Are we there yet ???

I made a point of seeing the north rim of the Grand Canyon when I was young.

I was never disappointed for doing that.

These are a must:
Grand Canyon Skywalk: http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/index.html
This is not some build don't care enterprise, as the native Indian people had a say in it.

Hoover Dam. Take the tour inside the dam. The dam's wall is stupendous.
And a spectacular new suspension bridge at the Site: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... r-Dam.html

Olympic Peninsula, WA.

Far, but amazing.

Look up OARS and raft down the Grand Canyon. Did it this past June with my wife and two daughters. What a great family trip. Slept under the stars for five days and then hiked to the South Rim from Pantom Ranch.

I first went to Yosemite in July and also didn't find it too populated. A good place to stay is Yosemite Lakes Campground outside the Park, nice cabins, camping. Rise at dawn. Simply, Yosemite it's just so awesome to miss coming from so far. You might not be into doing the Half Dome Hike - 18miles plus hand cables to the top of the Dome, so a good hike for you all is Yosemite Falls Trail. You get a tremendous face-on view of Half Dome from there (take stacks of water).

Forgot to mention: Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon.

1000Pks wrote:

Is the north rim of the grand canyon very busy at the end of June? I thought I should avoid the GC in the summer because of the crowds?

Most all of your parks and monuments will be packed during vacation season. Just go. Midweek may be better, and sometimes events cause a drop in visitation. I'd plan for Yosemite midweek, it's not so bad sometimes. Avoid holidays and weekends, you might then be fine enough. If you really wish to stay away from crowds, try backpacking.

Seriously. While everyone dislikes crowds when they're outside in nature, you're going to have to expect to deal with some crowds some of the time if you're going to national parks in the summer. After all, all those people aren't flocking to those places because the scenery's bad. Also, having spent many a summer in Yosemite, all you need to do is walk 5 min. from the masses and you'll find blissful solitude.

Having said that, no trip out west is complete without a trip to Yosemite. If you're driving, I"d drive up Tioga Pass so you can see Tuolumne Meadows and definitely visit Yosemite Valley. I also think Sequoia NP is well worth visiting. Though there are three groves in Yosemite, they don't carry the same scale as those is Sequoia. If you want some beach time, I'd drive down Hwy 1 past Big Sur. The Redwoods are beautiful as well, but if you hit Sequoia first, you'll probably have had your fill with big trees.

All good advice.
I've visited national parks with my son for the past so-many summers, and will offer my two cents.
First, take out your atlas, and plan accordingly, ie. what are the priorities? Though I have some idea given your post. . . Cities/family/friends, etc. on the way, or, national parks, wilderness, and the beaches of the west?
You'll be crossing the plains and hitting the Rockies. Nice parks there. The Tetons and Yellowstone are close to each other, and Glacier isn't that far away. You could hit the Tetons, where you could hike and bike to your hearts' content. Fishing too. Spectacular country. Great hiking. River rafting too. Then up to Yellowstone. Lots o' people, but, if you've never been, a fascinating place. Get off the road and take a hike and you won't see anyone. Up to Glacier, 7-8 hours away. Great hiking, spectacular again. One of my new favorites.
Then, you could jet(as fast as that motorhome will take you), over to Seattle, and then over to Olympic National park. Very nice to hike on wilderness beaches. Camp there too. Hoh river valley. ON and on it goes. You could easily spend two weeks in any of these places, and you haven't even hit Oregon and California yet.

Ok, just reread your post, and saw that you have two weeks. I won't delete the above, as you may want to focus on those areas. Anywhere you go, you'll love it. Yosemite crowded? Sure, if you stay in the valley. In all of these places of wonder, get off of the main road/area, etc. and you'll leave 90% of the people behind. 90%. 2nd the post about the coast south of Big Sur. Very nice. Highway 1. Could do that and Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and call it good.
North Rim of the Grand Canyon is the place to go to avoid the crowds.
It's all good, as they say. Just gotta pick a place and go. Sorry if I rambled too long here. I kind of get into it. . .
Enjoy.

If you want to avoid crowds and see some amazing stuff in great weather, go to Canyonlands National Park. The scenery and hiking are spectacular. Of course there will be people there, but it's not what most people would consider "crowded." If the Needles or Island in the Sky districts are still too populated for you, I suppose you could go to the Maze District, which is all dirt roads, 50 miles from nowhere.

