Earlier this week we touched on the national parks mentioned in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Somehow, Mammoth Cave National Park didn't make the cut, and if you've been there, you know it should have. Help us compile a list of the top 100 national park locations to see before you die. We'll start the list.
* Mammoth Cave National Park. The longest cave in the world -- and still with no end in sight! -- this underground labyrinth presents geologic wonders sculpted down through the millenia by trickling waters.
* Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park. This geyser has been amazing viewers for hundreds of years.
* Half Dome, Yosemite National Park. Just making the trek to the top of this granite dome is something you'll never forget. Gazing down into the Yosemite Valley is another marvel.
* Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park. Why the architects of the cliff dwellings that drape Mesa Verde fled the region continues to be a mystery. Today the dwellings are a showcase of the tenacity and ingenuity of a long ago society.
* Logan Pass, Glacier National Park. While the Going-to-the-Sun Road is a main attraction for those visiting Glacier, stopping atop Logan Pass to snap photos of the ever-present mountain goats and to look at the whittling long-ago glaciers did to the surrounding mountains is an image that stays with you long after your vacation ends.
* The Racetrack, Death Valley National Park. True, it takes some determination to reach the Race Track, but when you pass Tea Kettle Junction and finally reach the playa with its rocks that mysteriously snake across the landscape, you're left with a mystery that you'll talk about for years.
* Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park. An idyllic setting on an island that is idyllic on its own, the pond and its pond house, where you can snack on over-sized popovers smothered with strawberry jam, or stick around for a lobster dinner, is one of the iconic settings in the National Park System.
Comments
Great additions to the list. 1000 places should be easy. I'll add a couple from the wilderness state of Alaska.
The Noatak River in Gates of the Arctic National Park. Especially in June when you can paddle for weeks and never even see an airplane flying overhead.
The Savanoski River in Katmai National Park. Bears (of course), moose, wolves and eagles frequent the area. It takes some time and effort to get into this remote portion of the park, but it is an experience well worth it.
Great Kobuk Sand Dunes in Kobuk Valley National Park. If you stare at your boots covered in drifting red sand you could believe you are in the Sahara. But when you look up and see cranes dancing on the dunes, moose lingering in the clear sand bottomed lakes or wolves heading towards their den you know it can only be Arctic Alaska.
Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with its chapels, school, houses and of course, the elk.
Danny Bernstein
www.hikertohiker.com
I've lived in Alaska the past 32 years and thought I knew a lot about natural beauty. So I was totally floored last month when I got to see the Grand Canyon for the first time. In particular, a hike down South Kaibab Trail on a clear sunny day defies words. All I could think of the whole way down to Phantom Ranch was how glad I was to see this before I died. Funny you should ask.
I have an on-going series called National Parks Photo Spots where each Thursday I highlight a specific location in each of the 58 National Parks.
Tuan.
National Parks images
Hiking on Wizard Island in Crater Lake. You can't spend the night (its illegal), but you can spend 3 to 6 hours enjoying this amazing place.
Also a drive or hike through the world's largest Joshua Tree forest at Mojave National Preserve. Desert life at Cima Dome when the trees are blooming is abundant and amazing.
There's so little love for Katmai in the comments. The Savonoski River is indeed wonderful, but the wildlife viewing experience at Brooks Falls is unique within the national parks. I've counted up to 22 brown bears fishing within view of Brooks Falls, and that number doesn't include cubs. Brooks Falls in July is something everyone should see. Hiking to Novarupta through the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes would certainly make my top 100 list as well.
How many people commenting here would you suppose have visited Katmai? Annual visitation is under 100,000 and it's one of the least visited national parks because of remoteness, limited visitation season, and expense for most people. I'm sure it's wonderful (I've seen video of bears there) but there's a built in bias here in that people talk about places they've visited and don't generally comment about places they haven't been to. There's a reason why so many people talk about Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Great Smoky Mountains, and visitation numbers explains it.
High Divide in Olympic National Park, with a view of Mt. Olympus. It's an 18-mile loop hike from Sol Duc Hot Springs.
Echo Park in Dinosaur NM, by float trip down the Green River. (It would have been flooded 50 years ago if the dam-builders had got their way.)