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Can we talk about how criminally underfunded the NPS is too? Because it makes me REAL MAD. Their budget has remained essentially flat for a decade (something like 2.5 billion, plus or minus a couple hundred million) but visitors have increased by 14% since 2014:  Obviously that number should be down this year, but there were 327 million visits in 2019 which is insane considering how little actual land has been given to the NPS:  Don't get me wrong, 2.5 billion is a huge amount of money. And the NPS has done great things with it, but my mom worked in Yellowstone for 4 of the past 5 years and there is nonstop hand wringing about all the projects that can't be done that are needed to support more visitors. The popular parks are extremely overcrowded and the rangers are forced to manage it with cones and roadblocks.
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Jul 21, 2020 21:57
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Rick posted:I think it's pretty unlikely that the parks as we know them are going to be a thing in 4 years. The privatization train is chugging hard. The outfit my mom worked for at Yellowstone brought in an ex-Walmart manager. It went about as poorly as you can imagine.. people that had worked there for 20 years fleeing because the culture changed overnight.
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Jul 22, 2020 13:10
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Headhunter posted:UK person here. I'm so jealous of your national parks. My wife and I went to a few on our honeymoon road trip and the pictures in the OP are making me want to go again (once y'all don't have the Covid that is). We went to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Death Valley and Joshua Tree. Every one of them was stunningly beautiful and I feel like we barely scratched the surface in any of them. Well I'm jealous of your right to roam.  Land owner rights are absolute in the US, it's perfectly legal to block access to public land if one has to cross private land to get there. So we got the awesome national parks, you get to enjoy your whole country. Which is better? Both obviously but it is not to be.
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Jul 23, 2020 04:16
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Acebuckeye13 posted:On the drive from SLC to Reno, you can also try diverting through Great Basin National Park. Great Basin is notable for having some of the darkest night skies in the country, If great basin doesn't work for whatever reason, pull up a dark sky map and find a campsite somewhere along the route: https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4.69&lat=39.5535&lon=-108.5030&layers=B0FFFFFFTFFFFFFFFFF Oregon and Nevada are stuffed with class 1 dark skies that require nothing more than a willingness to get away from an interstate. Yellowstone is pretty dang dark too. If none of that pans out, class 2 works just fine but being in a truly dark area is a holy poo poo eye opener for any city dweller. On a moonless night if you let your eyes acclimate to the darkness the light of the milky way will cast shadows which is maybe hard to get an 8 year old kid to wait for but as an adult it's worth the time. As a kid that was taken on numerous road trips during the OG game boy era, there's not much you can do to prevent them wanting to play games all the time. But if you can get them to unplug for a trail or a campfire you can slowly convince them that the outdoors is kickin' rad.
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May 27, 2021 19:19
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Acebuckeye13 posted:and geology in the area Just look at that fold! https://www.google.com/maps/@40.534...0!7i8704!8i4352 The Yampa river canyon is pretty baller too, but I think you need to be on a raft to see it.. I haven't been able to find any trails on the north side of the canyon.
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May 28, 2021 16:51
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A lot of national parks are like that now, the popular/accessible ones are only enjoyable on the off seasons. It was trending towards overcrowding the past 5-10 years and then 2020 hit and it got really bad because so much was shut down. It's good that people are doing outdoor stuff more but the system can't handle it (and it's not just a US issue, it's happening everywhere). And on a personal level it means one has to do more work to find quiet places to go. You can't just google for the best spots and run with it.
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Jun 30, 2021 18:08
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All the towns on Flathead lake have boat rentals. If you get a paddle boat be ready for a workout, it is a very large lake. Worse if it gets windy, paddling upwind is glacial. Maybe it's easier if you can launch at Dayton. The state park on the south west corner (big arm) is a great camping spot right on the water. Montana is mega chud, you ain't escaping it. There's no notable bargain places for food, but if it's cherry season a drive along the east coast of the lake will provide you with so many buying options you'll have the runs for a month.
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Jul 2, 2021 16:21
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You can absolutely buy bear spray off amazon. But if you can't for some reason, any outdoor equipment store sells it. REI is an easy one to look up. There's several local outfitters in Kalispell to try out.