There are probably a lot of things to do outside of National Parks and Monuments, but the parks and monuments make good target destinations because of their attractions, and you will get a chance to travel through and explore plenty of amazing non-park lands between those places. Once you get west of Denver (that's a good specification, by the way), give yourself enough travel time between destinations that you plan for more time than just what it takes to drive from A to B at the speed limit. Take extra time and explore. Drive like hell between the East and Denver, though. Even though I find the western plains attractive, there is nothing that would be missed by going 100+ mph. It's that big.

So here is a short list of some of the Park and Monument places I've been that have good attractions but weren't ridiculously crowded:
Great Sand Dunes National Monument (CO)
Mesa Verde National Park (CO)
Colorado National Monument (CO)
Dinosaur National Monument (CO)
Canyonlands National Park (UT)
Natural Bridges National Monument (UT)
Capitol Reef National Park (UT)
Great Basin National Park (NV)

I also love Death Valley National Park in June, but it seems to be too hot for most normal humans.

Of course, you already know you'll have to continue all the way to the Pacific to do any beach combing.

As nice as Yosemite is, since you made a point to say you don't like crowded places, I would recommend staying away from that summer circus. If you get off the main highways, you can probably find less-crowded trails, but just the traffic on the roads is going to drive you nuts. Again, this is only assumed because of your statement about not liking crowds.

Maybe there is some hope if you avoid weekends. But, thanks to California's popularity, 30 or 40 gazillion people live within a few hours' drive of Yosemite, so the place is a mess on weekends for sure.

With all due respect to the GC Skywalk, the Native Americans who own it, and those who recommend going there, I think it's a complete rip-off.

http://store.grandcanyonskywalk.com/tickets/

IN ADDITION TO THE [$30] SKYWALK TICKET YOU ARE PURCHASING HERE, all individuals are required to purchase a Legacy pass ($43.05 for adults with all taxes and fees) at the air terminal upon arrival to Grand Canyon West.

http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/faqs.html

Can I bring my camera on the Skywalk?
In an effort to protect the glass walkway and preserve the Grand Canyon, all personal items are not permitted on the Skywalk. This includes cameras, cell phones, strollers, purses, backpacks, etc.

Huh?

So it's $73 PER PERSON to go on that thing, and you can't even BRING YOUR OWN CAMERA ON IT!!!!!. You can take an ENTIRE FAMILY of people, in one vehicle, to Grand Canyon National Park for $25, for an entire WEEK, and it's only $80 for ALL National Parks for the ENTIRE YEAR. And you can bring your own camera and do whatever the hell you want, on your own schedule, 24 hours a day. The views from the rim in GCNP are at least as good as the view from that sky thingy, and the National Park has hundreds of different views to choose from.

I suppose the White Man deserves a good ass reaming after the last 500 years of bad behavior. But $73 per person per day and no camera? That's just ridiculous!

Agreed about the Skywalk. Probably a very incredible view from it, but the $$$ isn't worth it, to me anyway.

IN ADDITION TO THE [$30] SKYWALK TICKET YOU ARE PURCHASING HERE, all individuals are required to purchase a Legacy pass ($43.05 for adults with all taxes and fees) at the air terminal upon arrival to Grand Canyon West.

dunno what's funnier - the jokers running this thing or the idiots who actually pay that much

Olympics, unless by "beach" you mean "tan."

Start with the ocean. Lots of beach combing and tide pools, a true wilderness beach experience, and one of the best 10 hikes in the country. (Not only true, but written up as such in Backpacker.) You can include an archaeological site (Ozette) on the hike and make it educational.

Dungeness NWR would be worth a day too.

Then hit old-growth forests and the greatest collection of "biggest example of species X" trees in the world.

Then go up elevation further -- an alpine area accessible by road (Hurricane Ridge) and many more by foot.

If you have a teen girl, you can also stomp around Forks and other sites from the "Twilight" series.

Go in August.

We plan to rent a small RV for the trip.

Keep in mind that you might have a tough time getting to some trailheads in an RV...doesn't probably hold true for GC or Yos but other places...

aedwards wrote:Olympic Peninsula, WA.

Far, but amazing.

+1