As of press time, some trails, campsites, and businesses are closed due to Covid-19 precautions. To check for safety protocols and potential closures, check individual websites before you go.

Unlike many national parks, a visit to Acadia can easily stand in for a visit to the state itself. The 49,076-acre site, predominantly located on Maine鈥檚 Mount Desert Island听(MDI),听is intertwined with fishing villages and tiny seasonal enclaves, and it鈥檚 not always clear where its boundaries are. Lobster boats rumble below Acadia鈥檚 cliffs as they move from buoy to buoy pulling traps. Uninhabited Bar Island, isolated from the rest of the park, is connected听to downtown Bar Harbor via a strip of gravel beach, which serves as听a natural sidewalk at low tide. The route to Bass Harbor Head Light, one of three lighthouses managed by the park, passes through neighborhoods where yards are filled with towers of lobster traps. The听Abenaki听people, who have migrated between this coast and inland Maine for thousands of years, share their continuing story at the , which has a location both inside and outside the park.听You get the picture: it鈥檚 impossible to explore Acadia without getting acquainted with the tiny communities around it, too.

When I visit Acadia, which is often, I feel I鈥檓 entering an elegant wilderness, a land hardened by glaciers and waves and weather听that鈥檚 been听groomed by human hands. That fanciful notion is rooted in the park鈥檚 history, at least on MDI, home to Acadia鈥檚 famous ocean-hugging Park Loop Road. The park鈥檚 founder and first superintendent, George Bucknam Dorr, was a wealthy MDI summer resident in the early 1900s. He spent 40 years cobbling together land parcels, using his own money and that of others he lobbied. Among his legacies are the rustic, hand-built stone stairways found on some of Acadia鈥檚 steepest slopes. These paths inspire awe听because the labor required to construct听them is almost unfathomable.

John D. Rockefeller Jr. also had a hand in the creation of听MDI. Aside from donating nearly one-quarter of Acadia鈥檚 acreage, Rockefeller鈥檚 45 miles of carriage roads and stone bridges are among the park鈥檚 defining features. Like Dorr鈥檚 stairways, his wide broken-stone paths meld into the boreal and deciduous forests鈥� ridges and valleys as if nature intended them to be there. Rockefeller also partially financed the construction of the paved Park Loop Road. It was his way of accepting the inevitable coming of the car traffic he loathed, while ensuring the carriage roads would remain auto-free.

The Atlantic Ocean is the main attraction at Acadia.听Most鈥攖hough not all鈥攁ctivities involve finding ways to engage with it, whether that鈥檚 hiking along the coast,听climbing the many pink granite cliffs, or kayaking or听sailing to its offshore听islands.听Experience it up close at places like Sand Beach (a听name that may seem unimaginative to you, but it鈥檚 a testament to how rare sand beaches are around here) or Thunder Hole, which booms with rushing waves. For sweeping panoramas, hike听to the top of its numerous bald peaks. However you encounter the park, you鈥檒l sense the power that carved this land and the lives of the people on it.

What You Need to Know Before Visiting听

You may need a vehicle reservation. Acadia ranks among the top-ten most visited national parks, yet it鈥檚 also among the smallest and most congested. Beginning this summer, the National Park Service is requiring to drive on the Cadillac Summit Road during daylight hours, including sunrise, when thousands flock to the East Coast鈥檚 highest point (1,529 feet) to watch the day鈥檚 first rays spill over Frenchman Bay. (For part of the year, Cadillac is also the first place in the U.S. to see the sunrise.)听The future promises similar plans to manage traffic along the听two-mile stretch of Ocean Drive that is home to听the Jordan Pond House restaurant, where people craving an airy popover with strawberry jam and a view of the Bubbles mountain peaks听circle endlessly looking for a parking space.

The Island Explorer will be your lifeline. This听 is the best way to avoid the frustrating search for parking at popular destinations like Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond House, Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole. Island Explorer听operates all day and into the night from mid-June to mid-October. Ten routes link village centers, hotels, and campgrounds with points in Acadia鈥檚 MDI and Schoodic districts. I use it to solo-hike one of my favorite routes鈥攖he wide-open granite spines of Champlain and Gorham Mountains (park at the Tarn on Route 3, ascend via Beachcroft Path, and follow the Champlain South Ridge and Gorham Mountain Trails to Monument Cove on Park Loop Road, then catch the bus at Sand Beach for a ride back to your car).

You can bring your pup. Acadia is one of very few national parks that allows dogs, as long as they are leashed at all times. Along with trails and carriage roads, pets are permitted at the Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods campgrounds. The exception is Duck Harbor on Isle au Haut, though dogs are allowed on day hikes on that听island.

There鈥檚 more to Acadia than MDI. Without a doubt, you get the biggest bang for your buck in Acadia鈥檚 MDI section, with its extensive coastline, 100 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of car-free carriage roads. But Acadia鈥檚 other two districts, on the Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut, are every bit as beautiful. Just a fraction of the park鈥檚 3.4 million annual visitors make the hour鈥檚 drive from Bar Harbor to 2,266-acre , on the east side of Frenchman Bay. There are no mountains here and no soaring cliffs. Rather, Schoodic soothes with slow pleasures. A six-mile one-way loop road hugs the peninsula鈥檚 pink-granite shoreline, with plenty of turnouts to stop and watch lobster boats in the bay and to clamor over听the wave-beaten headland at Schoodic Point. The lightly trafficked, mostly flat road makes for a terrific leisurely bike ride. Get your heart pumping on the eight miles of gravel bike trails that wind through the forest of pine and spruce trees draped with gray-green bearded lichen. Most of the 7.5 miles of hiking trails are short, but all are rewarding, and it鈥檚 easy to cobble together longer hikes. Several paths lead to Schoodic Head, the peninsula鈥檚 highest point at 440 feet.

Visiting , 15 miles southwest of MDI, takes extra听planning, but it鈥檚 worth it. Slightly more than half of the 8,000-acre island is privately owned and part of the lobstering town of Isle au Haut (with a year-round population of听50). The rest belongs to Acadia听and receives 6,000 to 7,000 visitors annually. Eighteen miles of rugged, mostly oceanside听trails are the draw. If you have time for just one hike, make it the 3.7-mile Western Head loop, which听dips and rises across rocky beaches and cliffs. There are no motels and inns on Isle au Haut, only rental homes and five primitive campsites within the park鈥檚 perimeter. Likewise, there鈥檚 no car ferry and no paved roads. In summer, the local mail boat makes daily round-trips from the coastal town of Stonington to Isle au Haut鈥檚 town landing and to Duck Harbor, near the campground and trailheads.

How to Get There

Acadia is the听only national park east of the Mississippi River and within a day鈥檚 drive of nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population. Most听visitors head听up Interstate 95 to Bangor, Maine, then southeast on Route 1A to MDI. Access Park Loop Road via one of five main entrances: at听, off听Route 3 north of Bar Harbor; , off听Route 3 south of Bar Harbor; Sand Beach Entrance Station, on Schooner Head Road, which will ; Stanley Brook, on Route 3 in Seal Harbor; and Eagle Lake Road, on Route 233. The closest major airport is Bangor International, an hour north, but more airlines serve Portland International Jetport, three hours south. The Cat, Bay Ferries Limited鈥檚 high-speed ferry, travels between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but service in 2021 hinges on pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The Best Time of Year to Visit Acadia National Park

Winter

Acadia is nearly deserted from December to March, when temperatures range from 15 to 40 degrees. The average snowfall is 60 inches, but听the amount the area actually sees听each year听varies. Coastal storms often throw in some freezing drizzle or sleet. A good snowfall, however, turns Acadia鈥檚 carriage roads into ideal cross-country-skiing tracks. Only a smattering of hotels are open year-round. Check out the (from $109), a large complex on Frenchman Bay with a fitness center, and the cozier (from $89), a renovated 19th-century sea captain鈥檚 house in Bar Harbor.

Spring

April is often windy and muddy in Maine, but May and June are lambs. Daytime temperatures on MDI are typically in the mid-sixties听to mid-seventies鈥攇reat for hiking and biking鈥攁nd the crowds have yet to arrive. Biting blackflies are a downside, so stock up on bug juice. In Bar Harbor, most hotels, inns, and restaurants open by Memorial Day weekend.

Summer

I鈥檝e grumbled enough about the July and August congestion, so here鈥檚 the good news: the hordes听mostly converge at a few Park Loop Road attractions and are easy to avoid. Solitude can be found simply by stepping onto a hiking trail or carriage road. Tourist magnets like Sand Beach and Thunder Hole are well worth seeing, but you鈥檒l enjoy them more if you go before 10 A.M. Likewise, skip the noontime zoo at Jordan Pond House and get your tea and popovers in the late afternoon. It rarely gets unbearably hot on the Maine coast. Summer temperatures hover in the high seventies. Evenings can be cool, averaging the mid-fifties, so pack accordingly. Fog may roll in off the ocean and settle thickly on shore for days at a time. Think of it as Maine giving you a hug.

Fall

Glory days. The first half of September in Acadia is summer without the bugs, humidity, and fog鈥攋ust lots of sun and clear blue skies, with temperatures in the low seventies. The excellent, though cooler, weather continues for several weeks as the foliage turns crimson, gold, and orange, reaching its peak in early to mid-October. The fiery colors are mirrored in the waters of Eagle Lake, Long Pond, and Jordan Pond听and are best experienced by kayak. See the show from a lobsterman鈥檚 perspective on a Sea Princess ranger-narrated cruise out of Northeast Harbor. Maine鈥檚 weekly keeps tabs on the changing colors statewide.

Where to Stay in and Around the Park听

Four , open spring through fall, provide the only overnight accommodations within the park. On MDI, the听 and campgrounds feature听a total of 483 sites听for primitive, drive-up, and group tenting and unserviced RV camping (from $22). Acadia鈥檚 newest campground, , has spiffy amenities like a 100-seat amphitheater and the widest range of camping options, including RV sites with electricity and water (from $22). on Isle au Haut has five lean-to shelters ($20); advance reservations are a must. None of the campgrounds have showers, but pay showers are available just outside Blackwoods and Seawall and at the on the peninsula.

There鈥檚 no shortage of private campgrounds, hotels, and inns on and around MDI. Set to open in May is glamping operator Under Canvas鈥檚 , which will offer听100 safari-style tents amid听100 acres of coastline,听just a 35-minute drive to the park (from $314). New as of 2020 is , KOA鈥檚 first luxury-camping venture, with five styles of furnished tents (from $218) and a glass-walled lodge serving meals and signature cocktails. I鈥檓 a sucker for MDI鈥檚 many vintage, family-owned cottage courts, such as (from $92). On the Schoodic Peninsula, sits across from Sand Cove on its own 200-acre nature preserve laced with trails (from $150). Owners Ben and Sonja Walter-Sundaram have renovated the property鈥檚 barn for concerts and a lecture series focusing on local and Maine history and the natural sciences.

What to Do While You鈥檙e There听

Hiking

The is an exhilarating 0.9-mile ascent of the sheer听1,000-foot cliff face on the east side of Champlain Mountain. The ascent听switches back and forth听via narrow stone stairways, iron rungs, and one-foot-wide ledges, with nothing but a length of rebar between you and the drop-off. The views of Frenchman Bay are breathtaking鈥攊f you dare to take your eye off the path. Descend via the steep (but not very scary) Orange and Black Trail. The Precipice is usually closed part of each summer to protect nesting peregrine falcon chicks. If you鈥檙e not sure you can handle this trail, how about a trial run on the smaller Beehive? This path听heads to the top of the 520-foot-high dome, which overlooks听Sand Beach and also features a near vertical climb with narrow ledges and rungs embedded in the rock face.

Thank (or curse) the aforementioned preservationist George Dorr for the Ladder Trail, which heads up听the steep east face of 1,265-foot Dorr Mountain. The half-mile trail is almost entirely a stone staircase, with a few iron rungs embedded in granite. The descent is a听gentle one听via the听via the South Ridge and Canon Brook Trails, which afford听ocean views much of the way. This workout is a听3.5-mile round-trip.

On the west side of MDI (a.k.a. 鈥渢he quiet side鈥�), the popular 3.9-mile loop linking 681-foot Acadia and 679-foot St. Sauveur Mountains has several steep sections and some fun rock scrambling. Make the most of the vista听of Somes Sound, the East Coast鈥檚 only 鈥渇jard鈥� (a sort of junior fjord), by extending your hike from Valley Cove to 284-foot Flying Mountain,听summiting St. Sauveur on your return: take the Valley Cove Trail to Flying Mountain,听loop back on the Valley Peak Trail, and听follow the St. Sauveur Trail and Man O鈥� War Brook fire road back to the Acadia Mountain Trailhead on Route 102, a total of 6.5 miles.

The 1.3-mile Ship Harbor Nature Trail or the 1.4-mile Wonderland Trail听in Bass Harbor are easy and ideal for families with young children. Both lead to rocky shorelines with lots of tide pools to explore.

Biking

John D. Rockefeller Jr. built Acadia鈥檚 carriage roads so he鈥檇 have a car-free place for his horse-drawn carriages. They also happen to be perfect for road biking, with routes that follow the contours of the land and take full advantage of magnificent views.

Advanced cyclists will like the 11-mile carriage road, which circles Parkman, Sargent, and Penobscot Mountains, climbing steadily to 700 feet. Your effort is rewarded with fantastic lookouts听of Jordan Pond, Somes Sound, and the Atlantic, not to mention a long and wicked-fun descent. By the time you鈥檙e done, you鈥檒l have crossed six of Rockefeller鈥檚 17 carriage-road bridges, each one unique and faced with quarried island granite.

The six-mile Eagle Lake loop is Acadia鈥檚 most popular carriage road, with a couple of long, gradual ascents and descents and some relatively flat stretches. This is a good one for families with children.

I like to combine the Witch Hole Pond and Paradise Hill carriage roads for a 4.6-mile loop ride. I start at the and head听south, making my way past a chain of placid ponds and marshlands, then turn northeast toward Duck Brook (in late July, I stop to pick wild blueberries that grow along this stretch). I take a break at , not because I need it鈥攖his is an easy ride鈥攂ut because the bridge, with its three high arches and turreted viewing platforms, is beautiful. Then it鈥檚 on to Paradise Hill, with panoramas听of Hulls Cove and Frenchman Bay, and back the visitor听center.

Paddling

Ragged with small coves, harbors, and听beaches, MDI鈥檚 coast invites exploration by boat. There are plenty of rental shops in Bar Harbor. Be aware that the ocean here is cold鈥攍ess than 55 degrees in summer. A wetsuit is recommended.

Somes Sound听nearly splits MDI in two and听stretches听five miles听from the Narrows, a quarter-mile-wide channel between the villages of Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor, to Somesville (all three villages are part of the town of Mount Desert Island). With Norumbega Mountain on the east shore and Acadia and St. Sauveur Mountains on the west, the paddling here is fairly protected, and the scenery is lovely. Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor both have boat ramps at the sound鈥檚 mouth, but time your trip carefully鈥攁n outgoing tide will test your strength. You also can launch from the Sargent Drive picnic area, about midway up the sound in Northeast Harbor.

Mount Desert Narrows, the channel separating MDI from the mainland, is a leisurely saltwater paddle. Put in at Hadley Point in Bar Harbor and head southwest, passing Thomas Island and the Twinnies (a pair of small islands),听to Thompson Island in Thomas Bay. Return along the other side of Thompson and the Twinnies for a roughly six-mile round-trip. High tide is the best time to paddle here, since Thomason Island is surrounded by mud flats at low tide.

Harbor seals are often spotted on the eight-mile loop around the Porcupine Islands off Bar Harbor in Frenchman Bay. These five small islands, four of which belong to Acadia, offer some shelter for paddlers. Still, this is an open-sea excursion; if you鈥檙e not an experienced sea kayaker, go with a guide from one of MDI鈥檚 many outfitters. Launch from the Bar Island access road or gravel beach.

For freshwater paddling, it鈥檚 hard to beat the scenery at the mile-long Jordan Pond. The image of the small rounded mountains known as the Bubbles at the pond鈥檚 north end has been made iconic by thousands of photographers. A footpath rings the pond, making it easy to combine a paddling trip with a hike. Put in at the south end of the pond听near the parking area. After your paddle, stroll over to the Jordan Pond House, where you can soak up the view once more, this time while fortifying yourself on creamy lobster stew and popovers.

Long Pond (a.k.a. Great Pond, to distinguish it from the smaller Long Pond in Seal Harbor) is MDI鈥檚 largest inland body of water, stretching nearly four miles. Much of the pond鈥檚 narrow southern half is within the park, banked by Mansell and Beech Mountains. You鈥檒l likely see eagles, ducks, loons, and ospreys. Boat launches are found at the pond鈥檚 northern and southern ends.

