What are your favorite less-popular nat'l parks?

[RoxMonster]

I don't know how to phrase it--obviously all the national parks are popular/get busy. But I mean besides the big ones like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, etc. I want to visit all of those, but they will have to wait as they are pretty far away.

My goal is to get to as many national parks/forests/lakeshores as possible. I love love hiking and exploring them. We have done Smoky Mtn. and Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore. Living in IL, unfortunately there are not many national parks within driving distance. I was hoping to do a national park for vacation next summer, but I don't think flying somewhere and then having to rent a car on top of it plus lodging will be in the budget. I am not a huge fan of driving more than 10-11 hours in a day, and if it takes us two days to drive there both ways, we don't have much time to actually spend there (H can only take 5 days of vacation at a time. That does include a Sunday on one side and a weekend on the other side, but we also have to figure in dropping off and picking up Roxie at my parents' house, and they live 3 hours away from us).

Rocky Mtn. is one that I miiight be able to make work, but it's over 13 hours to drive there, so it's kind of stretching it.

Has anyone been to Isle Royale NP in the UP of MI? It sounds very remote, which I like, but I don't do camping, so not sure where we'd go for lodging. Any other nat'l parks/forests near the Midwest that you've been to and would recommend, especially for hiking and beautiful vistas?

[pagas]

Canyonlands in Utah, it is amazing

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

Olympic National Forest. Mt. Rainier. Cascades.

Outside of Washington, I like

California:  Sequoia National Park (the lesser Yosemite. lol.)  Whiskeytown Lake (Lake Shasta area),

New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns, Gila Cliff Dwellings

[nahoku]

I have friends who have been to Isle Royale and I'd love to go - it looks beautiful! I think they said there is one lodge/resort/hotel thing on the island, but I don't know anything about it.

Otherwise, I think the only national park I've visited is Rocky Mountain. We drive from MN (stop for a night on the way out there and drive 15 hours straight on the way home).

I'm trying to visit all the MN state parks and then we'll start exploring more of the national parks

[lilafowler]

Green Mountain Ntl. Forest (Vermont).

[RoxMonster]

These all sound amazing, but unfortunately are probably too far for us to drive to next year with our limited vacation time. I will keep this list for future reference though

[RoxMonster]

So apparently there is a nat'l park in MN called Voyageurs? I honestly hadn't heard of it until I went to the NPS site. Anyone been there before?

[dawnzersong]

Badlands in South Dakota- lots of outdoorsy nature stuff and history, too.

[ninjabridemom]

Shenandoah National Park at the Front Royal entrance. You don't have to drive very far to get to good hiking, and there's this big cabin thing where they have bathrooms etc. One of the trails brings you through old farmland and graveyards.

Even on its busiest it was never so busy that we couldn't enjoy it.

[jinkies]

These are too far for you to drive, unfortunately, but Zion National Park in Utah is incredible. We combined it with Bryce Canyon, which was also great. But of the two, I preferred Zion.

That was probably my favorite Us-based vacation ever.

[RoxMonster]

Jun 30, 2015 10:15:10 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:11:51 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

These all sound amazing, but unfortunately are probably too far for us to drive to next year with our limited vacation time. I will keep this list for future reference though

Lol.  I didn't read the question in the OP close enough, I thought we were all just listing out favorite less-popular national parks.

Yes, driving to the Dry Tortugas is difficult, lol.

Ha no problem! I do want to get to as many of these as possible in my lifetime.

[RoxMonster]

Jun 30, 2015 10:14:35 GMT -5 jinkies said:

These are too far for you to drive, unfortunately, but Zion National Park in Utah is incredible. We combined it with Bryce Canyon, which was also great. But of the two, I preferred Zion.

That was probably my favorite Us-based vacation ever.

Yes! I want to go to these so badly. Hopefully someday.

[RoxMonster]

Jun 30, 2015 10:14:06 GMT -5 ninjabridemom said:

Shenandoah National Park at the Front Royal entrance. You don't have to drive very far to get to good hiking, and there's this big cabin thing where they have bathrooms etc. One of the trails brings you through old farmland and graveyards.

Even on its busiest it was never so busy that we couldn't enjoy it.

I Google Map'd it and this is only 11 hours driving from us! We may have a winner! Thanks I will look into this park more.

[underwaterrhymes]

Acadia is probably my favorite National Park I've been to, but being that it's in Maine, it doesn't fit your "within driving distance" aspirations.