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Jul 10, 2021 02:08
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If you get there before the rangers you don't even have to pay!  (once upon a time on a road trip I stopped at Badlands NP after midnight and walked the trails under a full moon, didn't see a single soul. Then I was at CoTM a week later and bought an annual pass so I technically did pay for it, just not when I was supposed to)
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Jul 16, 2021 16:30
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That technique is risky and irritating but it does work. That's how we spent a week in GNP several years ago in the many glacier area, we showed up with two nights booked that we were able to reserve well in advance and then once we got there were able to swap every day or two between the hotel and the campground when late cancellations came in. You really need a solid plan B though in case it doesn't work out.
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Jul 20, 2021 19:12
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Shiprock is a really neat feature, but is completely closed these days without a tribal escort. You can still see it from the road though and might be worth a stop. Canyon de Chelly is said to very cool but I've never been. Natural Bridges national monument is a nice stop between Capitol Reef and Mesa Verde. Then if you drive south on 261 you can go down the dugway which is a crazy gravel road along the face of a mesa.. not for people afraid of heights. And that will dump you into monument valley which is a big draw. A bit more outside the triangle you've set up, Bisti badlands has some epic rock formations.
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Jul 22, 2021 03:23
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Kinda annoyed at the NPS right now, we planned a day to visit the west side of RMNP where they have the burn scar from last year, a few flowers and grasses are starting to take over and it looks really interesting. But they have banned stopping along the road and had two rangers driving up and down actively punting anyone stopped. All picnic areas and campgrounds were roped off too. I get it, being in a burned forest is super dangerous and people tromping around in naked soil is horrible for recovery, so yeah, police the trails. But I don't get why they let people line up alongside a road by the dozens to take bad pictures of elk but staring at some burned trees is a massive problem. Anyways thanks for listening, like and subscribe.
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Aug 4, 2021 01:17
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There's three easy + famous photography spots you can get to no problem, they're so famous you probably already know about them but I'll list them anyways: Mormon Row (once you look it up you'll probably recognize it), Schwabacher Landing (popular for dawn shots that reflect the mountains), and Oxbow Bend (tree growth means you can't replicate Ansel Adams' shot of the spot but everyone tries anyways). The shoreline on Jenny Lake is extremely nice too, if the water is calm the reflections are bonkers. It has lots of colorful rocks on the bottom too which are nice. I've never done it but Cascade Canyon is reported to be a very nice hike with lots of great scenery to photo but I'm not sure I'd invite seniors onto it. Ampitheatre lake is another good destination but is a steep trail with lots of switchbacks. The peaks are getting snow now though, so that might limit options. You'll need to be prepared for cold. Antelope Flats is named that for a reason too. If you like wildlife stuff I'd look into that.
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Sep 20, 2021 16:14
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Maybe bring a blacklight and find a nearby beach, look for some yooperlite? There's some scenery out by Keweenaw Point, Estivant Pines is an old growth forest segment and the rocket range is a local curiosity. Hungarian Falls is closer to Houghton if you don't want to drive that much (more).
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Jan 25, 2022 19:16
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If one goes to RMNP any time soon, I strongly recommend visiting the fire scar on the west side. Access to it was pretty poor in 2021 (trails and road turnouts closed) but there were a couple spots where you could get into it. Fires suck but witnessing the devastation and hints of recovery are fascinating too.
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Jan 28, 2022 00:36
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What kind of vehicle will you have? If you're a little more adventurous there's back entrances you can take and get in there whenever you want. Some of them need high clearance, others AWD will be fine. Like, look up the Lost and Found canyon parking spot. A bit south of that is the NP border near a spot called Jug Rock. That puts you about a mile away from delicate arch. Also look up the Lost Spring Canyon access point.
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May 14, 2022 15:44
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Then those two spots I mentioned should be easily accessible if you don't mind a drive around the outside of the park. I just pulled up my map of spots and got the gps coordinates of parking: 38.80360842, -109.51759713 38.76076811, -109.49192894 If you want to see the major attractions it's still better to use the pass, but if that doesn't work out it's good to have options.
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May 14, 2022 16:03
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I lug my bear spray on one of the loops of my backpack's chest straps. I may die but at least the rangers that find me will have to admire how ready to defend myself I was. Loving the link that says to not hike at sunrise/sunset/night. Like, that's when I'm most active because I'm chasing photographs.
