The National Parks: Arguably America's Only Good Idea

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > The National Parks: Arguably America's Only Good Idea

Freaquency: May 10, 2007; "Yes I can hear you, I don't have ear cancer!"

Arkhamina posted:

Mesa Verde questions, if people are familiar with it.

I was planning roughly a trip around May 18th, or possibly a little later in June. The guided tours will started (just) by then. Car rental will be as much as air fare, if I rent one - so I was hoping to fly in, cab it to a motel, and the taxi service said it goes to the park. From there, I was hoping to hike and see things, but wondering if I really will need wheels there. I could do the trip for about $700 without, or $1000+ with.

Trail maps show a lot of the trails right from the visitor center. Anyone know if tours are walkable from there, or is it a series of drives? I can hike a good distance (and will be) but it's a BIG park.

Book the car. The tours are all down on the southern end of the park and they don�t provide transportation from the visitor center. It�ll be worth it though - we did Cliff Palace last year and it was awesome. With the car you�ll be able to see a lot of other sites as well.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2023 22:11

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 04:58

Freaquency: May 10, 2007; "Yes I can hear you, I don't have ear cancer!"

xzzy posted:

Great Sand Dunes and RMNP are now local to me so I'm really looking forward to exploring the heck out of them. We already did RMNP twice before the summer reservation system kicked in and loved it.

Take Old Fall River Rd up to Alpine Visitor Center instead of Trail Ridge Rd sometime, it�s a delight. There�s some good hiking from the Chapin Creek trailhead near the top, and with all of the rain and snow we�ve had this season the waterfalls should be nice and full. I think it opens in early July.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2023 23:26

Freaquency: May 10, 2007; "Yes I can hear you, I don't have ear cancer!"

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Death Valley National Park

Date Visited: February 2022

Death Valley is an utterly spectacular and stark combination of desert and mountain landscapes. My partner and I went in February of 2022, which turned out to be pretty solid timing � both because of the temperature (~mid 80s at the hottest) and because we went before the devastating floods that wiped out a lot of the park's roads and infrastructure the following summer.

An important thing to know is that Death Valley is a huge park. We did our best to try and see as much as we could over the better part of two days, and yet there were still a ton of things we didn't get to see or do. Climbing sand dunes, exploring ghost towns, hiking through slot canyons... it's all incredible stuff, and well-worth experiencing. Just make sure to visit in the winter, and not in other parts of the year when it's too hot to meaningfully experience most of the park.

Next up: Wet stuff

We were there in October after they had opened some things back up again, but the park was still mostly closed. We did get to see Badwater Basin with water in it, which was really special.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2024 01:43

Freaquency: May 10, 2007; "Yes I can hear you, I don't have ear cancer!"

Arkhamina posted:

Anyone driven from Denver to Cortez to go visit Mesa Verde? Curious what the drive is like (would be solo) and if I should bother with anything bigger than the little flavor rental car.

June trip. I like driving, so long as I have a stereo! Flights are pretty cheap midweek.

It�s a 7+ hour drive so I�m assuming your finding a place to stay down there. It�s a fine drive and you�re not going to need 4WD or anything if that�s what you�re asking. 285 is the most direct route but I like taking 70 across until you get to Glenwood Springs, then heading south through Montrose/Ouray/Silverton to reach Durango. It�s longer but it�s a more impressive drive through the mountains. I�d recommend going one way there and the other back to get a feel for both.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2024 22:43

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