Rock Climbing

With nearly 300 single- and multi-pitch routes, Acadia National Park offers a variety of mostly traditional climbs on small pink-granite cliffs. Many routes have fixed rappel stations. Several outfitters offer instruction, including Bar Harbor鈥揵ased and .

Best known as the thrilling climax of a Park Loop Road scenic drive, Otter Cliff is by far the most used climbing destination. With waves crashing below them, climbers enjoy spectacular views of Sand Beach and the sea stacks at Monument Cove. Seventy routes ranging from 5.3 to 5.13, are set on the steep 60-foot cliff, which is broken up by horizontal cracks. NPS maintains some fixed anchors here; using trees is forbidden. More ocean climbing can be found at Great Head, on the east end of Sand Beach, where 37 routes range from 5.6 to 5.13b. At both sea cliffs, use extra caution at high tide and when the surf is high 鈥� waves have swept people into the sea from the base of Otter Cliff, and one climber drowned at Great Head after becoming stranded in a sea cave.

The Precipice, on Champlain Mountain鈥檚 south wall, has about 80 routes ranging in difficulty from a 5.4 to 5.12b, many with multiple pitches, thin cracks, and good corners. The upper wall looks out over Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, Egg Rock Lighthouse, and the Schoodic Peninsula.

South Bubble Mountain, overlooking Jordan Pond, is a good beginners鈥� destination with mostly low-angle climbing on the lower wall. Climbs on the upper slab and wall are more challenging. Routes on South Bubble are graded 5.3 to 5.10b.

Sailing

From day trips to private rentals, there are plenty of options to take in the park鈥檚 shoreline from a sailboat. Check out the outfitters听in the surrounding communities, and have your pick of anything from classic sloops to lobster听boats.

Nordic Skiing听

The all-volunteer grooms more than 30 miles of carriage roads, including 3.5 miles ideal for novices along Eagle Lake鈥檚 western shore and the hilly and twisty Aunt Betty鈥檚 Pond loop. You can even ski on Park Loop Road, portions of which are unplowed. Among these is the left lane of spectacular Ocean Drive between Schooner Head and Otter Cliff Roads (it鈥檚 open to snowmobilers, but I鈥檝e never encountered any).

Stargazing

On summer nights, hundreds of Acadia visitors stretch out their blankets on Sand Beach to lie back and gaze at the stars while park rangers point out planets and satellites and tell the stories behind the constellations鈥� names. The program, called , celebrates the largest expanse of naturally dark sky east of the Mississippi, accomplished through a National Park Service policy to preserve natural lightscapes and a Bar Harbor town ordinance that requires new construction projects to install shields on exterior lights so their light is cast downward. Canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, Acadia鈥檚 annual is scheduled to resume in September 2021. A highlight of the five-day event is the Cadillac Mountain Star Party, with rangers and astronomers acting as travel guides to the sky.

Birding

Acadia isn鈥檛 well-known as a wildlife-watching destination, save听one exception: birds. More than 300 species spend at least part of the year at Acadia, an important migratory bird stopover and nesting site. Hence the three-day , held annually in early June. Events include guided walks, boat tours, and talks. On your own, look for shorebirds on the mudflats around Thompson Island and Isle au Haut. Prime spots for songbirds include the carriage roads, Sieur de Monts Spring, and Jordan Pond. Nesting falcons can be spotted at the Precipice from mid-April to mid-August. Migrating raptors are all but guaranteed to be soaring over Cadillac Mountain from mid-August to mid-October. Visitors are welcome to join Cadillac Mountain Hawk Watch volunteers, who gather at the head of the North Ridge Trail to count, identify, and record each raptor they see.

The Best Places to Eat and Drink at Acadia National Park听

The question is not 鈥淲here can we get lobster?鈥� because boiled or steamed lobster, served with drawn butter and corn on the cob, is available everywhere on MDI. What you want is to eat lobster at a place with a great view. The screened-porch dining room at , in the town of Bernard, stretches over Bass Harbor, where boats are arriving with the day鈥檚 lobster dinners. , with indoor and outdoor dining, occupies a stunning spot at the head of Somes Sound in the town of Mount Desert. , on the Little Cranberry Island wharf, involves a trip aboard the Beal and Bunker ferry or a water taxi.

The best lobster rolls (also with a side order of views) are found at , located on Southwest Harbor鈥檚 working waterfront,听and , set among docks piled high with lobster traps in the tiny fishing village of Corea on the Schoodic Peninsula. For fine dining (without a view), , in downtown Bar Harbor, prepares Caribbean- and Latin-influenced meals with locally sourced meats, fish, and veggies. And yes, Havana serves lobster, but in unconventional ways, like moqueca, a Brazilian stew with coconut broth and rice, and paella,听with other goodies like mussels, shrimp, scallops, chorizo, and smoked chicken. For sips, try the Cuba libre, made with Gosling鈥檚 Gold rum and Mexican Coke. Feast on heaping plates of slow-smoked pulled pork, sausages, ribs, and chicken in the charming courtyard of 鈥檚 Town Hill location. Wash it down with the brewery鈥檚 signature Bar Harbor Real Ale.

If You Have Time for a Detour

Load up your kayak and head inland to the , a 14,000-acre forested reserve about an hour鈥檚 drive north of听Bar Harbor. Pristine Donnell Pond, which covers听1,138 acres听and has听15 miles of shoreline, can easily occupy paddlers for the better part of day. Fishing听is good for landlocked salmon, lake trout, white perch, and smallmouth bass. Loons, eagles, and ospreys fish here, too, which makes for good bird-watching. Primitive campsites, reachable only by water or hiking trails, can be found at Redman鈥檚 Beach on the pond鈥檚 east side and Schoodic Beach on the pond鈥檚 south end. Pick up the trailhead for 1,157-foot Tunk Mountain at the parking lot off Route 182听between the towns of Franklin and Cherryfield. From Tunk鈥檚 summit, you can see the lake-dotted forest stretching to the north, as well as Mount Desert Island and Frenchman Bay to the southwest. Total mileage, with a loop around Salmon Pond to the shore of Little Long Pond, is 4.4 miles.

How to Be a Conscious Visitor听

You just emerged from the trees, and a panorama鈥攐cean, lakes, forest鈥攊s revealing itself as you scramble up a granite outcropping toward the mountain summit. In your exhilaration, you grab a stone and drop it on the nearest cairn as if to say,听I was here! Please don鈥檛 do that. Acadia National Park has a unique stone trail marker鈥攖he Bates cairn, named for Waldron Bates, who, like George Dorr, specialized in path making on MDI in the early 20th century. A Bates cairn consists of four rocks: two large base stones laid roughly a foot apart and听topped by a flat rock, on top of which sits a fourth rock pointed in the direction of the trail. Some of the park鈥檚 cairns are originals, more than 100 years old. Excessive cairn-building, whether adding to existing cairns or creating new ones, not only mucks with that history听but also confuses hikers trying to follow a trail, contributes to soil erosion, and detracts from nature鈥檚 beauty. It鈥檚 such a nuisance that has a crew of volunteer ridge runners whose mission is dismantling outlaw cairns and educating hikers to leave no trace.听Resist the urge to build your personal memorial, and take a selfie instead.

The post The Ultimate Acadia National Park Travel Guide appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Summer has flown by and Labor Day is right around the corner. For those of you who are as unprepared as I am, there are still opportunities to take that spontaneous trip鈥攋ust opt for a short hop within your region. These adventures all still have availability and are mapped out by location to make it easy to book a last-minute getaway.

In the Midwest

The Ozarks, Missouri

From bass and fly fishing on Table Rock Lake to tram tours that take you through , a 10,000-acre reserve filled with bison, elk, and whitetail deer, it鈥檚 no surprise that (from $405) and its new 40-tent (from $214), in Missouri鈥檚 Ozark Mountains, was masterminded by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. It鈥檇 be easy to spend a long weekend at the 342-room resort, located an hour by car from Springfield, or 15 minutes from the smaller Branson airport, but that would mean missing out on the rich history of the surrounding towns. Be sure to stop by , 30 minutes by car from the lodge, for a taste of the area鈥檚 moonshine-making heydays, or drive an hour west to downtown Eureka Springs, in Arkansas, an offbeat creative hub filled with galleries, shops, and Victorian-era architecture. Closer to Branson, (from $200) is another iconic lakeside resort that鈥檚 geared towards families, with a marina that offers boat rentals, water skiing, parasailing, and scuba diving.

In the Mid-Atlantic

Fayetteville, West Virginia听

As whitewater rafting season winds down in the rest of the country, West Virginia鈥檚 Gauley River, a 35-mile stretch of Class V rapids, enters its primetime. Starting in early September for six weekends, the rapids attracts hardcore rafters to Lower Gauley, a technical section that includes a 30-foot plunge, while families and beginners can head to Upper New River, a laidback passage ideal for swimming and wildlife spotting. , a resort located on New River Gorge in the nearby town of Fayetteville, still has plenty of rafting availability over Labor Day weekend (and is offering half-off normal prices for Upper and Lower New River rafting trips; from $69.50), as well as campsites (from $15) and one- to four-bedroom cabins (from $129). The surrounding area offers a variety of other activities, like climbing and fishing, but for some prime mountain biking, drive three hours north, where the 10.5-mile in Blackwater Falls State Park, and the 22.4-mile , are fun singletracks.

In the Northeast

Acadia National Park, Maine

While East Coast city residents make an exodus to the standard rotation of weekend getaways (the Hamptons, Newport, Nantucket), head to Portland or one of Maine鈥檚 surrounding areas for a quieter and less scene-y alternative鈥攁nd plenty of outdoor fun. After a day or two exploring Portland, make your way to , a coastal stretch of granite mountains, woodlands, and beaches on Mount Desert Island, a three-hour drive northwest from the city. Spend a morning hiking the , which ascends 1,000 feet by a series of ledges that offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, before stopping by for a seafood lunch. In the afternoon, rent a bike from to test six miles of trails at The Camden Hills or rent a kayak from to explore the 60 islands that make up the Stonington Archipelago. Come sunset, post up at Sand Beach, a secluded stretch of white sand tucked in between mountains on the east side of Mount Desert Island, which you can access via Park Loop Road, the park鈥檚 scenic drive. While most of the park鈥檚 main campsites fill up in advance, the main town of Bar Harbor has plenty of inns and hotels that range in price, and (from $250), (from $139), and (from $279), still have availability.听

In the South

New Orleans, Louisiana

As the city gears up for its fall festival season, when events like and fill the streets with visitors, Labor Day weekend marks a less crowded and less expensive time to visit. With most of the area鈥檚 adventure offerings within an hour鈥檚 drive from the city, its worthwhile to post up in town. And luckily, the city no longer has a shortage of places to stay, with a number of design-forward (and affordable) boutique hotel openings this year, from the Marigny鈥檚 old-world-style (from $129), which comes with its own 1860s-era church, and the 67-room (from $389), from the guys behind Ace Hotels, to (from $200), which has 197 rooms in a series of warehouses on Magazine Street. In between your requisite eating and drinking, paddleboard Bayou St. John, a four-mile waterway that passes historic homes and a sprawling park (); bike the 31-mile , a trail converted from former rail yard tracks that goes from downtown Covington to Slidell; or kayak the swamps at .

In the Southwest

Santa Fe, New Mexico

If there鈥檚 a time of year to experience the full spirit of Santa Fe, it鈥檚 over Labor Day weekend, when the annual , a week-long celebration across town, takes place. The festival, which goes from August 31 to September 8 this year, includes parades, arts and crafts booths, mariachi bands, and culminates with the burning of Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom,听a towering marionette that represents the hardships of the past year. For those looking for some respite in between exploring the nearby national forests, parks, and monuments, book a听stay at 听(from $240), which just added a series of hot tubs听set at the edge of its cottonwood-shrouded pond. Or to stay closer to the festivities, opt for (from $280), a refurbished 86-room motor lodge that opened last fall.听

In the Northwest

Portland, Oregon

Visiting the city in early September gets you the best of both worlds: it鈥檚 the tailend of the busy summer season, when the skies are clear and flowers are in full bloom (it鈥檚 called the City of Roses for a reason), and some hotels drop their rates. For visitors who want to take in all the nearby adventure offerings, from hiking up to 80 miles of trails at Forest Park to fishing Clackamas River, without the hassle of buying or renting gear, a stay at the new 174-room (from $179) comes with full access to its Gear Shed, stocked with fishing poles, mountain bikes, and鈥攊n true Portland fashion鈥�35mm and Leica cameras to document it all with.

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Sure, you can just load a bag in the car on a Friday afternoon, pick a scenic byway, and go. But what鈥檚 nice about charting your path ahead of time is scoring great deals, making sure you don鈥檛 miss iconic sights, and knowing exactly what gear you鈥檒l need along the way, whether it鈥檚 boardshorts, a down jacket, or both.

Highway 101, California

Start in San Francisco, with San Diego as your final destination. It takes just eight hours to drive the 500 miles via inland Interstate 5, but stick closer to the coast on Highway 101 and you can stretch the trip to a few days or longer, with some choice stops along the way. Low-key , in San Luis Obispo, has wine tasting, live music, and food trucks on Friday nights all summer. , outside Santa Barbara, rents beachside cedar cabins and safari tents (from $170) and has beach cruisers to borrow, the occasional yoga class, and nearby surfing, sea kayaking, and hiking. When you get to Encinitas, stay at , an eight-room hotel (from $120) that opened a block from the beach in 2017 and offers surf coaching from local pro Damien Hobgood.

Have more time? Driveway Highway 1 instead鈥攖his slow-paced road hugs the Pacific Ocean nearly all the way down the California coastline.

Highway 385, Nebraska

Surprisingly, Nebraska makes for an ideal road trip鈥攜ou can leave Denver, Colorado, for a long weekend and enjoy 250 miles of endless sand dunes and grasslands of western Nebraska. Check out Highway 385, the so-called Gold Rush Byway because hundreds of thousands of dollars鈥� worth of gold traveled the route every day in the late 1880s. , Nebraska鈥檚 first state park, has 22 cabins for rent, tent and RV camping, and access to 100 miles of hiking trails. In Alliance, don鈥檛 miss the replica Stonehenge made from cars or the coffee and cinnamon rolls at , and stay the night in a renovated Airbnb loft called ($125), just off the main street.

Have more time? Tack on another 200 miles and stay on Highway 385 until you hit South Dakota鈥檚 Black Hills National Forest to visit Mount Rushmore and explore the area鈥檚 growing mountain bike scene.

Highway 50, Nevada

Nicknamed the loneliest road in America鈥攜ou can go more than 100 miles between gas stations鈥攖he roughly 400 miles of Highway 50 across Nevada may be desolate, but there鈥檚 plenty to do in this vast desert landscape. Start in Reno and head east, spending a couple of days traversing the state. Stop off in the old ghost town of Austin for a soak at the primitive Spencer Hot Springs, where you can find in the surrounding area. Or book a room at the (from $128), a bed and breakfast in nearby Kingston with a wood-fired hot tub, and don鈥檛 miss the prehistoric pictographs in. , in Baker, might be the country鈥檚 most under-the-radar national park. You can navigate underground caves, forage for pi帽on pine nuts, or take a ranger-guided hike under the full moon. And don鈥檛 miss the chance to spot distant galaxies from the park鈥檚 solar telescopes. Great Basin was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2016 by the International Dark Sky Association.

Have more time? Venture another 200-plus miles into Utah and drive the 72-mile , a rugged paved and gravel road that crosses into Capitol Reef National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Highway 93, Alberta, Canada

Also known as the Icefields Parkway, Highway 93 connects Banff National Park to Jasper National Park. Start in Calgary and spend a few days traveling nearly 600 miles to Jasper and back. You鈥檒l drive along the Continental Divide, passing glaciers, waterfalls, and stunning valleys packed with bighorn sheep along the way. You can stop to camp or hike at countless points, but be sure to check out the 7.5-mile trek to high-alpine Helen Lake or the views of the Saskatchewan River鈥檚 headwaters from the Parker Ridge Trail. In Banff, pitch a tent, rent a canvas A-frame at , or book a room at Lake Louise鈥檚 (from $135), which is adding a bike-tuning station this summer. In Jasper, has in-town cabins (from $193) with fireplaces and access to a sauna. Bonus: There鈥檚 no cellphone service along this route, so download a playlist for the car and enjoy being disconnected.

Have more time? Start in Spokane, Washington, cross the border into Canada, and hit up on your way.

