National Parks You Might Not Have Seen Before

My favorite national park is Yosemite National Park. Granted to describe the sight of Yosemite Valley upon exiting the last of the Highway 41 tunnels as breathtaking is unoriginal but it definitely is an accurate way of putting it. There is a teriffic shot at any angle be it the solid rocks of the walled valley or the Half Dome knob from afar or the running waterfalls.

Less than five percent of crowds touring Yosemite actually see the entire valley park because of the visitor population is so large. But the shear vertical nature of Yosemite makes the crowds bearable in a way they aren’t at Yellowstone or even the Grand Canyon. The throng of travelers often stops paying attention to the cramped conditions as the are busy gazing above. Fewer people visit in autumn as well as winter and springtime compared to the multitudes of the summer months.

The national park I least like is the Great Smoky Mountains. You will not discover why many visit the park if you do not get out and walk the trails. The park easily clears 9.2 million visitors per year while the Grand Canyon does not even come close to this figure. Westerners on their third or fourth visit could not care less for the cramped pathways and did not even find the scenery amazing. Gateway towns like Cherokee and Gatlinburg are filled with tourist traps and casinos. The years have not been kind to the air its quality having deteriorated. National Parks are known for this feature but with so many soaking it in it failed to last.

The Wrangell Saint Elias is one more national park of interest. While they rarely get visitors in Alaska the Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic are still among the notable parklands falling within the 55 million acre total. However few have traveled farther southeast of Anchorage to what park services dubs The North American Mountain Kingdom. The place has the greatest number of glaciers and mountains as tall as 16000 feet in the entire country.

Many are willing to go back one more time to the Grand Canyon specifically its North Rim. It might take longer to get to the Grand Canyon North Rim but travelers do not seem to mind just so they can avoid the packed South Rim. Tourists who return to the Grand Canyon and the huge crowds often find it tough to savor the spectacular canyon backdrop amid the frequent elbowing and jostling going on.

A popular wildlife area is Everglades housing creatures from the buffalo in Yellowstone to the bear of Kabuk Valley. Anhinga Trail in Everglades specifically the mudflats is where tourists will usually catch gators preoccupied with basking in the sun. You get a minor scare just by watching them yawn baring their sharp teeth and then seeing them slip into the water leaving their eyes the only thing visible for you to see.

Some people considered Monument Valley as one of the national parks. Crimson rocks and stones are identified with the West. There is a place encompassing Utah and Arizona which represents a Navajo Indian reservation that film makers have used repeatedly for the making of a movie. There however is no way of making it a national park as it currently is classified as an autonomous area. As it is many already have a special place in their hearts for this place.

In my opinion, Hot Springs shouldn’t be a national park. The Natural State Arkansas has a spa town where people can get old fashioned massage routines over at Bathhouse Row. It might be a no to classifying it a national park however it can pass for a national historical place. Since 1832 it was designated as federal territory which was some four decades before Yellowstone and got grandfathered the same time the National Park Service was formed in 1916. Members can pretty much kiss their ticket out of the club goodbye.

Tourists at the Glacier Waterton International Peace Park can look forward to two incredible treats.

You now have one big international peace park rolled into one. One of my favorite stops is the faux Tudor Prince of Wales Hotel on the Canadian side, with it’s oh so British Empire era tea hour.

 

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