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May 25, 2022 04:20
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It depends how many bridges get washed out. The river near the north entrance raised six feet in one day. Red Lodge is currently underwater, several bridges are gone. Root cause is the beartooth mountains got 9 feet of snow last week, and then heavy rain hit over the weekend. It might be "open" but whether anyone can get in there or not is another conversation. I guess the south entrance might be okay but that's only because I haven't actually heard of any flooding down there.
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Jun 14, 2022 00:11
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Wyoming has the bighorns and wind river range too, which are gorgeous areas. And their chunk of the medicine bow forest is nice.
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Jun 14, 2022 10:28
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I saw a couple pictures of Lamar valley, it looks like a braided stream from a glacier now. Except brown. It's gonna be interesting to see how nature recovers next year, should be an informative visit if the road can be rebuilt by then.
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Jun 15, 2022 04:16
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Lookin' neat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTZ7jkcXfLQ
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Jun 16, 2022 16:39
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newts posted:
Just for funzies, the spots I could find compared to now:  - this is from the peak of Deer Mountain. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.379...0!7i5760!8i2880 - feels like it's from the rockslide area at Fern Lake. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.336...0!7i5760!8i2880 - somewhere on the final approach to dream lake. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.309...0!7i9216!8i4476 - somewhere around a switchback on the flat top mountain trail. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.314...0!7i5760!8i2880 - somewhere along the flat top mountain trail above bear lake. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.316...0!7i5760!8i2880 - flat top mountain trail, again. snow fields don't change much! https://www.google.com/maps/@40.313...0!7i7168!8i3584 - somewhere along the ridge above tyndall glacier. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.307...0!7i5760!8i2880 - I think that's lake haiyaha in the distance, putting them on the ridge between hallet peak and otis peak. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.295...0!7i5760!8i2880 - flat top mountain trail again. hallet peak in the background https://www.google.com/maps/@40.310...0!7i9728!8i4106 - south side of longs peak. If I'm following the narrative of this hike correctly, they started at camp timberline, summited longs peak, then hiked down the back side for lunch in the rock field east of keplinger lake. Then hiked back over the top of mt. meeker to get back at timberline after dark. god drat they put some work in. It's at least a 15 mile loop (with no established trail), not to mention two or three cliffs they had to scale around. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.254...0!7i8704!8i4352 - should be spectacle lake. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.447...0!7i5760!8i2880
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Aug 9, 2022 18:27
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Oracle posted:They can probably also use them to figure out how much forest they've lost to fires and climate change (emerald ash borers etc). Along those lines, the photo above bear lake was pretty interesting to me, it looks like a fire had gone through there in recent years. Today you can't even see the lake from the trail because the trees have filled back in.
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Aug 10, 2022 15:09
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"Late September" is peak fall color for most of Colorado, if that's something that interests you I would make a point to hike around Capitol Peak (road sucks but I saw lots of low clearance AWD cars back in there so it depends on your comfort level) or Kebler Pass (a quality dirt road). RMNP will have some good color too but might be wearing off by that point. I don't think Canyonlands and Arches turn until late October. So yeah, the road trip will be pretty. Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Dinosaur monument are also well worth the trip, just depends how far off the interstate you're willing to go.
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Aug 20, 2022 20:34
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If you got the time, I would swing south to hit great sand dunes, drive up to Gunnison and hit Kebler Pass then loop back down and drive the north road of the black canyon. That's quite a sinuous route through Colorado but it would be gorgeous.
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Aug 22, 2022 17:23
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Fitzy Fitz posted:There's a lot of stuff in there that allows private/for-profit entities to make money off of federal lands, so that's probably why Manchin is sponsoring it. Things like the increased use of concession/private management companies running facilities. Huge mistake, but it's not like there's any political willpower to fund the public lands agencies to do anything properly so injecting a shot of pure capitalism into it is the only real option.
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Oct 12, 2022 16:50
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Not a national park and maybe not at its best this time of year, but garden of the gods is a pleasant day trip. Maybe hunt around for a cypress tree grove if you've never seen them. Again, not the most spectacular in late winter but maybe still worth it because they're pretty neat trees. Southern tip of Illinois has a couple of them, I'm sure all the surrounding states do too.