U.S. Route 1, Maine

Hit the road in Boston and drive 275 miles to Bar Harbor, Maine, taking I-95 to picturesque and coastal Route 1. Spend a night at Portland鈥檚 swanky (from $220) or Kennebunkport鈥檚 kid-friendly (from $162), then push on to the riverside town of Bath. Collect picnic supplies at for a detour to lunch on the white-sand beaches of before catching a few waves. In Camden, stop at to camp, mountain bike straight up from the sea, or hike to the top of Mount Battie for views of Penobscot Bay. Once you make it to Bar Harbor, explore Acadia National Park and toast to your journey with a pint of New Guy IPA at .

Have more time? Venture 100 miles farther to Lubec, Maine, the easternmost town in the United States. From there, you can reach Campobello Island, in New Brunswick, Canada, for a visit to historic Roosevelt Campobello International Park, the summer retreat of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

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You鈥檝e just scaled Half Dome, hiked deep into Grand Canyon, or climbed Grand Teton. You deserve a beer. Here鈥檚 where to get a pint of local brew after visiting some of America鈥檚 finest national parks.

South Gate Brewing Company

Oakhurst, California

, which opened in the Sierra foothills town of Oakhurst in 2013, is less than two hours on scenic roads from Yosemite Valley. If you leave Yosemite National Park via the south entrance on Highway 41, you鈥檒l pass right through here. After climbing big walls or hiking to waterfalls, stop in for a pint of South Gate IPA or a Deadwood porter, named after the peak you can see from your table. Pair it with a brick-oven pizza or a plate of blonde ale beer-battered fish and chips.

Rock Cut Brewing Company

Estes Park, Colorado

There are 12 beers on tap at , which opened in 2015 at the foot of Prospect Mountain in the high-altitude town of Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. After summiting the 14,258-foot Longs Peak, try the East Portal IPA or the Altruism amber, for which $1 per pint is donated to a local charitable organization. Water for the brewing process comes from glacier-fed rivers that flow through Rocky Mountain National Park. You can bring food in from elsewhere or order chicken wings from the food truck parked out front.

Atlantic Brewing Company

Bar Harbor, Maine

has two locations in the sleepy coastal town of Bar Harbor, ten minutes from Acadia National Park. After biking the park鈥檚 Carriage Roads or catching the views atop Cadillac Mountain, the park鈥檚 high point, you can take a tour of the brewing facility, buy a growler of New Guy IPA to go, or dig into a platter of barbecued ribs at Mainely Meat at the Town Hill headquarters. At the new Midtown tasting room, which opened this summer, you can sample experimental small-batch beers and order a burger with goat cheese and kimchi from the new Midtown Burger.

Grand Teton Brewing

Victor, Idaho

, in Victor, Idaho, on the other side of Teton Pass from the town of Jackson, Wyoming, is less than 30 miles from Grand Teton National Park and about two hours from Yellowstone. Try the crisp, golden Old Faithful Ale, or order a pint of Bitch Creek for a sturdy brown ale. The tasting room and pub are part of an 11,000-square-foot facility that makes and ships beers to more than a dozen states. They don鈥檛 serve food on site, but the food truck that鈥檚 usually parked outside has good beer brats and fried pickles.

Nantahala Brewing Company

Bryson City, North Carolina

Four outdoor-loving friends opened in 2010, located just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the town of Bryson City, North Carolina. You can tour the facility or listen to live music while drinking a pint of Noon Day IPA, the brewery鈥檚 flagship ale, in the taproom. Water for the beer comes straight from the untouched watersheds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There鈥檚 no food on site, so order a takeout pizza from next door and bring it over.

Mother Road Brewing Company

Flagstaff, Arizona

It鈥檚 an 80-minute drive from the rim of Grand Canyon to , but you鈥檙e probably driving through Flagstaff on the way back from your Grand Canyon adventure anyway, so you might as well stop in for a Tower Station IPA. The taproom, which opened in 2011, has board games and a rotating cast of about nine beers on tap. Order a banh mi, delivered from nearby . (There鈥檚 also excellent pizza from Pizzicletta, two doors down.) This winter, Mother Road is opening another 8,000-square-foot production facility and tasting room a mile away.

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The Top 9 New England 国产吃瓜黑料s

Most serious adventurers think of the Northeast as a good place to catch a connecting flight. Which means they鈥檙e missing out. From Class IV rafting to some of the wildest sea kayaking in North America, here are the best trips on the right coast.

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The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Mountain Biking

East Burke, Vermont

The most extensive network of mountain-bike trails in the Northeast sits in the backyard of East Burke, a tiny village in Vermont鈥檚 wild Northeast Kingdom. Cross-country is king here: the well-maintained Kingdom Trails roll across green pastures and ascend ridgetop pine forests; easy doubletrack passes by farmhouses to link up with steep singletrack barely wider than your handlebars. Each piste in the 100-mile maze is named, mapped, and rated by the non-profit . Set out from one of multiple entry points ($15 fee), and ride flowing singletrack like the iconic Sidewinder鈥攁 beautifully sculpted trail that twists between 100-foot-high walls. Experts: try the combo of Upper J Bar to Burn 鈥檈m Down (accessible via the toll road on Burke Mountain) for a 2,300-foot descent. If that鈥檚 not enough, head to the local ski hill: added lift-accessed riding in 2010 ($30), with a high-speed quad that drops riders into flowing intermediate runs like Jester and double-black affairs like Knightslayer. Which, by the way, is also the name of a killer stout at Trout River Brewing Company in nearby Lyndonville. Pick up a rental at (hardtails, $30; full-suspension, $60) and crash at the , which has out-the-door trail access (doubles, $155).

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Canoe Touring

Adirondack north country, New York

We wouldn鈥檛 recommend tackling the entire Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a 740-mile inland water route crossing New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire, and Maine. A through-paddle of the whole beast鈥攐riginally a network of Native American trading routes that was mapped in 2006 by a non-profit group of paddlers鈥攔equires 55 miles of portages. But for a three-day canoe trip in the lower 48, you鈥檇 be hard-pressed to find anything better than the 42-mile segment from the town of Long Lake, New York, to the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. This chunk, on the route of the annual Adirondack Canoe Classic, is accessible and user-friendly, with two portages and a set of locks as it traces Long Lake, the Raquette River, and the three Saranac Lakes. And the sense of wilderness is profound: once you put in, there鈥檚 just the densely forested beauty of the 鈥橠acks, with the High Peaks rising to the east. Lean-tos are scattered along the route. Get maps from , and rent your boat鈥攁nd arrange a shuttle back to Long Lake鈥攆rom Lake Clear-based (rentals from $35 per day; shuttle, from $125). Before putting in, treat yourself to a night at the on Long Lake (doubles, $120).

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Sea Kayaking

Cape Chignecto Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

Paddlers on this side of the Mississippi usually make for the rugged coast of Maine. Which is fine if you haven’t been spoiled by Nova Scotia. Cape Chignecto, about four hours north of the Maine-New Brunswick border, offers the kind of stuff you can’t even find in British Columbia: 600-foot sea cliffs, wild rock formations, and, of course, the mercurial Bay of Fundy. The bay can get extreme, with 40-foot tides, but Chignecto is actually fairly benign. “It’s not inherently difficult to paddle here,” says guide Scott Cunningha, author of Sea Kayaking in Nova Scotia. “It’s just that conditions can change so quickly.” Which is why you want a guide on your first outing. Cunningham takes novices and experts alike on four-day trips from Red Rocks, near the town of West Advocate, to Spicers Cove. On the way, you’ll paddle down winding channels where harbor seals line the rocky ledges, over basalt reefs, under towering spires, and through sculpted caves near the remnants of 18th-century boatbuilding operations (four-day trips, including gear, $895). At trip’s end, recover at the (doubles, US$97), a converted lightkeeper’s residence near the put-in.

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Road Biking

Northampton, Massachusetts

Most cycling outfitters steer you toward Vermont鈥檚 country lanes, but western Massachusetts has a much denser network of roads, meaning more choices and less traffic. Base yourself at the downtown (doubles, $196), and get rentals from (Cannondales available for $35 per day). Then pick from flat routes along the Connecticut River, a rolling century around Quabbin Reservoir, or farm-road rides that climb into the Berkshires鈥攁ll of which will leave you wondering: Where are the cars? If you鈥檝e got time for only one big ride, make it a 66-miler recommended by Patrick Brady, a cycling journalist and part-time guide. Head west out of Northampton on Route 143, turn south on Route 112, and head back to town on Route 66. Grab a fresh peach at Outlook Farm before a gentle descent into Northampton. Tip: don鈥檛 freak out if your paved road turns to dirt. The unpaved routes are super smooth around here; in fact, an annual 65-mile group ride called the , Massachusetts鈥� answer to Italy鈥檚 famed Gran Fondo rides, includes 20 miles of dirt.

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Stand-Up Paddleboarding

Acadia National Park, Maine

has crowds, sure鈥攂ut it also provides access and options that can鈥檛 be beat anywhere on the East Coast. Base yourself in Bar Harbor, entry point for the 35,000-acre park, where there鈥檚 always someplace that鈥檚 downwind, sheltered, or at least out of the fog to paddle. Get a room at the on the water in Bar Harbor (doubles, $279) and rent a board and鈥攊f you need it鈥攁 guide from (daylong rentals, $60; guided trips from $65). Warm up with a mellow cruise down Long Pond, located on the west side of the park (seven-day pass, $20). Day two: Take on dramatic, fjordlike Somes Sound. Launch in the village of Somesville, paddle 3.5 miles south to Valley Cove, then hang out and watch the falcons until the wind starts to funnel through the sound. Then rip a downwind return back to town. Day three: Opt for a sailboat-supported exploration of the rugged Porcupine Islands. For $55 per person, Thorfinn will send a 30-foot boat to accompany you on the two-mile paddle across Frenchman Bay. After gliding around the Porcupines beneath 100-foot cliffs, hop a ride back on the boat.

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Fly-Fishing

Montauk, New York

For sheer density of fish, no place rivals Montauk during blitz season, from late August to November. That鈥檚 when huge schools of striped bass flood Montauk Point in search of the tiny bay anchovies that turn the water a swirling chocolate brown. During the blitz, just about every striper in the Northeast shows up to feast on the baitfish. Large schools of fishermen follow鈥攍ocals surfcasting from shore and visitors working the action from guide boats. The only etiquette you need to know: boaters don鈥檛 encroach upon the range of the surfcasters. Whether you set up on shore or in a boat, bring a ten-weight rod, a reel with strong drag, and a bunch of anchovy-imitating flies. Then let 鈥檈r rip. 鈥淚f you can get your fly out of the boat, you can catch fish,鈥� says Captain Paul Dixon, a who started fishing the blitz 20 years ago (daylong trips, $650). You鈥檙e allowed one keeper (28-plus inches) a day, which the chef at Gurney鈥檚 Inn, a waterfront hotel and spa (doubles, $420; gurneysinn.com), will cook up for you. To go on your own, pick up flies and leaders from . Boat rentals are available at ($170 per day for a 16-foot dinghy).

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Peak Bagging

Presidential Range, New Hampshire

Your buddy from Boulder might scoff at the elevations, but the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire鈥檚 White Mountains is a serious project. The whole enchilada consists of 24 miles, 10 peaks, and 9,000 feet of elevation gain. Plus there鈥檚 the unpredictable weather above the tree line, where you鈥檒l be for 11 of those 24 miles. The wind can get nasty (gusts up to 90 miles per hour), clouds can gather, and a warm day in the lower woods can turn bone-chilling up high. Purists maintain that the traverse should be done in a single day. But it鈥檚 a lot more pleasant if you take two or three, staying at the 鈥檚 cozy backcountry huts, which supply bunk beds and hearty meals prepared by bandanna-sporting seasonal workers (reserve a hut in advance; from $120). The best route is north-south鈥攖hat way you get the most brutal peaks, like 6,288-foot Mount Washington, out of the way first. Start at the Appalachia trailhead on U.S. Route 2 and end with a hot meal and a shower at AMC鈥檚 Highland Center Lodge at Crawford Notch (bunks, $103), then catch the daily shuttle back to your car. In between, you鈥檒l have 130-mile vistas.

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Rafting

Kennebec River, Maine

In the fall, when many rivers are reduced to a trickle, the Kennebec is still churning Class IV whitewater through a steep-walled granite gorge in remote western Maine. This makes for what鈥檚 arguably the wildest and most consistent river trip in the Northeast, with no signs of civilization anywhere on the 12-mile run. True, the Kennebec owes its late-season flow to releases from the Harris Station dam, but there鈥檚 a big upside. Several times a year鈥攊ncluding this September 8 and 22鈥攖he dam鈥檚 operators double the flow to 8,000 cubic feet per second. 鈥淲e suddenly get big, curling-back standing waves 10 to 12 feet high,鈥� says Northern Outdoors president Russell Walters. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 see that kind of thing in inland rivers in the middle of September.鈥� The one-day trip is a roller-coaster anytime you run it鈥攍ook out for the Three Sisters and Maytag rapids鈥攖hough it mellows out after the upper gorge, where you can swim or paddle inflatable duckies down the Class II sections. In addition to day trips ($79), runs a lodge, cabins, and a brewery below the takeout on the Lower Kennebec (doubles at the Forks Resort Center, $105).

The Best East Coast 国产吃瓜黑料s: Hot Links

Moosehead Lake, Maine

This summer the venerable Appalachian Mountain Club is trotting out an 8.9-mile lodge-to-lodge hiking route near Moosehead Lake, Maine. Thanks to a brand-new connector trail, hikers can leave (opened in 2011) and hike north to Little Lyford Lodge. Both offer bunkhouse rooms, cabins, showers, and full meal plans. But the draw is what lies between. That鈥檚 Gulf Hagas, the narrow, 400-feet-deep slate canyon of the West Branch of the Pleasant River, and it鈥檚 full of waterfalls, rapids, chutes, and swimming holes. Other recommended detours from the lodges: the great north-woods views atop Chairback Mountain, Indian Mountain, and Laurie鈥檚 Ledge; the wild brook trout fishing near Little Lyford; and the pond paddling right out the back door of Gorman Chairback. Gratis canoes are available on-site. Lodges from $80.

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There’s more than one way to take in the adventure and splendor of America’s national parks. So we’re serving up a prize package of SECRET TRIPS—locals’ no-tell favorites, from Acadia to Yellowstone to wildest Alaska—along with a roundup of DREAM TOWNS nearby, the places to eat, drink, and dance after a day or three in backcountry heaven. Throw away the guidebook: These trips are just between us

national parks

Bass Harbor lighthouse, in Maine’s Acadia National Park

Slide into Utah’s Canyon Wonderland




Trek Alaska’s Monster Backcountry




Splash in St. John’s Wide-Open Waters




Ride Tall in Washington’s Wildest Range




Paddle Wyoming’s Secret Sea




Wheel Through Endless Texas Backlands




Set Sail on Maine’s Rocky Coast




Crawl and Canoe in Kentucky’s Multisport 国产吃瓜黑料land




Hike to Sweet Solitude in the Sierra


PLUS: Josh Shaffer—a man hell-bent on exploring every one of America’s national parks— and eight great guides who .

Capitol Reef National Park

Slide into Utah’s Canyon Wonderland

National Park: Capitol Reef National Park

Acres: 241,904 Contact: 435-425-3791



CAPITOL REEF is the perfect place to find the type of free-form adventures that abound in U.S. national parks. Slickrock junkies will love the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long lopsided wrinkle of earth that offers one of the best backcountry playscapes in the Southwest. Satisfy your cravings on the park’s south end, where canyons have sliced the Fold with narrows that require swimming through blackwater holes, scrambling over chockstones, and negotiating the odd rappel.


This trip’s main event is a 21.9-mile backpacking loop that takes you from Halls Creek Overlook to Halls Creek Narrows. From the Brimhall Bridge trailhead at the Halls Creek Overlook, off Notom-Bullfrog Road, descend 800 feet to Halls Creek. Flanked by the Fold’s red- and buff-colored cliffs, you’ll hike seven and a half miles down a dry wash to the narrows, where you can set up base camp on a grassy bench.

Spend day two snaking through the three-mile-long slot canyon, whose tight walls will funnel you through pretzel twists and perpetually shaded pools. Head back to camp by going up Halls Divide, east of the narrows. The next day, retrace your footprints to Halls Creek Overlook. Throw your pack in the car and drive north on Notom-Bullfrog Road; crash at the park’s Cedar Mesa Campground or sleep roadside near the mouth of Burro Wash, your destination for day four.

Burro is one of several drainages that penetrate the Fold, and—depending on how far you scramble—it may require technical canyoneering skills. Burro offers two sets of narrows with deep pools sandwiched between smooth, fluted walls that almost touch in some places. After four miles you’ll come to an impossible pour-over. Turn around and head for more slots in nearby Five Mile and Cottonwood washes before calling it a day.


