Gary Schenk wrote:40 feet? My, my.

Come on up Gary. We'll put you and your "my my" ass on the sharp end and see what ya REALLY got.

Game?

James_W wrote:... Mark you used the Canadian/American border at Niagara Falls as a comparison for what? ...

I thought it was pretty obvious, but I certainly wasn't knocking the Canadian parks. I was drawing a comparison with what happens with virtually unfettered development to an otherwise spectacular, natural area. The Canadians have all of the hotels, etc., because they have the face-on view of the falls. --mark d.

Tonka wrote:Here is a list of all the US national parks. I thought I'd been to many NP's but after seeing this list I have a long way to go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Parks_of_the_United_States

I'd like to plug our midwest parks. If you want to get away in a National Park, jump a boat to Isle Royal.

Seriously, I hadn't seen that before. But, what's wrong with our list?

SP National Parks List

Actually, I had been toying with the idea of adding a brief description of each park. LOL, but then it would be difficult to convince folks that I truly had never seen that list before. Maybe they saw ours. I like their Earth symbol link to a map. Maybe I'll steal that idea for our links to the park high points on Google Earth.

--mark d.

This talk of national parks and crowding amuses me. Anyone want to guess the following national park?

I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

I hate the crowded camping in national parks. But I've rarely had problems on trails unless I specifically chose touristy trails. Taking a walk up Pothole Dome in Tuolumne, hiking to Hidden Falls in the Tetons and to the Emerald Pools in Zion? Yeah, you're going to see some other people. Camping in the park? Expect some company.

But I've had terrific moments of solitude in the Tetons, in Zion and elsewhere. They're not quite as abandoned as some places, but there's a lot of space out there if you're willing to look for it. And it's not just national parks. There are plenty of people on the trail into the Cirque of the Towers (not a national park), in the Bugaboos (not a Canadian national park), in the Wasatch (not a national park), and elsewhere. Places like these are popular for a reason--either proximity or amazing beauty/recreation opportunities--and the same applies to the national parks. But not every corner.

DMT:

Love live the national park system - it is a jewel.

Yes!

redneck:

That's not true at all. As with all National Parks, all you have to do is walk ten minutes away from a parking lot and you will find yourself quite alone in a soundless wilderness. The crowds stick to the roads, visitor centers and major attractions.

Yes.

...you still have to deal with crowds of people to get to the trailheads.

I guess I've been lucky. I've never experienced this, but I usually visit a Park during the week on vacation, too. I HAVE seen RMNP in crowded circumstances, so I know it happens and it's a valid gripe.

...20 years ago a girlfriend and I visited Capitol Reef for a few days, and we seemed to have the whole place to ourselves. It was lovely.

It's still that way.

Mark Doiron:

And I ain't saying nothing about Capitol Reef. You guys just hush up.

Mark's got a good point. This should say something about how special the Reef is. Mark, I think we're safe to let our friends here at SP in on our secret. I mean, all this talk goes on about thd Parks and people still never get to Capitol Reef!

Fletch:

It's better than anything in the rest of the world and although the Parks may be frequented by a demographic you find unapealing, they are still Americans and they have every right to. In order to accomidate this right, asphalt and rest stops are a necessity. Had we not thought up the national park system, then those beautiful places today would be condo tracks and frozen yogurt bars. I'd rather have a few bubbas enjoying nature than condos and yogurt bars...

Yes, agreed.

JasonH:

Lassen Volcanic holds a special place in my heart.

Yes. I love volcanoes. Visited it last year DURING THE WEEK. Saw no one on our hikes and climbs. Wonderful!

DMT:

It was HORRIBLE I TELL YOU! Maybe I should FONT UP so you blokes know how upset I was! Why, it was HORRIBLE!

Arthur Digbee wrote:This talk of national parks and crowding amuses me. Anyone want to guess the following national park?

I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

Probably not the answer, but Great Basin would do as well.

Fun thread!
Again, as I said a few pages back, want to avoid the crowds? Jump off the main thoroughfare. 90-95% of the people visiting a national park never leave the main thoroughfare, whatever that may be.
Crowds? Yep, I've seen 'em aplenty. Worked at the main visitor's center for a summer in Denali, selling bus coupons and making campground reservations, amongst other duties. Almost quit within the first week or two, as the crowds were driving me crazy. But, managed to stick it out, and ended up just relaxing and having fun with the people.

Why are the visitors there, or at any national park(except a few mentioned here, )?
Hmmm, maybe because these parks are pockets of spectacular beauty, or are unique in some other way. Yes, the Sierra, the Colorado Nat'l. forest, etc. etc. all contain beauty and unique(good climbing, backpacking, etc.) features throughout. But, they don't all contain a valley full of domes and raging waterfalls, a Maroon Bells, the magical beaches of Olympic, etc. etc. Yes, they may build a few more roads and snack shops for people to get around, but the backcountry as well as all those natural features which make a particular park unique, will/should always be protected from development. That's why they began protecting these places in the first place.

Again, as a few have mentioned here, watch the PBS special on the parks by Ken Burns.
The people were heroes who fought the many interests of development to protect these places. Amazing heroes of their time, working to set aside these special islands of natural features, so that we could enjoy them today. I, for one, am very thankful.

Arthur Digbee wrote:This talk of national parks and crowding amuses me. Anyone want to guess the following national park?

I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park?

Glacier National Park is my favorite.

Hotoven wrote:
Yellowstone, Teton, and Yosemite are also great, but way over populated. (The GC is always crowed too, but you never see people where I tour it. At the bottom
)

This is only True about Yosemite if you're in the Valley. Most areas are not that crowded and the North boundry of Yosemite is vacant.

I'll go with:

SEKI
Bryce/Zion
Lassen
Channel Islands (since I fish that area quite a bit)

Arthur Digbee wrote:This talk of national parks and crowding amuses me. Anyone want to guess the following national park?

I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

I'm guessing Great Smoky Mountains...and if I'm right that is pretty amazing that you didn't see anyone, even in March/April...considering it is the most visited NP.

foweyman wrote:As a group of German backpackers told me in Kings Canyon, "This is just as beautiful as the Alps, but doesn't have all the hotels, shopping centers, and gas stations." Just imagine how nice it would have been if someone had the foresight to make a Lake Tahoe National Park.

These Germans have perspective.

I hear a lot of "OMG I hate all the people in my national park!," which sums up American attitudes aptly.

Arthur Digbee wrote:This talk of national parks and crowding amuses me. Anyone want to guess the following national park?

I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

Jelly-Stone National Park ???



I think we should be asking BEARS what they choose as favorite Parks.

MarkDidier wrote:

Arthur Digbee wrote:I was there during spring break a few years ago for a three-day backpacking trip on marked, maintained trails. I saw no other human being during that time. It's within a day's drive of my home in the Midwest.

I'm guessing Great Smoky Mountains...and if I'm right that is pretty amazing that you didn't see anyone, even in March/April...considering it is the most visited NP.

Nice guesses, Mark, Jason and Moapa -- but, no. In Theodore Roosevelt we met two other pairs of backpackers plus a pair of plague researchers collecting fleas in a prairie dog town. (If you want to spend a month being paranoid about flu-like symptoms, hanging with plague researchers is a good way to do that.)

I've never been to Great Basin, alas.

I think I know how to get away from people in the Smokies but it requires leaving the marked trails. (We were pissed one February to have to share a backcountry site during a blizzard. What does it take???)

If people want to continue the guessing game -- it's in the Midwest, and it's a national park unit, but it doesn't have "national park" in its name.