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Jan 29, 2023 22:20
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If there's two things rich people love, it's building on water and on top of hills.
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Feb 9, 2023 01:49
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Finding tribal guides can be a chore because they don't have the best internet presence. Generally what happens is you do a bunch of google searching, find a phone number, and call to figure out specifics and maybe make a reservation. So you're going to have to be willing to sit on the phone and ask around. I'll never talk anyone out of coming west to explore parks but Wisconsin (and the areas around it) has a lot of great hiking if you want to stay out that way. The Sylvania Wilderness, the NF surrounding Moquah Barrens and all the trails along the north shore in Minnesota are my favorites. Pretty much any Wisconsin State Natural Area is a lot of fun too because there's a couple hundred of them and all are super low population.. they make great day trips.
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Apr 13, 2023 19:10
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I got to visit Volcanoes a day last year and that wasn't nearly enough time. The active volcano is obviously a big draw but the rain forest and lava flow exploration ended up being my hilights. Gotta go back. 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.
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Jun 13, 2023 19:09
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NPS is so underfunded they gotta pay someone to clear a walkway with a leaf blower. I assume it's an accessibility requirement as he's cleaning the handicapped areas too. But come on, they can't dig up a snow plow in the middle of winter in Colorado? Nothing better than hiking and hearing that WHIRRRRRR from 2 miles out. (Great Sand Dunes)
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Dec 23, 2023 20:21
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Great Sand Dunes on Christmas Eve:
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Jan 10, 2024 03:17
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I've hit all the major cross-state routes and it's hard to go wrong on that drive. I guess I-70 to Grand Junction then breaking south is the most boring way to do it.. but it's still a very pretty drive with mountain passes, canyons, and buttes. It's also the fastest option. If I was picking a route for pure scenery and no time restraints I'd probably do Sedalia->Deckers->Hartsel->Buena Vista->Gunnison->Durango->Cortez. But going south to Walsenburg and taking US160 west is pretty great too, and gives you great sand dunes as a possible stop. If you really wanna take the long way, Antonitio->Chama->Shiprock->Cortez is also a splendid route. Or go even further west and do Moab->Monticello->Cortez. edit - all these routes are paved and fine for a city car xzzy fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Jan 21, 2024 |
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Jan 21, 2024 22:55
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Guess the only other tip I got is bookmark cotrip.org and hit the road conditions button. By your travel date the roads will all be in good shape but they also post construction closures and such there. Like if the region gets another wet spring and there's any road damage that's where it'll get marked.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:22
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Next time take a wrong turn in Steamboat and visit the Big Agnes HQ.
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Jan 25, 2024 19:37
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Anyone got a feel for Crater Lake in the last week of May? Have a chance to spend the night there on a road trip and the NPS site says the rim road doesn't open until June. I'm curious if that's a hard rule or they go ahead and open it whenever the snow retreats enough. Mazama campground opens the 24th and I'll be in the area on the 29th so I assume I'll at least be able to find a place to sleep. Available webcams kind of show a mixed bag, the crater itself doesn't seem to have a ridiculous amount of snow but some of the road cameras show 5-8 feet. Basically if they 100% won't open until July I'll pass the area by. But if there's a chance of getting in there I'll keep an eye on conditions.
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Mar 19, 2024 02:55
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Great, thanks. I was hoping to get to Merriam Point for some night photography. Or the watchman peak parking area. So I'll pencil it in and if the road opens by that point head on up. Otherwise it's camping at Mt McLoughlin.. which will still be cool.
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Mar 19, 2024 19:17
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It's a sad reality but that's why I'm doing this trip to begin with. The end destination is the coastal redwoods because I feel like I really need to see them before they go up in flames. I went to do some hiking in north cascades last summer and one trail I hiked burned up less than a month later. Hopefully this spring is a mild one.
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Mar 20, 2024 01:52
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8one6 posted:Thank you for the tip about Hermit's Rest. It's beautiful out here and I'm practically alone on the trail. If you get another evening, the Desert View spot at sunset is pretty stunning too. Won't be alone but it shouldn't be shoulder to shoulder either. You can see west all the way up the canyon and if there's a lot of dust in the air (I think there always is) the layering is bonkers.
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Apr 17, 2024 22:49
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