GETTING THERE: For guided trips in Capitol Reef, contact Wild Hare Expeditions (888-304-4273, ). A free permit is required for backcountry camping, and even when it’s hot, bring a wetsuit for the canyons’ cold pools.


WHEN TO GO: Anytime but winter; and beware of summer flash floods.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Trek Alaska’s Monster Backcountry

National Park: Wrangell-St. Elias

Acres: 13,175,901 Contact: 907-822-5234



PLANNING AN ALASKA WILDERNESS trip can be daunting—especially if you’re heading into the vast glacier- and grizzly-filled Wrangell–St. Elias. But this park is surprisingly user-friendly, compared with some parts of big, bad Alaska. It’s home to St. Elias Alpine Guides, one of the most experienced outfitters in the state, and it’s relatively accessible via a 60-mile gravel road—no bush plane required. At road’s end you’ll find the town of McCarthy—and, four miles beyond that, Kennicott, your stepping-off point for a four-day expedition to Wrangell’s Donoho Peak.


To get started, you’ll hoist your pack and hike toward Donoho and the Root Glacier. St. Elias Alpine Guides’ trips are small (no more than six people), and they’re tailored to fit your group’s skill level, with instruction available on everything from ice climbing to alpine mountaineering. Because Wrangell is one of the most glaciated parks in the U.S., the Donoho trek is the perfect setting for learning the rudiments of glacier exploration. Before breaking camp at the base of the Root, your guide will give you pointers on crampon use and safe route-finding. Then you’ll start the traverse, planting your feet on an undulating sea of ice. Once you arrive at the west side of the glacier, you’ll set up camp and mull your many options. You could make the nontechnical scramble up 6,698-foot Donoho for views of 16,390-foot Mount Blackburn and 18,008-foot Mount St. Elias, the second-tallest peak in the U.S. You could rope up and go ice climbing on the Kennicott or Root glaciers, or hike across the tundra to an alpine lake. Or you could just do it all.


GETTING THERE: St. Elias Alpine Guides’ four-day Donoho Peak Trek is $699 per person, assuming a group of six. A variety of other options are also available, including custom expeditions and first ascents (888-933-5427, ).


WHEN TO GO: July through September.

Virgin Islands National Park

Splash in St. John’s Wide-Open Waters

National parks: Virgin Islands National Park

Acres: 14,689 Contact: 340-776-6201



VIRGIN ISLANDS IS ONE of the tiniest parks in the system, located entirely on and around St. John, the smallest of the three major U.S. Virgin Islands. But if idyllic Caribbean beaches are what you’re after, this park—which occupies approximately 30 square miles of land and sea—is plenty big. St. John is home to some 40 sheltered bays, each with its own fluffy carpet of sand and many with a coral reef not far offshore. You can hit them all by circumnavigating the island in a sea kayak, covering roughly 35 miles in five days.

From Cruz Bay, paddle two miles to Henley Cay (a good snorkeling spot), and then on for two more miles to Cinnamon Bay and the park’s only official campground. Several hiking trails lead from the camp to 18th-century sugar-factory ruins and into a tropical forest. On day two, a leisurely one-and-a-half-mile voyage takes you to the Maho Bay Camps, a managed eco-resort with cabin-tents perched on a hillside, a dive shop, and snorkeling. Start early the next morning for the island’s primitive East End, paddling upwind along the north shore, eventually reaching Hansen Bay and a private beachfront campground run by Violet “Vie” Mahabir. Collapse in the sand beneath 100-year-old palm trees, or you can amble over to Vie’s Snack Shack to refuel on fried chicken.


On day four you’ll paddle five and a half miles to Ram Head peninsula and the island’s wild, roadless southeastern coast. Hike to the top of the Head for crow’s-nest views of the ocean. You’ll spend your final night in Little Lameshur Bay at the nonprofit Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station (888-647-2501, ), home to rustic cabins, hiking trails, and more great beaches. Complete the circle on day five, stroking four and a half miles back to Cruz Bay—it’s downwind all the way.


GETTING THERE: For an outfitted loop around St. John, contact Arawak Expeditions (from $995 per person; 800-238-8687, ). Experienced open-water kayakers can rent from Crabby’s Watersports, in Coral Bay (340-714-2415, ).


WHEN TO GO: Year-round. But beware: Hurricane season runs from June through November.

North Cascades National Park

Ride Tall in Washington’s Wildest Range

national park: North Cascades National Park

Acres: 684,302 Contact: 360-856-5700

THE NORTH CASCADES LOOK A LOT LIKE the Alps, with razorback peaks, alpine meadows, and plenty of glaciers. But the similarities to Europe end there: The park is almost all wilderness, and there are few roads in. Since backpacking on this steep terrain can be slow going at best, the smart way to see it is on horseback. The Courtney family, based in the hamlet of Stehekin, has been running pack trips in the region for two generations, with a low-key style that emphasizes good food, minimal impact, and stunning scenery.

Just getting to the Courtneys’ Cascade Corrals is an adventure. As a private inholding in the park, Stehekin has no road access and must be reached by ferry—a 50-mile trip up Lake Chelan, through a glacial trough that’s more than 8,500 feet deep. Once you’ve hooked up with the Courtneys, you’ll ride on a surefooted Norwegian fjord horse, heading up the Stehekin River Valley to your base camp at Bridge Creek.

Your routine each day will be blessedly simple: Wake up; stuff yourself with pancakes, eggs, and bacon; ride the park trail of your choice; then go on a hike to burn off the grub. You’ll travel to amazing spots like Buckner Meadows, Mount Logan, and McAlester Lake; while you’re soaking in the views, don’t be surprised if you feel the urge to yodel.

GETTING THERE: Cascade Corrals (509-682-7742, ) offers scheduled horsepacking trips ($995, six days) and custom outings for a minimum of six riders. There’s also a hiking option: You carry a daypack; the horse carries the rest ($750, six days).

WHEN TO GO: July through September.

Yellowstone National Park

Paddle Wyoming’s Secret Sea

national park: Yellowstone National Park

Acres: 2,219,791 Contact: 307-344-7381

COVERING 137 SQUARE MILES and perched above 7,700 feet, Yellowstone Lake is a formidable barrier between the tourist circus on the lake’s north shore and the roadless expanse to the south. To get to this wild heart of the park, you can hike for days carrying a heavy pack, or you can take a wet shortcut and arrive in a few hours without breaking a sweat. The easy way starts at Bridge Bay Marina, on the lake’s north end. Load your sea kayak on the Yellowstone Lake Shuttle ($124; 307-344-7311), hitch a ride to the top of Yellowstone Lake脗鈥檚 southeast arm, unload, and drift into a huge no-motors zone.

Approximately seven miles long, the southeast arm deserves at least four days of exploration. You’re likely to see grizzly bears, moose, and elk, and hear wolves howling at night. From your drop-off point, set up camp at Columbine Creek or paddle down to Terrace Point, where you can hike up to stunning views of the upper Yellowstone River valley. The next day, continue to the bottom of the arm, camping at Trail Point or Trail Bay along the headwaters of the Yellowstone River. Grab your fly rod and head upriver or hike a network of remote trails (like Thorofare and Two Oceans Plateau) to overlooks and wildflower-filled meadows. Eventually, make your way back to the top of the arm, completing a horseshoe-shaped, 18-mile route. The ferry will return you to civilization.

GETTING THERE: Snake River Kayak and Canoe, in Jackson, Wyoming, rents sea kayaks and offers guided four-day trips into the Yellowstone Lake arms ($755 per person; 800-529-2501, ). Advance reservations for backcountry campsites are recommended. Buy them at the park’s trip-planner page.

WHEN TO GO: August and September. Early summer camping is restricted because of bear activity.

Big Bend National Park

Wheel Through Endless Texas Badlands

national park: Big Bend National Park

Acres: 801,000 Contact: 432-477-2251

NATIONAL PARKS AND MOUNTAIN BIKES usually don’t mix—bikes are illegal on most park trails, and designated bike paths are often a bore. But there’s one major exception: Big Bend. This West Texas park’s desert terrain is laced with 160 miles of dirt roads, where mountain bikes are not only allowed but welcomed. Since Big Bend receives just 300,000 visitors a year, many of whom arrive in lumbering RVs, riding the ghost roads that once served turn-of-the-century mining and river towns is a cool and private way to experience this sprawling Chihuahuan Desert landscape.

To cover the most territory, hire Desert Sports (contact below) to shuttle your vehicle from site to site. (On some parts of this trip, you’ll want four-wheel drive to carry your bikes from place to place.) Begin your ramble with a one-way, 35-mile downhill bike ride on the Old Ore Road from Dagger Flat to the Rio Grande. You’ll start atop an alluvial plain, with jagged Mexican mountains rippling on the southern horizon. Flanked by ocotillo and prickly pear, you’ll make an easy half-day ride to the Telephone Canyon backcountry campsite. If you have enough oomph and water, take a sunset hike on the first few miles of the 17-mile Telephone Canyon Trail up into the Deadhorse Mountains.

The next day, head down steep grades through Ernst Basin to the Rio Grande and the U.S.-Mexico border, soaking at Langford Hot Springs. Now it’s time for your next big roll: a two-day, 29-mile ride combining the Glenn Spring, Black Gap, and River roads. To get started, drive north on the paved park highway from Rio Grande Village to the Glenn Spring turnoff, just beyond Dugout Wells; keep going approximately 13 bumpy miles to Glenn Spring, where you’ll pitch your tent next to a village that was raided by Pancho Villa’s men in 1916. From the ruins, pedal south on Black Gap Road, and then east at the fork, past the Mariscal Mine site on River Road down to the river. Get your feet wet and head northeast on River Road, then take a left on Glenn Spring Road to complete the loop.

GETTING THERE: Desert Sports, in Terlingua, rents mountain bikes, provides shuttles, and offers guided rides (888-989-6900, ). Free backcountry camping permits are available at the park’s Panther Junction visitor center. There’s no reliable water along these routes, so carry plenty or cache it in advance.

WHEN TO GO: October through mid-April.

Acadia National Park

Set Sail on Maine’s Rocky Coast

national park: Acadia National Park

Acres: 47,000 Contact: 207-288-3338

WITH ITS GRANITE-DOMED MOUNTAINS and sea-sprayed coastline, Acadia attracts summertime tourists like a backwater pond draws blackflies. Luckily, the park’s modest acreage is spread out over several islands along Maine’s northern coast, which means you can avoid human swarms simply by sailing around them—giving you a chance to explore the park’s more remote spots.

For this two- to three-day voyage, experienced sailors can rent a boat in the Deer Isle boating hub of Stonington. Newbies can charter a 37-foot cutter with Captain Bill Baker, of Old Quarry Ocean 国产吃瓜黑料s; pushing off from Stonington, you’ll sail eight miles to Acadia’s isolated Isle au Haut. Once you hit land, unload your mountain bike and stretch your legs with a 12-mile ride around the island, stopping to gorge on blueberries and watch golden eagles soar past cliffs overhead.

The next day you’ll venture deeper into the mostly uninhabited Deer Isle archipelago and catch wind toward Mount Desert Island, where most of the park is situated. Follow the Maine Island Trail—a marked route connecting dozens of coastal islands—or chart a 20-mile course around rocky inlets where seals, puffins, and ospreys will be your only company. You’ll find a quiet anchorage spot on Mount Desert Island at the village of Northeast Harbor. Break out the bike and pedal a 57-mile network of carriage roads, or hike to the top of 1,373-foot Sargent Mountain for ocean views. Back at the dock, load up on lobster and crash on the boat; the next day you can sail the 15 or so miles back to Stonington via a different route.

GETTING THERE: A two-day sailboat charter with Old Quarry costs $1,200 for four. You can also rent mountain bikes, sea kayaks, and 14-foot sailboats (207-367-8977, ). Other sailboat outlets include Downeast Friendship Sloop Charters (207-266-5210, www.downeastfriendshipsloop.com) and Hinckley Crewed Charters (207-244-0122, ).

WHEN TO GO: June through September.

Mammoth Cave National Park

Crawl and Canoe in Kentucky’s Multisport 国产吃瓜黑料land

national park: Mammoth Cave National Park

Darkness Illuminated: Shedding light on Mammoth Cave National Park

national park: Mammoth Cave National Park

Acres: 52,830 Contact: 270-758-2180

YOU PROBABLY KNOW MAMMOTH CAVE for what lies beneath. This park, tucked away in the hills and hollows of central Kentucky, protects the longest cave system in the world, a five-level labyrinth with more than 365 miles of tunnels. Up where the sun shines, the park is home to a 70-mile network of hiking trails, biking paths, camping spots, and 27 miles of prime canoeing river.

Begin your four-day Mammoth marathon with the ranger-led Wild Cave Tour. This six-hour, five-mile crawl is not for the claustrophobic—or anyone with a chest or hip measurement greater than 42 inches. You’ll free-climb cave walls and shine your headlamp on bizarre limestone formations like Rainbow Dome and Cathedral Dome.Take it up top the next morning, renting a canoe and paddling the gentle, scenic Green River. Put in at Dennison Ferry, on the park’s eastern boundary, and snake your way ten miles past forested bluffs, islands, and sandbars to circuitous Turnhole Bend. There’s good backcountry beach camping along the north bank and easy access to the park’s most isolated hiking paths via Turnhole Bend Trail.

Start day three with a ramble through terrain that hasn’t changed much since it was first seen by American explorers in the 18th century. Then paddle nine miles to Houchins Ferry, just inside the park’s western boundary, your take-out spot and campground for the night. The next morning, give your legs a workout with a ten-mile hike on the hilly, oak-forested McCoy Hollow loop.

GETTING THERE: The Wild Cave Tour costs $45; reserve through the park. For canoe rentals, contact Green River Canoeing (800-651-9909, ) or Mammoth Cave Canoe and Kayak (877-592-2663, ).

WHEN TO GO: March through November.

Yosemite National Park

Hike to Sweet Solitude in the Sierra

national park: Yosemite National Park

Acres: 761,266 Contact: 209-372-0200

YOSEMITE IS FAMOUSLY crowded—it draws 3.5 million visitors a year, more than the population of Mississippi—but it’s easy to shake the mob if you walk in the right direction. This five-day, 45-mile loop offers premium Sierra scenery (meadows, waterfalls, lakes, and peaks) but few people. Best of all, you can get permits the same day you start your trip, even in the height of summer.

Your trek begins at the Mono Meadow Trailhead, near the end of Glacier Point Road. Hike down to Illilouette Creek, wade the stream, and continue up the Illilouette drainage through an old burn area. After about nine miles, you’ll reach smooth granite slabs that make for excellent waterslides, and there’s good camping and classic views of Yosemite’s rock domes nearby. The next day, continue up the drainage toward the Clark Range and Red Peak Pass. Climb the pass and then drop down to a natural array of tarns and rock benches that create a rustically furnished campsite.

On day three, follow the switchbacking trail down the Triple Peak Fork drainage and make a steep two-mile climb to an alpine meadow just below Post Peak and Isberg Peak. Press on to the granite slabs tucked under the wall at the top of the canyon. From this campsite, you’ll have a front-row seat for some of the best panoramic views in Yosemite. The wow factor continues the next day as you trek four miles across the high country, gazing at the Minarets and other famous Sierra peaks. Tag a walk-up before descending through the forested valley of Post Creek and climbing Fernandez Pass.

Your last full day of hiking is an easy six-mile jaunt through forests and meadows and a gentle climb over Merced Pass. In short order you’ll rejoin the Illilouette drainage. Spend the night a few miles from the trailhead, where the path crosses the stream. You’ll be out the next morning in time for coffee and doughnuts in Yosemite Village.

GETTING THERE: A wilderness permit is required. You can reserve in advance, for $5 a day, through Yosemite’s Wilderness Center (209-372-0740, ).

WHEN TO GO: July through September.

Been There, Seen That

Josh Shaffer is a man with a mission: to explore every one of America’s national parks. (To date, it’s 20 down, 37 to go.) The 34-year-old from Wilmington, North Carolina, talks about the best places he’s seen so far.

Elephant Canyon

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, UTAH
Getting there requires a tough hike, about 11 miles round-trip from the Squaw Flat trailhead, in the Needles section of the park. But it’s worth the effort: Elephant Canyon is a harsh, beautiful landscape with a forest of 200-foot sandstone spires and no other people for miles.


Brown Mountain Trail

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VIRGINIA
When the tourists pour in to see the autumn leaves, traffic on Skyline Drive can be a bit much. This 11-mile out-and-back trail from Skyline into Big Run Valley scares most people away, so hikers have the deep forest of oaks, hickories, and maples all to themselves.