I've never been here and it may be too far still, but what about Isle Royal in Michigan?

parks.mapquest.com/national-parks/isle-royale-national-park/

ETA - Clearly I missed your last sentence entirely.

[juliachild]

Hot Springs, AR. Its also near Ouachita national forest and Lake Ouachita state park.

[ninjabridemom]

Jun 30, 2015 10:18:06 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:14:06 GMT -5 ninjabridemom said:

Shenandoah National Park at the Front Royal entrance. You don't have to drive very far to get to good hiking, and there's this big cabin thing where they have bathrooms etc. One of the trails brings you through old farmland and graveyards.

Even on its busiest it was never so busy that we couldn't enjoy it.

I Google Map'd it and this is only 11 hours driving from us! We may have a winner! Thanks I will look into this park more.

It's also really close to Luray Caverns. We used to live in FR, it's an interesting town.

The other side is hundreds of miles from FR and might be closer to you? That's closer to where I went to grad school and I could point you to a few things there too.

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

Have you tried this: www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/find-park?keys=&province_select=All&field_park_type_tid=All&=Apply

And btw, for anyone that has a kid going into fourth grade, park admission is free next year. www.nationalparks.org/ook/every-kid-in-a-park

 

[anyastroud]

garden of the gods CO.

[dawnzersong]

I forgot to mention that Badlands National Park is also close to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Jewel Cave, which are all part of the National Park Service. Custer State Park is in that area as well, and it's great. It makes for a nice trip.

[pantsparty]

Jun 30, 2015 10:14:35 GMT -5 jinkies said:

These are too far for you to drive, unfortunately, but Zion National Park in Utah is incredible. We combined it with Bryce Canyon, which was also great. But of the two, I preferred Zion.

That was probably my favorite Us-based vacation ever.

My H did some kind of work conference close to Zion. He said it was incredible.

[mslhb]

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky

[glitzyglow]

I'm not sure where you are in Illinois, but some NPS sites in IL, Indiana, and Kentucky that I've enjoyed include:

IL - Lincoln Home National Historic Site: www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm
IN - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm
IN - George Rogers Clark National Historical Park: www.nps.gov/gero/index.htm
IN - Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: www.nps.gov/libo/index.htm (it's near Holiday World theme park, if that appeals to you, lol)
KY - Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park: www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm
KY - Mammoth Cave National Park: www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

[auntie]

Assateague National Seashore in MD.

www.assateagueisland.com/

Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge and Gettysburg are striking distance.

Any of the Appalachian National Trail

Acadia National Park in ME.

[MrsAxilla]

Jun 30, 2015 10:00:00 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I don't know how to phrase it--obviously all the national parks are popular/get busy. But I mean besides the big ones like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, etc. I want to visit all of those, but they will have to wait as they are pretty far away.

My goal is to get to as many national parks/forests/lakeshores as possible. I love love hiking and exploring them. We have done Smoky Mtn. and Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore. Living in IL, unfortunately there are not many national parks within driving distance. I was hoping to do a national park for vacation next summer, but I don't think flying somewhere and then having to rent a car on top of it plus lodging will be in the budget. I am not a huge fan of driving more than 10-11 hours in a day, and if it takes us two days to drive there both ways, we don't have much time to actually spend there (H can only take 5 days of vacation at a time. That does include a Sunday on one side and a weekend on the other side, but we also have to figure in dropping off and picking up Roxie at my parents' house, and they live 3 hours away from us).

Rocky Mtn. is one that I miiight be able to make work, but it's over 13 hours to drive there, so it's kind of stretching it.

Has anyone been to Isle Royale NP in the UP of MI? It sounds very remote, which I like, but I don't do camping, so not sure where we'd go for lodging. Any other nat'l parks/forests near the Midwest that you've been to and would recommend, especially for hiking and beautiful vistas?

DH works for the NPS and he's going to Isle Royale next week for a site visit on a project.  He's staying a cabin, but I think it's park housing.  There's no cell/wifi coverage (ask how happy I am to be alone with two kiddos for a week while DH is completely out of pocket).  Anyway, it's wilderness, so if you don't do camping, that might not be the best choice.  

I just texted DH for some suggestions near you.  I'll let you know if he has any.

[mslhb]

Jun 30, 2015 10:35:18 GMT -5 aeg511 said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:33:01 GMT -5 mslhb said:

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky

Hey! Did you see my mammoth cave post a few threads down?

