds, as we didn't stay (opted for Yellowstone!), and unless you want to spend some time hiking and getting closer to the spectacular scenery, you can see most of the highlights in a day.

Badlands, SD

Very cool! You can see enough in a day, again, unless you want/need to hike. What campgrounds we passed by didn't impress us. Basically, we drove through on our way to Rapid City/Black Hills.

Rocky Mountain, CO

Very, very cool! And, very, very high ... ...! The campgrounds alongside the lake just north of Granby on Hwy 134 are a great place for a base camp ... plan for at least two days to take in as much as you can (I was only there for a day in '05 and missed a lot!), and I recommend coming into the park from the west side and coming out at Estes Park, as I think you get a much better feel for the Park's grandeur that way, and as you cross over the 12,000'+ pass, the view east and out onto the plains is unbelievable!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO

I've only driven by this park a couple of times (never had the time to stop & explore), but I hear it's fabulous!

Death Valley, CA

We've only driven through once and can't wait to go back and spend at least 3 days! Way too much to see, and it is spread out! The one campground we toured that had shade (on the east side of the Valley, can't remember the name) looked like it would have a lot of bugs, even at the end of November! We'd probably opt for one of the "exposed" campgrounds.

Sequoia, CA/Kings' Canyon, CA

Like Bob said, we hosted a campout there this past summer, and the campgrounds Kay found were free and almost dead-center between the two Parks ... great place to base out of (a few miles up Big Meadow Road, off the General Sherman Hwy)! I'd say at least three days for both Parks, unless you like to hike a lot ... don't miss the famous-named trees, and I highly recommend the hike up Morro Rock ... ...! Gas in the park wasn't as expensive as we thought it would be, and is only a few miles from where we camped. Access is best and easiest from the Fresno side, and although I hear it is spectacular, large RVs and long trailers are NOT recommended in or out the south access (if you choose to go that way, just take it slow and easy).

Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy it, and I'll bet you will make a killer video of the experience! As always ...

CHEERS!

[Vedette]

Hi Greg
While you were away from the Forum, another Pinecone owner posted as a Newbie.
Thought you might chime in?
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[Catherine+twins]

Just a bit of silliness, but you might pick up a "Pasport to your National Parks." It looks like a passport, and you can stamp it in the various national parks and national monuments you visit. They always have the very official passport stamps in the visitor centers. My dear stepdad bought a couple for the twins several years ago, and after one trip I bought one for myself, too. We have visited parks in Colorado, New Mexico, and Hawaii now, and have stamps to prove it. (Halakala NP has one visitor center at the base of the volcano and one at the summit, so two stamps; I suspect Rocky Mountain NP similarly has two stamps for the pass visitor center and the one just outside of Estes Park.)

Catherine

[Dale M.]

Yosemite CA.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

My back yard!

Dale

[Corwin C]

I'm surprised that you left off all five Utah National Parks (Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zions). Perhaps you've already visited these so this would be for the benefit of others that want to visit Utah's National Parks. I'm exceptionally priveledged where I live, about 45 minutes from Bryce and an hour to Capitol Reef, Arches and Zions are roughly 3 hours, and Canyonlands is 3 1/2 hours away. Truth be known, I visit off season because I can't stand crowds of people. Each has their own quality and there are countless sights to see in-between them as well. It is possible to see all 5 with less than 400 miles of travel, but unless you're just ticking them off a list, that is not the way that I would recommend seeing them.

Here is a link for Utah's Mighty Five with several itineraries depending on how long you plan on staying and what you want to see. They range from 3 days to 10 days, but even with 10 days, there are going to be things that you miss.

Happy planning, and enjoy your trip!

[Pinecone]

Wow everyone thank you your advice is SO helpful!

I wonder if Death Valley is just too hot to camp without AC. Even when I plan to be there in late September, the temperatures are still over 100 degrees! Though, it does get down to 70 at night...according to websites.

Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota; I hadn't even considered that so any advice on how many days to spend there would be welcome.

And yes, if I didn't list other NP's, it's because I've already been there!

Keep the advice coming, I'm using it in my trip planning.

Greg