Box Canyon Campsite

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO
Getting here requires about a six-mile hike on the Colorado River Trail. It’s fairly gentle until the last mile, when it goes almost straight up. I topped out at 10,480 feet, in the middle of a meadow, where I camped among elk and could look up to see bighorn sheep on the 12,000-foot peaks above.


Riley Creek

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, ALASKA
I didn’t want to see the park by bus, so I hiked south from the Denali visitor center and spent two days bushwhacking along deep, fast Riley Creek. I camped in a small clearing, where the ground was covered with moss so thick and spongy that I could hardly walk.


Guadalupe Peak

GUADALUPE PEAK NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS
The four-mile hike up 8,749-foot Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas, can be brutal in winter. It was about 35 degrees, and the winds were unreal. But at the top, I had uninterrupted views for more than 100 miles in every direction.

Lead On Me

Want to know where the pros go? Meet eight great guides who will take you to the heart of their favorite parks.

CHRIS CONWAY
Founder, Wild Basin Outfitters
Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
Conway is a crack high-country fishing guide who learned his craft as a kid growing up on Alaska’s Kenai River. The 45-year-old mountain man will plop you on a horse and lead you six miles to Lawn Lake, at 10,789-feet, in search of the elusive greenback cutthroat trout. Come dinnertime, he’ll also dish up a tasty tortellini and pour the chardonnay.
CONTACT: 877-525-7373, chris@wildbasinoutfitters.com
PRICE: $150 per person per half-day

RORY WEST
Island Guide
National Park of American Samoa
West came to Samoa’s five-island archipelago 24 years ago to start a plant nursery, met a Samoan woman, and never left. Bunk with the West family, in their cozy home on the island of Tutuila, and you’ll snorkel among 200 coral species in the 9,000-acre park, take an octopus-spearing lesson, and learn from the master as he rattles off amazing facts about local flora.
CONTACT: 011-684-258-3527, rorywest@yahoo.com
Price: from $35 per person for snorkeling and kayaking, $25 per person for a rental house with kitchen

ROLF PETERSON
Wildlife Biologist
Isle Royale National Park, MI
A self-described “old moose,” Peterson works at Michigan Technical University, where for more than 30 years he’s studied wolves and their impact on moose populations in the 850-square-mile park. Earthwatch, a field-research institute, offers guided multi-day backpacking trips with the 55-year-old biologist, who will take you moose watching on rugged trails like Minong Ridge.
CONTACT: Earthwatch, 800-776-0188,
PRICE: $895 per person per week

MARK BOWLING,
Founder, Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Bowling, 45, has been monkeying around on J-Tree’s Flintstones-esque mounds of quartz monzonite for nearly three decades and can guide you up any kind of route you care to tackle. One of his favorites: the labyrinthine Wonderland of Rocks—with routes like 5.11b Poodle Smasher. “Seeing people learn to climb,” he says, “rekindles my own love of the sport.”
CONTACT: Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School, 800-890-4745, climb@telis.org
PRICE: $110 per person per day

RANDY GAYNER
Founder, Glacier Wilderness Guides
Glacier National Park, MT
Gayner founded Glacier’s only hiking-guide service 21 years ago, so the former backcountry ranger is plenty intimate with the 700-mile trail network, the grizzlies that ply it, and other dangers, like a falling apartment-size ice slab that Gayner saw crash into a lake back in 1989. Gayner’s favorite march: the eight-mile hike through Many Glacier Valley.
CONTACT: Glacier Wilderness Guides, 800-521-7238,
PRICE: $487 for the three-day hut trip; $70 for a custom day hike

DAN OBERLATZ
Co-Owner, Alaska Alpine 国产吃瓜黑料s
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, AK
Instead of flaunting his feats on big peaks like Denali, 35-year-old Oberlatz would rather show you around the backcountry: You’ll spend five days hiking and kayaking in the remote Twin Lakes basin, where you’ll paddle beneath the snowcapped Chigmit Mountains. “That moment when the plane leaves you and there’s total silence—that’s what it’s all about,” he says. CONTACT: Alaska Alpine 国产吃瓜黑料s, 877-525-2577,
PRICE: from $2,900 per week per person

JIM CAMERON
Head Guide, Olympic Mountaineering
Olympic National Park, WA
Cameron has topped out on 7,965-foot Mount Olympus a mere 88 times. This summer he’s shooting for his 100th summit. Meet up with the gangly 47-year-old guide at Glacier Meadows base camp and he’ll help you cross crevasse- littered Blue Glacier en route to views of Rainier, Baker, and the Pacific.
CONTACT: Olympic Mountaineering, 360-452-0240,
PRICE: $295 per person

TIM AND DIANNE SHEW Owners, Balch Park Pack Station
Sequoia National Park, CA
These two Tennessee-born wranglers have spent the past 20 years riding the southern Sierra. Travel with them and their steeds to the deer-filled alpine meadows of Hockett Plateau, where 46-year-old Dianne, a published photographer, will drawl instructions on how best to capture the alpenglow off Vandever Mountain’s 11,947-foot summit.
CONTACT: Balch Park Pack Station, 559-539-2227,
PRICE: from $175 per person per day

The post This Stash Is Your Stash appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Maine:

national parks, state parks

American Splendor: Canyonlands National Park

Utah:





Michigan/Minnesota:





Tennessee/North Carolina:





Colorado:





Washington:





California:





PLUS:

Acadia National Park, Cutler Coast Public Reserve Land

national parks, state parks

The coastal calm of Acadia National Park

ACADIA
THE NORTHEAST’S ONLY NATIONAL PARK, Acadia manages to shoehorn some 2.8 million annual visits into its compact landscape, mostly on Mount Desert Island (with smaller tracts on Isle au Haut and nearby Schoodic Peninsula). The finest way to lose the crowds and take in the park’s cymbal-crash surf, craggy stone-shored islets, and requisite clifftop lighthouses is to venture out of bounds by SEA-KAYAKING. Put in at the public boat ramp in Manset, located on the southern end of Mount Desert Island, and mosey up Somes Sound, the only bona fide fjord in the lower 48, for a five-hour voyage through the Maine that sets watercolorists’ hearts aflutter. Watch for porpoises, seals, and the mountains, which rise more than 400 feet in elevation from the shore. (And do yourself a favor, Cap’n: Time it so that you’re paddling in and out of Somes Sound with the tides.) Another day’s ocean ramble begins at Seal Harbor beach and aims south for the Cranberry Isles; Little Cranberry, with the Islesford Historical Museum and classic seafood served at the Islesford Dock restaurant, makes a fine spot to stretch your sea legs. The most reliable marine-mammal ogling goes down in Frenchman Bay, off Bar Harbor, where you can paddle around Bar Island and the magnificent and uninhabited Porcupine Islands. Keep a polite distance from the seal ledges, please. Hazardous conditions in these parts can include 55-degree water, 12-foot tides, persistent fog, and currents; unless your kayak schooling includes a master’s in wet exits, hire a guide. For group trips and boat rentals, contact an outfitter: Try Acadia Bike and Coastal Kayaking (800-526-8615, www.acadiafun.com) or Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007, ). Post-adventure, the Inn at Bay Ledge (doubles, $160–$375; 207-288-4204, ), perched atop an 80-foot cliff overlooking Frenchman Bay, makes a most civilized base camp.

CUTLER COAST PUBLIC RESERVE LAND
Acadia’s watery splendors are a mere warm-up for the astounding sea views you’ll encounter on the Bold Coast, two hours north of the park on routes 3, 1, and 191. Spend two days BACKPACKING one of the East Coast’s longest seaside trails, the ten-mile Fairy Head Loop, opened seven years ago. Few people take in the raw beauty of this unpolished coast. See for yourself on a figure-eight loop that combines the Coastal Trail with the Inland Trail. The path meanders through blueberry heaths and boardwalked swamplands before opening up atop 70-foot cliffs jagging out over Cobscook Bay. You’ll hike through fog-nourished spruce woods, in and out of seal coves, and to Black Point Beach, littered with sea urchins, a good spot for a 50-degree cold plunge (beware of currents). Watch for eagles overhead and sprays on the horizon from the whales that cruise past from May to October. At Fairy Head, the farthest point of the loop, you’ll find three designated campsites tucked into the woods atop the cliffs. From here, Canada’s Grand Manan Island looks otherworldly in the orange blush of sunrise. Maps are at the trailhead, and you can pick up supplies in Machias.

Canyonlands National Park, Goblin Valley State Park

national parks, state parks

Utah’s Labyrinth: Canyonlands National Park

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK RENAISSANCE FUNHOGS, BRACE YOURSELVES: This trip, combining three days of MOUNTAIN BIKING with five days of WHITEWATER RAFTING on the Colorado River, may be the tastiest pairing since chocolate and cabernet. It takes you straight into the heart of Canyonlands’ high-desert rock garden, defined by the goosenecking canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers and an almost hallucinogenic symphony of spires, buttes, mesas, hoodoos, fins, arches, and slickrock. Phase one: a two-wheeled thrill ride on most of the 100-mile White Rim Trail, a celebrated track that requires a four-wheel-drive support vehicle to tote food and gear. Aim counterclockwise, along the Green River in the Island in the Sky district, and take a side trail at Lathrop Canyon or Potash to your prearranged meeting with your rafting guides. Here you embark on phase two: epic Southwest whitewater. A few miles below the confluence of the Green and the Colorado roars Cataract Canyon, a chain of about 25 Class III–V rapids that some claim trump those in the Grand Canyon, at least in the high-water months of May and June. O.A.R.S. Moab guides raft trips ($1,227, return flight from Lake Powell included; 800-342-5938, ).

GOBLIN VALLEY STATE PARK
Now for the soft side of your adventure: NARROWS HIKING. While you might feel hoodooed out, you’ll be awestruck anew by the whimsical sandstone gargoyles and skull-shaped gremlins of this state park. Goblin Valley, less than two hours from Canyonlands via U.S. 191, I-70, and U.S. 24, noses up to the southern end of the San Rafael Swell—an oval-shaped 3,000-foot fold of sandstone and shale wedged onto the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The land is so fantastic that it’s siphoning Moab loyalists—fast. These are the salient geological features: a 75-mile-long by 30-mile-wide rock dome, riddled with red-wall canyons, which meets a reef, a ring of nearly vertical eroded strata studded with slot canyons. Your hike into this alien land: the seven-mile Ding and Dang Loop, which in some sections carves through the reef via a slot that’s only as wide as a person. There’s plenty of scenic camping to be had all along the swell—if you travel light and can squeeze your backpack through the narrows. A more comfortable alternative is to do the route as a day hike and then set up your tent at the park’s 24-site campground (for reservations, call 800-322-3770).

Isle Royale National Park, Superior National Forest

national parks, state parks

Floating Kingdoms: Isle Royale National Park

ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK
Kayakers come to this roadless, carless Lake Superior island for its rocky shoreline; fishermen and canoeists, for its 47 inland lakes; and backpackers, for its wooded basaltic ridges populated by moose and timber wolves. A savvy and intrepid handful of park visitors know how to really get lost here: Venture below the lake’s forbidding surface for SHIPWRECK DIVING. Ten major vessels have come to rest in park waters in the last 127 years, and the same frigid 40-degree water that forces divers to don drysuits has drastically slowed the wrecks’ decomposition. Visibility is often so good you can survey a ship’s exterior 40 feet down without a light. The shallower remains are most popular, such as the America, a package freighter that sank in 1928 and whose bow lies just a few feet below the surface. Others sit deeper; the Kamloops, a Canadian freighter not located until 50 years after it succumbed to a blizzard in 1927, lies between 175 and 260 feet under. Join an outfitter—Superior Trips (763-785-9516, www.superiortrips.com) or RLT Divers Inc. (507-238-4671, www.rltdivers.com)—and spend a week diving and living off a boat. Isle Royale is open mid-April through October; the ferry from Grand Portage, Minnesota, takes three hours.

SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST
Just as Isle Royale island fever sets in, the ferry hops you back to Grand Portage, on the doorstep of the wet wonderland of Superior National Forest. This vast two-million-acre area is home to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its 1,500 miles of routes on silvery lakes and streams choked with northern pike and walleye. But here’s the surprise: Superior also hosts some fine MOUNTAIN BIKING, particularly in the rolling, moose-trodden highlands above Tofte and Lutsen. Minnesota’s Cook County is composed almost entirely of public lands, which translates to more than 500 miles of rideable forest gravel roads, two-track logging roads, and ski trails. (You may want to carry an inflatable pool toy to float your bike across deep water.) Start by driving an hour from Grand Portage on Highway 61 south to Grand Marais, your base for fat-tire fun; the Pincushion Bed & Breakfast (doubles, $95–$120; 800-922-5000, ) is a piney retreat overlooking Lake Superior. Try the 25-mile Devil’s Track Lake Loop, which starts out from the nearby campground on County Road 8. Superior North Outdoor Center (218-387-2186) has rentals and maps, and outfits inn-to-inn rides.

Great Smoky Mountains, Nantahala National Forest

Appalachian Adrenaline: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
IN THE SMOKIES, THE NUMBERS TELL good news and bad: 800 miles of trails, almost 700 miles of fishable streams, hazy blue ridges topping out above 6,000 feet (some of the highest east of the Rockies), 5,600 species of plants, more than 60 of native mammals … and upwards of nine million humans every year. So head where the masses aren’t—the Greenbrier area, on the Tennessee side—for three sweet and soothing days of HIKING and FLY-FISHING. Start hoofing it at the Porters Creek trailhead, reached by entering the park off U.S. 321 east of Gatlinburg. Follow the wide creek for 3.6 miles until you reach Campsite 31, gaining about 1,500 feet of elevation in the process—good reason to stop and wet a line along the way. Casting is easier here than in many of the park’s cramped, brush-banked streams, and you can catch rainbow trout. Next morning, backtrack 2.7 miles from your campsite to the Brushy Mountain Trail. You’ll cross trout streams and roam through tulip trees, hemlocks, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels. Bunk that night at the Mount LeConte shelter, a three-sided stone structure at 6,440 feet (free; reserve through the backcountry office at 865-436-1297). Or book a slot at the LeConte Lodge, a rustic haven reachable only by trail and lit by kerosene lamps (cabins and group lodges start at $83.50 per adult per night; 865-429-5704, ). On the third day, march six more miles on the Boulevard Trail, encountering many a heart-stopping mountain vista, to another shelter, at Icewater Springs near the Appalachian Trail (70 miles of which traverse the park). Finally, a 2.7-mile taste of the AT takes you to Newfound Gap Road, where you thoughtfully arranged for a shuttle to pick you up ($32 for up to five people; A Walk in the Woods, 865-436-8283).

NANTAHALA NATIONAL FOREST
Shake off the quiet of the past few days with high-intensity WHITEWATER RAFTING on the Chattooga near Nantahala National Forest. South of the national park, off highways 441 and 76, there’s easy access to the river’s sections three and four, a rumble strip of phenomenal Class III-V rapids. You’ll see nary a trace of man except your paddle mates, and it’s easy to get Deliverance-spooked while navigating rapids that ribbon through hemlock forest and echoing gorges, and dipping into holes ringed with eerie rock formations. After taming the first ten miles, set up camp at Woodall Shoals, where diversions include rope-swing acrobatics. Day two gets burlier, with 4.5 romping miles graciously followed by two calming miles of lake waters. Old Creek Lodge (cabins for two, $89–$229; 800-895-6343, ), in the artsy town of Highlands, is your post- paddle roost. Spin out your rafting legs by MOUNTAIN-BIKING the 6.6-mile, rhododendron-choked Blue Valley Loop Trail; from Highlands, access the trailhead via Clear Creek Road and Forest Road 367. Squeeze in a two-mile hike to the gray-cliff summit of 4,986-foot Whiteside Mountain, off Highway 64 between Highlands and Cashiers, for views of the rolling hills of North Carolina and Georgia. The Nantahala Outdoor Center (800-232-7238, ) leads overnight trips on the Chattooga and rents mountain bikes.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Routt National Forest

national parks, state parks

Colorado Sick-Track: Rocky Mountain National Park

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
JUST AN HOUR AND A HALF’S DRIVE from Denver and less than an hour from Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park draws legions of Front Range residents with its elk meadows, hikes to chilly alpine lakes, and Trail Ridge Road, the Divide-straddling highway. Less appreciated is that when it comes to CLIMBING, the park’s got something for every subculture: alpine routes, sport climbs, bouldering, and ice climbs. At 14,255 feet, Longs Peak is “the granddaddy of the fourteeners,” says Jim Detterline, a ranger who’s summited Longs 220 times and counting. Thousands of other people also reach the top each year, most of them by the Keyhole Route (the most popular path), and most in July or August. Very few brave the Stettner’s Ledges route on the mountain’s east face. Their loss. Rich with alpine history, the climb, rated a Grade III, 5.7-5.8, was first ascended in 1927 by a pair of German-American brothers from Illinois; at the time, it was among the country’s toughest routes, and it’s still no gimme, even for those acclimatized to high altitude. Stettner’s entails a pre-climb backcountry bivouac, a glacier crossing, and six pitches over fractured granite, chimneys, cracks, and ledges, all capped by another 600-foot scramble to the top. Typically, this means six to eight hours of heroics after a 4 a.m. start to avoid afternoon lightning. But you’ll still want to pause to catch your breath and take in your surroundings, which include a close-up view of the Diamond, an 800-foot-tall face. Contact the Colorado Mountain School in Estes Park (970-586-5758) for lessons and guided climbs.