No I didn't see it. Love Mammoth Cave! Went several times as a kid. My parents were big "let's get in the car and drive around america" people. Haven't been yet as an adult with my own daughter. We always took a guided tour and I thought it was super cool.

[screwedup]

We did a trip to see Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon. I'd go back to Canyonland and Bryce any day, any time.

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

Jun 30, 2015 11:21:11 GMT -5 @abbycobb said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:21:48 GMT -5 Beeps (WOT?*) said:

And btw, for anyone that has a kid going into fourth grade, park admission is free next year. www.nationalparks.org/ook/every-kid-in-a-park

 

Do you know how this works, exactly? Do they sign the pledge and then get a pass sent to them? My H is a 4th grade teacher and would love to pass this on to his students this fall.

I believe the schools and teachers will be getting information at the beginning of the school year (or at least that's my assumption from the WH Blog and the NPS websites). The program begins in September.

[fuckyourcouch]

Jun 30, 2015 11:03:51 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:00:00 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I don't know how to phrase it--obviously all the national parks are popular/get busy. But I mean besides the big ones like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, etc. I want to visit all of those, but they will have to wait as they are pretty far away.

My goal is to get to as many national parks/forests/lakeshores as possible. I love love hiking and exploring them. We have done Smoky Mtn. and Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore. Living in IL, unfortunately there are not many national parks within driving distance. I was hoping to do a national park for vacation next summer, but I don't think flying somewhere and then having to rent a car on top of it plus lodging will be in the budget. I am not a huge fan of driving more than 10-11 hours in a day, and if it takes us two days to drive there both ways, we don't have much time to actually spend there (H can only take 5 days of vacation at a time. That does include a Sunday on one side and a weekend on the other side, but we also have to figure in dropping off and picking up Roxie at my parents' house, and they live 3 hours away from us).

Rocky Mtn. is one that I miiight be able to make work, but it's over 13 hours to drive there, so it's kind of stretching it.

Has anyone been to Isle Royale NP in the UP of MI? It sounds very remote, which I like, but I don't do camping, so not sure where we'd go for lodging. Any other nat'l parks/forests near the Midwest that you've been to and would recommend, especially for hiking and beautiful vistas?

DH works for the NPS and he's going to Isle Royale next week for a site visit on a project.  He's staying a cabin, but I think it's park housing.  There's no cell/wifi coverage (ask how happy I am to be alone with two kiddos for a week while DH is completely out of pocket).  Anyway, it's wilderness, so if you don't do camping, that might not be the best choice.  

I just texted DH for some suggestions near you.  I'll let you know if he has any.

I didn't know that! High five for DOIers. 

[captainobvious]

Well, it doesn't really work for you but Channel Islands is one of my favorites.

[RoxMonster]

Jun 30, 2015 11:03:51 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:00:00 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I don't know how to phrase it--obviously all the national parks are popular/get busy. But I mean besides the big ones like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, etc. I want to visit all of those, but they will have to wait as they are pretty far away.

My goal is to get to as many national parks/forests/lakeshores as possible. I love love hiking and exploring them. We have done Smoky Mtn. and Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore. Living in IL, unfortunately there are not many national parks within driving distance. I was hoping to do a national park for vacation next summer, but I don't think flying somewhere and then having to rent a car on top of it plus lodging will be in the budget. I am not a huge fan of driving more than 10-11 hours in a day, and if it takes us two days to drive there both ways, we don't have much time to actually spend there (H can only take 5 days of vacation at a time. That does include a Sunday on one side and a weekend on the other side, but we also have to figure in dropping off and picking up Roxie at my parents' house, and they live 3 hours away from us).

Rocky Mtn. is one that I miiight be able to make work, but it's over 13 hours to drive there, so it's kind of stretching it.

Has anyone been to Isle Royale NP in the UP of MI? It sounds very remote, which I like, but I don't do camping, so not sure where we'd go for lodging. Any other nat'l parks/forests near the Midwest that you've been to and would recommend, especially for hiking and beautiful vistas?

DH works for the NPS and he's going to Isle Royale next week for a site visit on a project.  He's staying a cabin, but I think it's park housing.  There's no cell/wifi coverage (ask how happy I am to be alone with two kiddos for a week while DH is completely out of pocket).  Anyway, it's wilderness, so if you don't do camping, that might not be the best choice.  

I just texted DH for some suggestions near you.  I'll let you know if he has any.

Thank you! And I think it's way cool that he works for the NPS. I would love a job with them.