5 great ways to explore national parks under your own power

There is no doubt that America’s national parks are popular tourist destinations. The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to the parks, and many of them have been setting attendance records as a result.

With the summer fast approaching, many of us are no doubt making plans for our vacations, with many electing to visit a national park once again this year. The vast majority of those visitors will never wander far from their car, but to get a true sense of what the parks have to offer, you really should ditch the vehicle and strike out under your own power. In doing so, you’ll get a much better sense of the landscapes around you, and have a better chance of connecting with nature too. Here are five ways that you can do just that.

Hike the Great Smoky Mountains
With more than 800 miles of trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, there is a route for just about everyone. From short excursions and day hikes, to multi-day epics for the backpacker crowd, this is a park that is sure to please any outdoor enthusiast. With lush green forests, crystal clear streams, and breathtaking mountain tops, the Smoky Mountains have it all. But you can’t experience the best they have to offer from you car, so put on your hiking shoes and hit the trail. I recommend the 8-mile round-trip hike to Charlies Bunion, a popular mountain walk that is more than worth the effort.

Raft The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is truly one of the great natural wonders of the world. It is so vast in size and scope that you simply have to see it to truly understand just how large it really is. That size is magnified even further while you’re rafting the mighty Colorado River, with the mile-high walls of the Canyon looming far overhead. Visitors have a number of options when it comes to paddling the river, ranging from short half and full day excursions to multi-day options lasting as much as 25 days in length. The whitewater in the Grand Canyon will have your heart pounding in your chest, and once you’ve calmed down from the adrenaline rush, you can enjoy a gentle drift down the Colorado, with those amazing landscapes completely surrounding you.
Go Climbing In Yosemite
In addition to being one of the most beautiful places you will ever see, Yosemite also happens to be one of the great rock climbing destinations on the planet. Each year, climbers from all over the world descend on the park to test their skills on its legendary rock walls, some of which are so famous that they are well known by their unique names. There are routes available for all skill levels, including beginners, but obviously this is not an activity for everyone. For those not wanting to climb rock walls, I’d recommend the Half-Dome Summit Trail, which offers access to the top of one of Yosemite’s most famous landmarks along a route that includes cables to help you make your way. (Permit required!)

Kayak The North Woods in Voyageurs
Voyageurs National Park, located in the extreme northern border of Minnesota and Canada, is one of the best hidden gems in the entire National Park System. It is remote, pristine, and quiet, with some of the thickest forests you’ll find in the U.S. The best way to explore this park, no, the only way to explore this park, is from the seat of a kayak. Visitors can paddle through a series of interconnected waterways that wander past wilderness islands and shorelines with plenty of wildlife to view along the way. If you have more than a day, you may want to camp at one of the campsites that are only accessible by boat.

Cycle Through Acadia
With its spectacular mix of ocean views and mountain vistas, Acadia National Park, located in Maine, makes for a fantastic summertime destination. But to really see the park, you should leave your vehicle behind and hop on your bicycle instead. The 27-mile long Park Loop Road is an excellent ride for those who want to explore the park, but that route can get crowded with cars, especially in the summer. For more solitude, hit the Heart of Acadia loop trail, which is a 22-mile long road that is completely free of motor vehicles. The path is best suited for mountain bikes, but offers some of the best views in the park, including scenic overlooks that will take your breath away. You won’t be disappointed!

While these are perfect examples of national park adventures sans cars, nearly every park in the U.S. system has similar options. Need further incentive to explore the park under your own power this year? Consider this, the price of gas is expected to hit record levels this summer, which means you can save a little cash by leaving the car behind and exploring on foot, bike, or other means.

[Photos courtesy of the National Park Service]

Travel trends: 2010 to be the best year ever for America’s parks? [update]

More than 285.6 million people visited America’s national parks in 2009, making it the fifth busiest year in the 94-year history of the national park system. About 10 million fewer people visited the parks in 2008. The all-time visitation record was in 1987 with 287.2 million visitors.

Weak Economy Was Good for Park Visitors
During a phone interview with David Barna, the chief of public affairs for the park service, he talked about several factors that contributed to the increase in visitation, including:
1.) publicity generated last year by President Obama’s family visit to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon;
2.) buzz created by the Ken Burns PBS documentary that aired in September;
3.) three highly publicized weekends in 2009 when entrance fees to the parks were waived.However, the weak U.S. economy was probably the most significant factor in the increase in visitors in 2009. The Euro remained strong against the dollar, which is why more than 40 million travelers came from outside the U.S. That’s a 50 percent increase in international visitors since 2001.

Low gasoline prices in the U.S., and the overall value of a national park vacation in any economy, also factored into the increase in visitors, according to park service officials.