ROUTT NATIONAL FOREST
ONE OF Colorado’s greatest untrampled MOUNTAIN-BIKING play spots is tucked away in the northernmost reaches of high-elevation Routt National Forest, two hours from Rocky Mountain National Park. For three days of wheeled heaven, head west from the park on Highway 40 (you’ll hit the Continental Divide at Rabbit Ears Pass) and continue north of Steamboat Springs to Routt, named for the state’s first governor. The formidable Nipple Peak/Lopez Creek Loop, accessed via Forest Road 487, near Hahn’s Lake will humble even hardcore riders. This 16-mile burner follows nappy Trail 1156 through dense conifers and lupine-sprinkled meadows before a four-mile grind to the saddle near 10,324-foot Nipple Peak. Then it’s up over a divide, down along Willow Creek, and onto Trail 1147. Call it a day at the Hinman Park Campground, next to the Elk River, east of the town of Clark. It’s a delightful, lodgepole-pine-dappled camp, somewhat less used than its neighbor sites in the area. The following day, your riding agenda focuses on the Big Red Park/Manzanares Trail, which wraps along Big Red Park, a large mountain meadow, and has stellar views of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area next door. If you’ve got juice left, there’s still the Hinman Trail, also known as Trail 1177, near your campsite, which unleashes seven miles of aspen-fringed, rolling singletrack studded with roots, rocks, downed trees, and—just for extra credit—a couple of stream crossings. In Steamboat Springs, Sore Saddle Cyclery (970-879-1675, ) has bikes and maps.

Olympic National Park, Rose Lake National Recreation Area

national parks, state parks

Washington’s Never-Never Land: Olympic National Park

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
FEW NATIONAL PARKS MAKE PICKING your poison so gut-wrenching as Olympic does: Should you light out for the 7,000-foot-and-higher peaks and sparkling lakes of the Olympic Peninsula’s interior? The rugged headlands and tide pools of the 65-mile Coastal section, a lengthy ribbon of primitive coastline? Or the moist air and brooding old growth of the temperate rainforest? Tough call, but this should help: For a gratifying combo of remoteness, adventure, and greenery so lush you’d swear you can hear the plants breathing, set aside three or four days to BACKPACK part of the 15-mile out-and-back Queets River Trail, in the park’s southwestern area. To reach the trailhead, drive 45 minutes from Highway 101 along a one-lane gravel washboard, and then ford two rivers, the shallow Sams and the trickier Queets. (Use caution on the Queets; the riverbed is rocky, uneven, slimy in spots, and unpassable at times in spring and early summer.) The trail wanders among Sitka spruces and red cedars, with riverside sandbars inviting quick dunks in the martini-cold Queets and well-situated tent sites. Elk herds have been known to make a cameo. Pick up your wilderness permit ($5, plus a camping fee of $2 per person per night) at any ranger station or information center.

ROSS LAKE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
Shortcut across Puget Sound to your second destination: Ross Lake National Recreation Area, hard by the Canadian border. Drive north on Highway 101 along the coast to Port Townsend, where it’s a 30-minute ferry ride to Whidbey Island and the cozy Captain Whidbey Inn (doubles, $150–$295; 800-366-4097, ). Next day, drive three hours on State Route 20 to 24-mile-long Ross Lake and the captivating Ross Lake Resort (doubles, $92–$197; 206-386-4437, ). First, there’s one more transportation leg: Ditch your car at milepost 134 on State Route 20 and hike a mile to the water, where a resort boat will ferry you to one of 15 floating cabins. Mellow Ross Lake, home to beavers and beatniks, has premier LAKE PADDLING, with 20 designated boat-in campsites if you want to sleep out (pick up a free backcountry permit at the Wilderness Information Center on State Route 20 on your way in; 360-873-4590; the resort rents canoes and kayaks). Afternoon winds tend to blow strongly uplake, so move in the morning. Your warm-up: Paddle the four miles up and down the Ruby Arm inlet. Or ride a motorboat to the trailhead for 6,100-foot Desolation Peak. It’s a 4.7-mile, 4,300-foot billy-goat hoof up to the lookout, where Jack Kerouac is rumored to have camped for 63 days. The views—of glacier-capped peaks and glistening Ross Lake—are nothing short of majestic.

Olympic National Park, Rose Lake National Recreation Area

national parks, state parks

Oh Capitan, My Capitan: Yosemite National Park

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
QUICK—TRY TO THINK OF A NATIONAL PARK whose icons are more familiar than Yosemite’s masterpieces of rock and water: Half Dome, El Capitan, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite Falls. No park comes close to this one’s abundant glacier-polished granite, a veritable shrine of ROCK CLIMBING. For those with aid-climbing skills, the tip of Lost Arrow Spire is an electrifying place to rise above the fray, quite literally, with outrageous views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. The spire is a tapering finger of rock that parallels the main Yosemite Falls wall, with an adrenalinizing twist: Although you climb only 200 feet on the spire, there’s some 2,500 feet between you and the valley floor below, more than enough to get you mumbling incoherently about your own mortality. By the numbers the climb is Grade III, 5.7, C.2; if any of that sounds like quantum physics, you’re not ready for Lost Arrow. (Instead, scamper up classic but less serious climbs like two-pitch Bishops Terrace, a 5.8.) There are two ways to approach the spire; we suggest making it a weekend trip either way, camping off-trail the nights before and after the climb. If you have ample sweat to spill, hike the four steep miles from the Valley on Yosemite Falls Trail via Yosemite Point. (Payoff: At about 6,500 feet, upper Yosemite Falls makes spectacular trail company.) For details of Yosemite routes and great climbing history, check out climber Chris McNamara’s Web site at . For lessons or guided climbs, contact Yosemite Mountaineering School (209-372-8435, ).

STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST
Hugging Yosemite’s northwest shoulder is the strikingly similar terrain of the Stanislaus National Forest, with more than 800 miles of rivers and streams, 1,470 designated campsites, and plenty of wilderness access points for sublime RAFTING and MOUNTAIN BIKING. Allow two hours to drive from Yosemite to a choice stretch of unpopulated whitewater, the North Fork of the Stanislaus, a steep, narrow canyon best run in May and June. Here await six miles of relentless whitewater, California’s longest continuous Class IV stretch. En route to this trove, spend a night at Murphys Historic Hotel in Murphys, a charismatic Gold Rush town off Highway 4 (doubles, $65–$100; 800-532-7684). Then start the wild ride at Sourgrass Crossing, about 20 miles from Murphys, navigating massive drops, boulder slaloms, and stair-step waterfalls, into Calaveras Big Trees State Park. O.A.R.S. offers daylong rafting adventures ($117–$143 per person; 800-346-6277, ). Next up: Continue on Highway 4 to Bear Valley, trade your paddle for knobbies, and tackle the Bear Valley/Lake Alpine route, ten miles of rock-hopping singletrack. Bear Valley 国产吃瓜黑料 Company (209-753-2834) has maps, guides, and rentals. With a sunset-facing deck and knotty timbered cabins, Lake Alpine Lodge (one-bedroom cabins from $120; 209-753-6358, ) is your serene base camp. Don’t dawdle: Highway 4 could be the state’s next scenic byway.

Ramp It Up

BMX: Lake Ferris, California

Brandon Nicholls, now 14 years old, got his first for-real BMX bike on his seventh Christmas. “I just started riding from there,” he says in a voice so newly dropped to baritone that he uses it slowly and carefully. Where he rode to was BMX glory. Last December, Brandon became the number-one–ranked amateur rider in the American Bicycle Association, BMX’s leading sanctioning body.

At five-foot-nine and 170 pounds, Brandon is fast growing into his voice. On a Sunday after lunch in Moreno Valley, California, 70 miles east of L.A., he wheels his $1,900 aluminum-frame GT Speed Series UltraBox, provided as part of his sponsorship deal with the GT/Panasonic Shock Wave BMX Team, to the family minivan. Brandon, his parents, and his brother Kyle are about to decamp to the nearby Lake Perris BMX course, as it has on nearly every Sunday afternoon for the last seven years. Brandon’s parents, Bill and Marci, will help officiate while their boy cranks out lap after lap in a local-level race, hurdling dirt-packed jumps and 25-foot-long stretches of dirt lined with 15 one- to two-foot bumps.

Once rolling, the Nicholls van takes on the glow shared by all family vehicles on the way to uplift and togetherness. “I think it’s important to do things with them, not just drop them off and pick them up later,” says Marci, a zaftig motherly sunbeam who works as a state truck inspector. (In lieu of a nametag, she’s wearing a T-shirt that proclaims her to be Brandon’s Mom.) Bill, a contractor who grew up in nearby Huntington Beach, brags about the preeminence of BMX here in the suburbifying drylands of Riverside County, the sport’s Fertile Crescent. In fact, BMX was born in these parts in the early 1970s as bicycle motocross, a nonmotorized version of motocross that pits eight torso-armored racers against one another in one-lap heats, or “motos,” on the 1,100 to 1,300-foot-long tracks.

Bill’s own recreational background—he used to race Baja buggies and motorcycles—says a lot about why this is BMX country. Daddies here share a predilection for things that burn gas and go like hell. Motorless kiddie motorsport, then, is a natural. Some dads turn to BMX when their kids get hooked, and the 60,000-member-strong ABA is more than accommodating: Age groups range from five-and-under to 56-and-over, with the 13-and-14-year-old division the biggest. Yet despite its competitive bent, BMX boasts a thriving recreational side, too: Nonracers flock to homemade dirt courses—outfitted with short, swooping downhills and steep jumps—in parks all across the United States.

Today at Lake Perris, Brandon Nicholls is in his element. He rockets down the starting hill, looking like a steelhead swimming with catfish. “Check this moto right here,” machine-guns the announcer, somebody’s dad being unhinged. “Check out Brandon Nicholls!” Kids who hope for BMX fame can see it in their midst, while parental hope is spelled out on the side of the Chevy pickup that belongs to the guy who runs the track: Keeping kids clean in the dirt.

The Dirt: More than a dozen L.A. suburbs have BMX tracks. Armoring up for your first moto requires ABA membership ($35 per year). At the Lake Perris track, practice times and races are scheduled throughout the week; call 909-657-4917 for details.

SPECIALIZED FATBOY HEMI

VITALS: $600; 800-245-3462;
WEIGHT: 4 pounds frame, 24.7 pounds complete
FRAME: No tubes, just an aluminum monocoque
FORK: Stout, chrome-moly unicrown
COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS: A smattering of Specialized’s own parts (cranks, tires, handlebars) built to handle the high-flying rigors of the BMX track
THE RIDE: Whether you’re perfecting a gate-start at the track or simply hamming it up on the local trails, at $600 the Fatboy Hemi is cheap enough that you and Junior can think about getting matching bikes to work on your double-jumps together. (Sure beats hucking fastballs at each other.) The Hemi’s trademark monocoque construction makes it stiffer than most BMX frames, and it comes adorned with nice touches like a built-in pad on top of the frame—which, when you come up short on that double-jump, means Junior won’t necessarily be an only child.

S&M KRIS BENNETT

VITALS: $915; 714-835-3400;
WEIGHT: 6.95 pounds frame; 25.7 pounds complete
FRAME: Chrome-moly steel
FRAME: Stout, chrome-moly unicrown
COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS: Pricey Profile three-piece cranks are worth every penny for their balance of durability and light weight
THE RIDE: Show up at any BMX street scene or dirt-lot jump astride the Bennett—named after the famed racer—and the local competition will immediately classify you as one of two breeds: dark horse threat or witless poser. You are, after all, riding the signature bike of one of the best “dirt-jumpers” in the country. Haven’t heard of Bennett or his niche MTV-style sport? You’re obviously not a threat. But that’s OK because the Bennett, with construction and componentry designed to handle the impact of the occasional flat landing on hardpacked dirt, is tough enough to be ridden away from all but the worst rookie-beaters. —ANDREW JUSKAITIS

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ONE OF The nation’s tiniest national parks—a diminutive 35,500 acres, smaller than any Ted Turner ranch—Acadia National Park ranks second only to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the dubious distinction of most tourists per square foot: 81.7 annually. However, adventure in Acadia isn’t an oxymoron. The park’s humpbacked Porcupine Islands are one of the most coveted paddling spots on the planet: Hop in your sea kayak and lose the crowds (most of them, at least).

Acadia at dawn

The Porcupines are a collection of four small islands in Frenchman Bay, off the larger Mount Desert Island, where much of Acadia proper is located. While Frenchman Bay can be calmer than the water in most bathtubs, there is lobster-boat traffic to contend with, and the weather here, even in summer, can change at the drop of a spray skirt. When it does, the winds pick up suddenly and the tides get muscular; there’s no choice but to find the quickest route possible back to port. These are reasons why a guide is a wise investment, especially for first-timers to Acadia. We threw in with David Legere, a gregarious and thickly accented Maine-iac who owns Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s. The outfit’s dock is right in downtown Bar Harbor, the little town on Mount Desert Island that is most convenient to the Porcupines.
You can easily see all four islands in one day. Burnt Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands have the most dramatic features—steep ledges, pounding surf, bristling stands of thick spruce and fir. Getting to Burnt Porcupine, 1.25 miles offshore, involves an exposed open-water crossing with potential for extra-choppy seas and strong winds.
Acadia is silly with birds—273 species in all—and from the sound of it, most happily hang out on Long Porcupine. Look for peregrines, ospreys, blue herons, and guillemots. Sheep Porcupine Island hosts an active bald eagle nest—you may spot young eaglets poking out in early summer. In the water, keep an eye peeled for harbor seals and harbor porpoises.
No camping is allowed on the Porcupine Islands. So at day’s end, throw the boat on the car, drive 65 miles from Bar Harbor to the fishing town of Stonington, and hop the passenger ferry to Isle au Haut. We like the lean-tos at Duck Harbor Campground, just off the south ferry landing. This 4,000-acre island is the perfect spot to bring your own craft for a second day of low-key island exploration.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Acadia National Park (207-288-3338, ) allows camping at Duck Harbor campground. The fee is $25 per campsite per night, and a permit is required; call the park or stop by park headquarters, three miles west of Bar Harbor.
OUTFITTER – Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007) offers a two-and-a-half-hour paddle around Sheep Porcupine for $37 per person. Kids must be ten or older. Or David Legere will customize an Acadia sea tour for your family (price depends on number of hours).

Montana

Glacier National Park

I’d just finished breakfast and was checking out the gift shop at the West Glacier Restaurant (“Family Dining Since 1938”) when I bumped into my first bear bells. Were they kidding? There were handhelds (like sleigh bells) for sale, as well as walking sticks with tinkly bells. While bear bells might make charming souvenirs for some of Glacier National Park’s 1.8 million annual visitors—only a tiny percentage of whom come anywhere near actually bumping into a bear—I didn’t think I’d march my kids down the trail without at least stocking up on pepper spray.
The thing about Glacier is that although it may be bumper to bumper on the famed 52-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road, which spans the park between Lake McDonald and the town of St. Mary, step out of your car and there’s a serious wildernessful of adventures to be had. During a one-week visit last fall, I spent a few action-packed days in West Glacier, then drove across to the less-visited eastern side of the park before looping back on U.S. 2, along the southern boundary. I joined a family field seminar at the Glacier Institute and went mountain biking, rafting, fly-fishing, and horseback riding, but the most exciting thing, in the end, was plain old hiking.
Some 730 miles of maintained trails crisscross the park, all running through country that’s spine-tinglingly wild—just knowing that grizzlies are out there makes rounding each bend that much more interesting. It isn’t often you find yourself encouraging your kids to be noisier on the trail, but that’s what you need to do when you are, frankly, lower on the food chain and don’t want to surprise anyone outranking you.
We learned the ins and outs of hiking in Glacier from Bill Schustrom, a retired science teacher who’s worked in the park for 30 years and now gives campfire talks. During the summer months he plays the ukulele and sings songs like “Bats Eat Bugs, They Don’t Eat People.” The chorus, “Nothing in this park / Wants to eat you for a meal / Because if they do / They know how sick they’ll feel,” cracked us up and calmed our nerves. Another hit was communing with the park’s smaller denizens at the Glacier Institute, a nonprofit outdoor-education center that offers family field seminars. Our Teva-clad teacher, Chris Gibson, led us down to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and set up an impromptu classroom before outlining the basics of aquatic insects. “Here’s how to tell the difference between insects on the river: A stone fly has two tails and armpit hair. Mayflies have three tails and a hairy butt,” he instructed, eliciting giggles from preteens and parents alike. Looking for bugs turned out to be better than it sounds—sort of like a treasure hunt. What you do is crouch along the edge of a stream and turn over stones, looking for anything interesting hanging on. Once you find a live specimen, you shake it into a bucket to examine later under a microscope—and recall that the park has incredible diversity, from tiny stream creatures to large mammals. Glacier is one of the few places in the world, we learned, where all native predators and virtually all their prey still survive in the wild.
Our Glacier game plan was to mix a steady diet of hikes (which my husband and I love) and other outdoor activities with some requisite drives (which are so spectacular that even the kids stayed awake). Thus the field seminar was followed by an afternoon rafting the Middle Fork of the Flathead, ideal for families because it’s mostly flat, with a handful of Class III rapids. Another day we rented mountain bikes and cruised the banks of the Middle Fork on deserted trails, then drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road in the sweetest of rides: one of the park’s fleet of restored 1936 “Jammer” buses (nicknamed, it’s said, for the sound of drivers jamming their gears up and down the highway) with the canvas top rolled back and wool blankets tucked under our chins. Another morning was spent horseback riding before heading up to the Many Glacier region in hopes of spotting a grizzly.
Sure enough, we came across hopeful visitors with spotting scopes trained on two tiny specks that were supposedly bears (they looked like rocks to me). We had given up the search and started back when one of our young companions shouted, “There’s a bear!” A hundred yards up the scree field to our left, we saw a hefty, cinnamon-haired griz. It stood sniffing the air for a moment, then lumbered into a patch of huckleberries.
We wondered aloud about the sixty-something couple we’d just watched hike up the same slope. “What’s he eating in those bushes?” someone joked, laughing nervously.
Now that we’d encountered this truly wild thing roaming the park, an awestruck hush settled over the group. I thought about the bear talk that Bill, our Jammer driver, had delivered.
“Do you know what to do if we spot a griz? Gather together in a tight circle, and make sure your driver is in the middle!” he’d quipped.
Call me chicken, but I’m with Bill.
THE DETAILS
GETTING THERE – To reach Glacier National Park (406-888-7800, ), fly into Kalispell’s Glacier Park International Airport or drive 25 miles from Whitefish, Montana.
LODGING – Glacier Raft Company Cabins (800-235-6781, ) is a half-mile from the park’s west entrance. One-bedroom cabins, with log beds, kitchens with Franklin stoves, and front porches, sleep four and cost $195 per night in peak season. Doubles at the historic Glacier Park Lodge (406-892-2525, ) start at $135 a night. Doubles at The Resort at Glacier’s new Great Bear Lodge (800-368-3689, ) are $170. Along the southern boundary, the Izaak Walton Inn (doubles from $108; 406-888-5700, ), built for railway workers in the 1930s, is a great find—kids will love sleeping in a retrofitted railcar.
OUTFITTERS – Daylong seminars with the Glacier Institute (406-755-1211, ) cost $30 for adults, $20 for kids. Glacier Raft Company (800-235-6781, ) runs half-day ($40 adult, $30 child) and full-day ($65 adult, $48 child) rafting expeditions on the Flathead. Rent mountain bikes from the Glacier Outdoor Center ($29 per day for adults and $15 per day for kids 12 and under; 800-235-6781). Glacier Wilderness Guides (800-521-7238, ) runs top-notch fly-fishing trips on the Middle and North forks of the Flathead (from $225 for two people). For horseback riding outside the park, try Montana Ranch 国产吃瓜黑料s—their motto is “Real Cowboys Don’t Ride Single File” (half-day rides, $65 per person; 888-338-3054, ).
FOOD – Don’t miss the Two Sisters caf茅 (406-732-5535) on U.S. 89, outside Glacier’s east entrance, where the ceiling is hung with Elvis memorabilia, and the comfort food (spicy chili, burgers, buttermilk chocolate cake) is surprisingly great.

Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Smokies, true to their moniker

Tennessee’s Goshen Prong Trail is so blissfully quiet you can hear twigs snap under your hiking boots and a creek, Goshen Prong, tumbling nearby. The leaves of the old-growth deciduous trees rustle softly; not another trekker is in sight. Ah, solitude. It’s only after a smack of open palm to forehead that you remember that this is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most heavily visited of our national parks.
Despite the Smokies’ bad rap (a daunting ten million visitors annually), most tourists are car-bound, leaving 512,000 acres of uncongested backcountry for hiking adventures. Vesna Plakanis, who owns the outfitter A Walk in the Woods with her husband, Erik, is a modern-day John Muir of the Smokies—smitten with the park and extremely knowledgeable about its ecology. Let her guide you on a hike; with a gifted naturalist on hand, the park’s astounding biodiversity (Great Smoky Mountains National Park is richer in flora and fauna than any other national park) springs to life.
Here’s an ideal two-and-a-half-day, 15-mile hike: Ditch the masses as they slog up the paved half-mile Clingmans Dome Trail, atop the park’s highest peak (6,643 feet). Instead, take the Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail. Few people use it, because it’s rocky, wet, and overgrown. Tread nimbly and enjoy the dearth of humanity and breathtaking views of North Carolina and Fontana Lake.
Watch for a rock outcropping where this path intersects the Appalachian Trail after a half-mile—look for raptors coasting overhead. While it may be tempting to turn off onto the AT and skip Clingmans Dome, now a third of a mile away, gird yourself for the mob in order to take in the sweeping multistate views.
Then double back to the AT and the ridge that is the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. You’ll see beech gaps, grassy balds, and some of the oldest trees east of the Mississippi River. You might also see some of the eccentrics who give the AT its personality. Vesna remembers one toting a large college flag on a mast and another packing his own Porta-Potti.
Go 2.5 miles along the AT and then peel off on the Goshen Prong Trail. A prong is a tributary, and this one is a delightful companion—an Appalachian stream with small cascades. Pitch your tent at backcountry campsite 23 and fall asleep to the sound of water. Next morning, continue northeast on the trail for 3.3 miles to the turnoff at Little River Trail. After about a mile of flat hiking in dense forest, grab the Husky Gap Trail and head north 2.1 miles to the Sugarland Mountain Trail. Campsite 21, ideal for night two, is less than a mile down Sugarland. Your reward: an awesome swimming hole, with a huge slanting rock that serves as a slide. Wake up for a low-key four-miler out on the overlook-rich Sugarland Mountain Trail.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (865-436-1200, ) requires free permits for its 114 backcountry camping sites. Reservations are required for campground 23 but not for campground 21. Call 865- 436-1231 to book.
OUTFITTER – A Walk in the Woods (865-436-8283) leads guided walks starting at $20 per adult and $16 for kids; a guided trip for a family of five runs $250 per night and includes meals and cooking gear.

Florida

Dry Tortugas National Park

Fort Jefferson

Any fool living in Maine would seize the opportunity to sail with his family in the Florida Keys in November. Any fool, even if his wife, Lisa, was seven months pregnant and had suffered a near-deadly case of bacterial meningitis a week earlier and had been told by her doctors that she absolutely could not leave the state. Even if this were his crew: Helen, age five, a hellcat whose greatest desire is to own a pig; Anabel and Eliza, six-year-old twin acrobats with no understanding of the word no. And even if he’d be guiding a 36-foot sybaritic catamaran 70 miles west of Key West with only a modicum of captaining experience so his family could fulfill his desire to visit Fort Jefferson, a 150-year-old red-brick monolith set on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park that is known mainly for housing Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was serving a life term for helping John Wilkes Booth evade capture.
We’re talking the Dry Tortugas. Even its name sounds exotic. It’s been a national park for just ten years and is known mostly to sailors and a few tarpon-chasing sportfishermen. Located on a major migratory flyway, the Dry Tortugas are visited by about 300 species of birds in the fall and spring and shelter the only U.S. nesting ground for the magnificent frigate bird. Its angular, six-foot wingspan is easy for young birders to spot as it glides across this collection of seven islands, the least disturbed and southwesternmost outpost of the Florida Keys.
Vibrant, colorful reefs and wrecked ships lie a mere five feet beneath the surface, almost as if they’ve been placed there for little kids to see more fish than they ever imagined. Even the guy at the charter-boat place agreed: “There’s no finer place in Florida for snorkeling,” he bragged. “You’re gonna love it.”
Clearly, we had to visit Dry Tortugas National Park, and so we set out with an itinerary I’d worked on for weeks. We started by traveling to Key West, the closest bit of developed land to the park, to pick up our vacation vessel at Oceanside Marina. It was then, during a precharter talk with Robin Rule, a partner in Southernmost Sailing, that our voyage began to take an unexpected course. She used the p-word. Yachtsmen love to bandy that word about—it’s a verbal secret-society handshake and is the antithesis of my very being. But Robin used it, and that was that. “This time of year, with the sun setting so early, it’d be prudent to anchor by 4 p.m. And your plan to reach the Dry Tortugas? Not prudent. Five days isn’t enough time. You’re here to have fun, and if you bite off more than you can chew, it’s no fun.” Hmmm.
Five hours later, we were sailing downwind in a rolling sea as blue and blissful as my wife’s suddenly sparkling eyes. I’d set my sights on sailing to Boca Grande Key, about 18 miles out to sea, with a few small keys en route. From there it would be an easy two-day sail to Dry Tortugas. We were making seven knots and the skies were clear. Never mind the fact that one of the boat’s two 25-horsepower engines—used as backup if we couldn’t sail—had quit on us as we motored out of the marina. To hell with it! We were bound for the Dry Tortugas, where kids turned angelic and parents felt at peace. I just needed the right time to tell Lisa.
We reached Boca Grande an hour before sunset, near a curving white beach that disappeared into mangroves. Great white egrets and a Helen-size osprey watched us anchor. A gentle wind whirred in the rigging, and mullets leaped like shimmering Baryshnikovs above the Atlantic’s surface. We went ashore in the burnished glow of dusk on the edge of protected land—most of Boca Grande is a wildlife refuge. Stingrays stealthed into the sandy bottom, and the girls learned that sponges aren’t really fluorescent rectangles manufactured for washing dishes, but are actual living creatures. Dozens lay washed up on shore; Anabel kept one as a hat.
The next morning we sailed on to the Marquesas Keys, a ring of islands about eight miles west and the only atoll in the Atlantic. My plan was to spend the afternoon there, snorkeling above a shipwreck, and then head across to the Dry Tortugas once the kids were asleep at 9 p.m. We could sail 45 miles and be anchored beside Fort Jefferson by 4 a.m. I decided to let Lisa in on my thoughts while we negotiated our way into the Marquesas. “Are you crazy? What happened with being prudent?” she asked, uttering the p-word for the first time since we left Oceanside Marina. I interrupted her, yelling, “Coming about!” She jumped up, cranked in the starboard sheet, and—huffing like a mama bear—turned her full attention to me.
“Are you even thinking about the kids?”
“I can handle this boat, sweetie,” I answered, and then saw that something was amiss. The sails stalled, backed, and then headed us toward some rocks 100 yards away. “Let the sheet go! We didn’t make it.” We fell off the wind, sped up, came about, and failed to make it again. I cranked the remaining working engine, but it notched us up only a knot or so, no aid in getting us anywhere. We spent the next four hours trying to get a mile upwind. By this time, the girls were crying for a swim but wouldn’t go in unless I did. Lisa wasn’t really talking to me.
So I plunged into the five-foot-deep water, entering a forest of turtle grass. I repeated things like “have fun” to myself.
The girls jumped in. Lisa joined us, floating toward me.
“You know I love adventures. If it were just us—” she began.
“No, no. You’re right. The p-p-p-prudent thing to do would be to return to Key West.”
We didn’t make it to the fort—we didn’t even try. We did, however, do everything the girls wanted to do—swim, beachcomb, climb in the mangroves, and eat lots of crackers and goat cheese. We snorkeled in 40 feet of water that was visible to the bottom. And we made it back to Oceanside Marina. In other words, we were prudent and—to my surprise—we still had fun.
What did we miss? I don’t know this from experience, but they say Fort Jefferson remains a marvel, though its facade of 16 million bricks needs replacing, and that just a mile from Garden Key an outcropping of staghorn coral is flourishing—just waiting for some fool in a sailboat escaping the North.
THE DETAILS
GETTING THERE –There are several ways to reach Dry Tortugas National Park (305-242-7700, ) from Key West, including a charter catamaran, high-speed boat, and floatplane. Two companies offer round-trip boat service; both leave Key West at 8 a.m. every day and return at 5:30 p.m. Both cost about $100 and include breakfast, lunch, drinks, a tour of the fort, and snorkeling gear. For prices and reservations, contact Sunny Days Catamarans (800-236-7937, ) or Yankee Fleet (800-634-0939, ). Seaplanes of Key West (800-950-2359, ) makes the trip in less than an hour. Price is roughly $180 for a half-day trip, $300 for a full day, and includes drinks, a fort tour, and snorkeling gear.
LODGING – Seven islands, including Garden Key, make up the park. Some are day-use only or are closed to visitors because of nesting birds and the fragility of the land. The park’s 13-site campground on Garden Key, the only accommodation offered, costs $3 per site per night. It operates on a first-come, first-served basis, except for the group area, which has to be reserved. There are no boat moorings or slips for the public; overnight anchorage is limited to a designated area off Garden Key’s eastern shore.
OUTFITTERS – To charter a sailboat, you have to prove your seaworthiness with a bareboat-school certificate or by listing your captaining history and passing a sailing test. Monohulls cost around $1,200 for a week; catamarans, up to $2,800. Contact Southernmost Sailing (888-352-7245, ). We got a $200 refund on our charter because of the engine problems.
FOOD – There is no food service in the park, so stock up in Key West at Fausto’s Food Palace (305-296-5663, ), a Cuban market. You must bring everything you need, including water.

Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park

The magnificent elk, best seen during the September rutting season

High-altitude Rocky Mountain National Park, bursting with 74 peaks over 12,000 feet, serves as an adventure training ground for my family. Our ultimate ambition is to summit 14,255-foot Longs Peak—our team, including my 12-year-old daughter, Cleo, and her middle school pals Emma and Celeste, should be ready for this expedition in a summer or two. In preparation, we’re working our way steadily higher on the park’s 355-mile trail system.
We live in nearby Boulder, with plenty of good climbing and hiking a few blocks from home. The national park, with 266,240 acres of spectacular views and Lake Granby nearby, makes a favorite weekend destination. We start with the 4.7-mile hike through Glacier Gorge—perfect for kids because you can take it in easy stages and use Mills Lake, Jewel Lake, or Black Lake as your turnaround point, depending on the strength of your team. If they’re really in shape, you can push onward, up a mile of steep switchbacks, all the way to Green Lake, at 11,550 feet. That’s the next stage in our training course.
The first half-mile, from the 9,240-foot Glacier Gorge Junction trailhead to silvery Alberta Falls, is an easy 140-foot climb doable even by four-year-olds. Then the trail levels out to wind around Glacier Knobs, a pair of immense granite outcrops. It was here, during our most recent excursion, that the kids learned a lesson in noise control: They suppressed giggles so as not to frighten a chipmunk stealing a two-inch cube of Emmentaler cheese right off my lap. (But it’s a mistake to shush kids up on these trails—you don’t want to surprise a puma.)
As we continued hiking, the girls chattered back at colonies of pikas in the granite scree fields and conquered a gentle climb onto bedrock scoured by a glacier 10,000 years ago. We spotted plenty of birds—everything from mountain chickadees to golden eagles.
The first puddle is Mills Lake, where marmots gazed gravely back at us from rocks above. We skirted the rocky east shore, then climbed to marshy Jewel Lake. From there, the trail’s last mile is a switchback climb alongside Ribbon Falls to Black Lake, at 10,620 feet, where we nearly popped our necks staring at the overhanging rock walls. They form an immense amphitheater, with six peaks soaring over 13,000 feet. We ate lunch with our sweaty feet dangling in the cold lake, and watched for jumping fish.
When it comes to camping, the kids like the spartan Moraine Park or Glacier Basin campgrounds, because from there (a short drive from the Beaver Meadows entrance) it’s a quick walk to see elk gathered at dusk and dawn, especially during rutting season in early fall (that’s when traffic is light on the trails, too). Around the campfire, I get to be a backwoods gourmet; Meredith, Emma and Celeste’s mom, tells South African ghost stories from her childhood.
The day after our training hike we often drive over Trail Ridge Road to Lake Granby, in the Arapaho National Recreation Area, just past the park’s southwest boundary. There we rent a sloop and sail with the mountain wind, a unique experience for our landlocked, high-altitude kids. From the boat we can plan our assault on Longs Peak, visible as it towers into the clouds, 13 miles away.
THE DETAILS
GETTING THERE – Rocky Mountain National Park (970-586-1206, ) is reached by driving U.S. 36 northwest from Denver and Boulder.
LODGING – A tent site at Moraine Park or Glacier Basin, or any of the three other roadside campgrounds in the park, costs $18 a night. Call 800-365-2267 to make a reservation (recommended between Memorial Day and Labor Day). The park also offers 267 backcountry campsites; for full information on campsites, see . The romantic Stanley Hotel (800-976-1377, ) was built in 1909 by F. O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile, and was Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining. The front rooms command a magnificent view of the peaks. Doubles start at $149 per night.
OUTFITTERS – Rent sailboats from Captain Spongefoot Sailing Company (970-887-1043) on Lake Granby, in the Arap-aho National Recreation Area. A 24-foot sloop costs $145 for four hours. For powerboat rental (about $150 per day), call Highland Marina on Lake Granby (970-887-3541).
FOOD – Kids like the burgers and sandwiches at Penelope’s World Famous Burgers in Estes Park (229 W. Elkhorn Ave., 970-586-2277) and the hearty chicken and deli specialties at Mountain Home Cafe, also in Estes Park (533 Big Thompson Ave., 970-586-6624).