Assuming all things remain constant, 2010 should be a very good year for the parks — maybe the best ever. By looking at the trendline in the chart above, it’s easy to see that 2010 could see as many as 290 million visitors — a new record for the parks.

The other top five attendance years in descending order were:
* 1999 with 287.1MM visitors;
* 1998 with 286.8MM visitors;
* 2000 with 285.9MM visitors;
* 2009 with 285.6MM visitors.

The Great Smokies and the Grand Canyon Pull Their Weight
The most visited national park was the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with 9.4 million visitors. Located on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Smokies celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009 and is one of the parks that always offers free admission. The Grand Canyon pulled in nearly 4.5MM visitors in 2009.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, which is not a designated park (and is therefore not included in the chart above) but is a unit of the national park system, received nearly 16 million visitors in 2009. It’s celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2010.

2010 also marks the 30th anniversary of President Jimmy Carter’s signature on the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act, which added 47 million acres and doubled the size of the national park system. Depending on how successful promotions around these events are, 2010 could be a banner year for the parks system as a whole.

UPDATE: The National Park Service has announced that during National Park Week (April 17-24), the entrance fee to all of its 392 parks will be waived.

Data source: Travel Industry Association and AAA

National Parks host final free weekend of the summer

As we’ve mentioned a couple of times this summer, the National Park Service has designated several weekends as “fee free”, meaning we can get into any and all national parks and monuments without paying the usual entry fees. This weekend, August 15-16, is the final free weekend of the summer, and your last chance to take advantage of the government’s generosity.

There are a number of amazing parks spread throughout the U.S. and I’ve recommended five of them here and five more here. When writing those lists, I was looking at parks that were a bit off the beaten path, and less crowded in the summer months, when travelers flock to the top parks, resulting in traffic jams and less than ideal conditions. But as the dog days of summer begin to fade, it may be time to visit one of the more iconic parks. Here are five of the best.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
Perhaps the most famous and popular of all the national parks, Yellowstone is home to Old Faithful, the geyser that erupts at regular intervals of roughly 90 minutes or so. Yellowstone offers travelers plenty to do year round, with hiking, fishing, camping, and much more. There is spectacular wildlife to be seen as well, including elk, moose, bear, and wolves. But be warned, this popular park can get crowded quickly, and it can definitely impact your experience there.

The Great Smokey Mountain National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
The most visited of all the national parks, Great Smokey Mountain offers up access to the mountain range that is gives it its name, thanks to more than 800 miles of hiking trails and remote backcountry campsites.There are an estimated 1500 bears living within the park, along with plenty of deer and elk as well, and the plant life is equally diverse, with more than 1660 different kinds of wildflowers alone. The park is celebrating its 75 anniversary this year, with plenty of activities and attractions for everyone that visits.


Glacier National Park, Montana
For sheer beauty, it is difficult to beat Glacier National Park, which has 700 miles of hiking trails that wander through the snow capped Rocky Mountains and past crystal clear lakes. But the major attraction is the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is 53 miles in length and takes visitors right through the heart of the park’s amazing wilderness, crossing the Continental Divide at Logan’s Pass along the way. But the road is only open from June through October, so go before it is closed for the winter.

Acadia National Park, Maine
Some of the best wilderness found on the East Coast falls within Acadia National Park, the oldest park east of the Mississippi River. Acadia offers adventures both in the mountains and on the sea, with plenty of hiking and biking trails through the wilderness and along the coastline. Campsites on Mount Desert Island are just minutes from the ocean, while Mount Penobscot offers a challenging and scenic climb. Visitors to Acadia truly do get amazing experiences from sea to summit.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
At more than a mile deep and 18 miles across, the Grand Canyon is as awe inspiring as any landscape on the planet, and no list of top parks in the U.S. would be complete without it. The hike down into the canyon and back is tough, but rewarding, and for many it is an experience of a lifetime. And if you want to visit the North Rim, which is more remote than the typical tourist trails, you’ll want to visit in the summer months, before the snows move in and close the road for the season. The Grand Canyon is the quintessential national park and a must see for anyone.

Honorable Mentions: Denali National Park, Alaksa, Yosemite National Park, California, and Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Enjoy the final free weekend of the summer!

A bit of spring on the first day of spring

One of the loveliest places to be in the spring is the Appalachians in Kentucky. This video is the North Carolina version, but just as stunning. My favorite are the Redbud trees that add clouds of purplish pink in the midst of light green and bark. The hammer dulcimer Celtic tune accompaniment is perfect for the setting.

This read about a hike on Parson’s Mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains in Abbeville, South Carolina describes several of the plants featured in the video.