California

Channel Islands National Park

Humpback whales breach the surface to feed

No way! muttered Chelsea as we paddled our sea kayak toward a 20-foot arch on Santa Cruz Island. With waves roiling through the rocky opening—at the base of a massive cliff called The Elephant on the island’s east coast—kayaking through the arch must have seemed challenging, if not downright impossible, to even the most daring ten-year-old.
Our paddle beneath The Elephant was part of a three-day weekend in Channel Islands National Park, off the Southern California coast 70 miles west of Los Angeles. The park’s five islands—Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Anacapa—are pockmarked by hundreds of arches and caverns, roughly two-thirds of them along shore. As we discovered, each of these wave-forged openings in the coastal cliffs presents a unique navigational challenge. Seal Cave, with its rocky beach, is a refuge for harbor seals. Shipwreck Cave preserves the rusty remnants of a barge. Painted Cave, at nearly a quarter-mile long, is one of the world’s largest sea caves.
Kayaking these marine caverns wasn’t possible when I was growing up in Southern California: Most of the Channel Islands were privately owned, used as sheep and cattle ranches or hunting preserves. In 1980, the islands collectively became a national park.
Although they have similar natural histories, the islands are distinct. Anacapa is tiny, a razor-thin wedge of vertical rock topped by a lighthouse. Santa Rosa is known for its hundreds of ancient Chumash Indian sites and the remains of pygmy mammoths that lived almost 13,000 years ago. More than 50,000 seals and other fin-footed mammals—one of the world’s greatest concentrations of pinnipeds—gather on San Miguel near Point Bennett. Isolated Santa Barbara Island, southeast of the main cluster, is for those who want to escape even the most minimal vestiges of civilization. And Santa Cruz, with its deeply indented topography, is ideal for cavers and paddlers.
The Channel Islands are called the American Gal谩pagos because of their variety and volume of wildlife. Humans, however, are more scarce. Although 30 million people dwell on the adjacent mainland, only about a quarter-million people make the trip out to the islands each year.
Chelsea and I have made the voyage several times. We’ve scrambled up grassy peaks and trekked richly wooded valleys in search of creatures, such as the island fox, found nowhere else on earth. We’ve snorkeled kelp beds to see garibaldi (the bright-orange state fish), cruised through pods of several hundred dolphins, and glimpsed three humpback whales. And we’ve camped along an isolated beach, the waves lulling us to sleep with notions that the entire California coast used to be this way: wild, remote, utterly unspoiled—and ripe for kayak adventures.
Despite her initial trepidation, my daughter maintained her cool as we slipped beneath The Elephant. She kept the jagged walls at bay with her paddle, and I carefully guided us through the swell. As we breached daylight again on the other side of the arch, she whirled around with a grin of triumph and an idea: “Let’s go again!”
THE DETAILS
GETTING THERE – Channel Islands National Park (805-658-5730, ) is accessible only by boat or private plane. Island Packers (805-642-1393, ) runs ferries from Ventura Harbor on the mainland, where the park’s visitor center is located, to all five islands. Round-trip fares range from $37 per adult and $20 per child for Anacapa to $62 per adult and $45 per child for Santa Rosa. Service to Santa Rosa and San Miguel runs May to November.
LODGING – Camping is the only overnight accommodation in the Channel Islands. Campers must obtain a permit ($10 per night; 800-365-2267, ). Each island has seven to 40 campsites; backcountry beach camping is allowed on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz.
OUTFITTERS – Aquasports (800-773-2309, ) offers single- and multi-day sea-kayaking trips along the Santa Cruz coast that include sea-cave exploration and hiking. Trips leave from Ventura Harbor; fees range from $189 for a day trip to $359 for a three-day trip with overnights at Scorpion Ranch, a camping area on the east side of Santa Cruz Island. Horizons West 国产吃瓜黑料s (562-799-3880, ) offers fly-in camping on Santa Rosa Island. Three-day trips cost $485 per person, including airfare, meals, and tents.
FOOD – Christy’s Deli (1559 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor, 805-642-3116) prepares box meals for trips to the islands. Groceries are available at the adjacent Village Market (805-644-2970).

California

Yosemite National Park

El Capitan and the Merced River

With its 360-degree views of the Tuolumne backcountry, the 10,940-foot summit of Cathedral Peak is the best place to fully appreciate the majesty of Yosemite National Park. There’s the granite spire of Eichorn Pinnacle, sapphire-blue Cathedral Lake, and—way off in the distance—the unmistakable bald pate of 8,842-foot Half Dome. Of course, getting there involves rock climbing up at least 22 pitches.
Just because you don’t climb now doesn’t mean you can’t learn. “People are surprised by how quickly they progress in our classes,” says Doug Kerr, who has been with the Yosemite Mountaineering School for 20 years. Keep expectations reasonable—there’s no way you’ll be leading your kids up Yosemite routes after a week. But clawing up a face while safely tied into an experienced guide’s belay line? No problem. (Kids should be, at minimum, a mature ten years old.)
Schedule your Yosemite climbing adventure for July or August, when the Yosemite Mountaineering School expands its operation from the crowded Valley (the park gets 3.5 million visitors annually) to the alpine meadows of Tuolumne. If your only experience with rock is through the speakers of a stereo, begin with the intro class; plan on a six-hour day of climbing instruction. You’ll be scaling heights up to 60 feet by day’s end. Even more fun, you’ll experience the rush of rappelling down.
Subsequent classes teach increasingly sophisticated techniques such as crack climbing, multipitch climbing, and self-rescue. Reserve some of your vacation fund to hire a guide from the school after you graduate—it’s the most expedient way to see parts of Yosemite that most people only dream about.
Pitch your tent at Tuolumne Meadows Campground, convenient to both the school and some of the West Coast’s most memorable backcountry hiking. Get the ground perspective of Cathedral Peak, one of John Muir’s favorite mountains: Just 3.5 miles from the campground at the Cathedral Lake Trailhead, there is a simple seven-mile out-and-back hike to stunning views at Upper Cathedral Lake.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Yosemite National Park (209-372-0200, ) maintains 304 campsites at Tuolumne Meadows, with flush toilets, drinking water, and a general store. Half the sites can be reserved in advance for $18 a night; call 800-436-7275.
OUTFITTER – Classes at Yosemite Mountaineering School (209-372-8344, ) average about $90 per person per day, including equipment (shoe rental is extra). Private guides start at $100 per person per six-hour session.

Maine

Acadia National Park

Acadia at dawn

ONE OF The nation’s tiniest national parks—a diminutive 35,500 acres, smaller than any Ted Turner ranch—Acadia National Park ranks second only to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the dubious distinction of most tourists per square foot: 81.7 annually. However, adventure in Acadia isn’t an oxymoron. The park’s humpbacked Porcupine Islands are one of the most coveted paddling spots on the planet: Hop in your sea kayak and lose the crowds (most of them, at least).
The Porcupines are a collection of four small islands in Frenchman Bay, off the larger Mount Desert Island, where much of Acadia proper is located. While Frenchman Bay can be calmer than the water in most bathtubs, there is lobster-boat traffic to contend with, and the weather here, even in summer, can change at the drop of a spray skirt. When it does, the winds pick up suddenly and the tides get muscular; there’s no choice but to find the quickest route possible back to port. These are reasons why a guide is a wise investment, especially for first-timers to Acadia. We threw in with David Legere, a gregarious and thickly accented Maine-iac who owns Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s. The outfit’s dock is right in downtown Bar Harbor, the little town on Mount Desert Island that is most convenient to the Porcupines.
You can easily see all four islands in one day. Burnt Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands have the most dramatic features—steep ledges, pounding surf, bristling stands of thick spruce and fir. Getting to Burnt Porcupine, 1.25 miles offshore, involves an exposed open-water crossing with potential for extra-choppy seas and strong winds.
Acadia is silly with birds—273 species in all—and from the sound of it, most happily hang out on Long Porcupine. Look for peregrines, ospreys, blue herons, and guillemots. Sheep Porcupine Island hosts an active bald eagle nest—you may spot young eaglets poking out in early summer. In the water, keep an eye peeled for harbor seals and harbor porpoises.
No camping is allowed on the Porcupine Islands. So at day’s end, throw the boat on the car, drive 65 miles from Bar Harbor to the fishing town of Stonington, and hop the passenger ferry to Isle au Haut. We like the lean-tos at Duck Harbor Campground, just off the south ferry landing. This 4,000-acre island is the perfect spot to bring your own craft for a second day of low-key island exploration.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Acadia National Park (207-288-3338, ) allows camping at Duck Harbor campground. The fee is $25 per campsite per night, and a permit is required; call the park or stop by park headquarters, three miles west of Bar Harbor.
OUTFITTER – Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007) offers a two-and-a-half-hour paddle around Sheep Porcupine for $37 per person. Kids must be ten or older. Or David Legere will customize an Acadia sea tour for your family (price depends on number of hours).

Cr猫me de la Canada

Northern Exposure

Acadia at dawn

ONE OF The nation’s tiniest national parks—a diminutive 35,500 acres, smaller than any Ted Turner ranch—Acadia National Park ranks second only to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the dubious distinction of most tourists per square foot: 81.7 annually. However, adventure in Acadia isn’t an oxymoron. The park’s humpbacked Porcupine Islands are one of the most coveted paddling spots on the planet: Hop in your sea kayak and lose the crowds (most of them, at least).
The Porcupines are a collection of four small islands in Frenchman Bay, off the larger Mount Desert Island, where much of Acadia proper is located. While Frenchman Bay can be calmer than the water in most bathtubs, there is lobster-boat traffic to contend with, and the weather here, even in summer, can change at the drop of a spray skirt. When it does, the winds pick up suddenly and the tides get muscular; there’s no choice but to find the quickest route possible back to port. These are reasons why a guide is a wise investment, especially for first-timers to Acadia. We threw in with David Legere, a gregarious and thickly accented Maine-iac who owns Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s. The outfit’s dock is right in downtown Bar Harbor, the little town on Mount Desert Island that is most convenient to the Porcupines.
You can easily see all four islands in one day. Burnt Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands have the most dramatic features—steep ledges, pounding surf, bristling stands of thick spruce and fir. Getting to Burnt Porcupine, 1.25 miles offshore, involves an exposed open-water crossing with potential for extra-choppy seas and strong winds.
Acadia is silly with birds—273 species in all—and from the sound of it, most happily hang out on Long Porcupine. Look for peregrines, ospreys, blue herons, and guillemots. Sheep Porcupine Island hosts an active bald eagle nest—you may spot young eaglets poking out in early summer. In the water, keep an eye peeled for harbor seals and harbor porpoises.
No camping is allowed on the Porcupine Islands. So at day’s end, throw the boat on the car, drive 65 miles from Bar Harbor to the fishing town of Stonington, and hop the passenger ferry to Isle au Haut. We like the lean-tos at Duck Harbor Campground, just off the south ferry landing. This 4,000-acre island is the perfect spot to bring your own craft for a second day of low-key island exploration.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Acadia National Park (207-288-3338, ) allows camping at Duck Harbor campground. The fee is $25 per campsite per night, and a permit is required; call the park or stop by park headquarters, three miles west of Bar Harbor.
OUTFITTER – Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007) offers a two-and-a-half-hour paddle around Sheep Porcupine for $37 per person. Kids must be ten or older. Or David Legere will customize an Acadia sea tour for your family (price depends on number of hours).

The Ultimate Classroom

Best Educational Parks

Acadia at dawn

ONE OF The nation’s tiniest national parks—a diminutive 35,500 acres, smaller than any Ted Turner ranch—Acadia National Park ranks second only to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the dubious distinction of most tourists per square foot: 81.7 annually. However, adventure in Acadia isn’t an oxymoron. The park’s humpbacked Porcupine Islands are one of the most coveted paddling spots on the planet: Hop in your sea kayak and lose the crowds (most of them, at least).
The Porcupines are a collection of four small islands in Frenchman Bay, off the larger Mount Desert Island, where much of Acadia proper is located. While Frenchman Bay can be calmer than the water in most bathtubs, there is lobster-boat traffic to contend with, and the weather here, even in summer, can change at the drop of a spray skirt. When it does, the winds pick up suddenly and the tides get muscular; there’s no choice but to find the quickest route possible back to port. These are reasons why a guide is a wise investment, especially for first-timers to Acadia. We threw in with David Legere, a gregarious and thickly accented Maine-iac who owns Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s. The outfit’s dock is right in downtown Bar Harbor, the little town on Mount Desert Island that is most convenient to the Porcupines.
You can easily see all four islands in one day. Burnt Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands have the most dramatic features—steep ledges, pounding surf, bristling stands of thick spruce and fir. Getting to Burnt Porcupine, 1.25 miles offshore, involves an exposed open-water crossing with potential for extra-choppy seas and strong winds.
Acadia is silly with birds—273 species in all—and from the sound of it, most happily hang out on Long Porcupine. Look for peregrines, ospreys, blue herons, and guillemots. Sheep Porcupine Island hosts an active bald eagle nest—you may spot young eaglets poking out in early summer. In the water, keep an eye peeled for harbor seals and harbor porpoises.
No camping is allowed on the Porcupine Islands. So at day’s end, throw the boat on the car, drive 65 miles from Bar Harbor to the fishing town of Stonington, and hop the passenger ferry to Isle au Haut. We like the lean-tos at Duck Harbor Campground, just off the south ferry landing. This 4,000-acre island is the perfect spot to bring your own craft for a second day of low-key island exploration.
THE DETAILS
LODGING – Acadia National Park (207-288-3338, ) allows camping at Duck Harbor campground. The fee is $25 per campsite per night, and a permit is required; call the park or stop by park headquarters, three miles west of Bar Harbor.
OUTFITTER – Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007) offers a two-and-a-half-hour paddle around Sheep Porcupine for $37 per person. Kids must be ten or older. Or David Legere will customize an Acadia sea tour for your family (price depends on number of hours).

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32 YEARS AGO this summer, my pal, the crime novelist Jim Crumley, his overeducated farmer friend from Arkansas, Harold McDuffy, and yours truly hiked six miles to Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park. For someone who had spent most of his life in the desert country of southeastern Oregon, this was a breakthrough for me. In high school I’d been driven through Crater Lake National Park in a bus, but that hadn’t seemed so much like visiting a park as the sort of thing they just did to you in high school. Crumley and McDuffy and I spent a few days loafing and fishing. I killed a fool hen with a rock. We cooked it that first night. Then we got into our only bottle of whiskey and drank the whole damned thing. The next day we solaced our hangovers on a raft of downed timber strapped together with a set of suspenders, drifting and casting to shallows in a frenzy, catching more fish than we could eat. Which was fine, because some fellows camped down the shore had brought no food whatsoever. We traded them fish for what are best called smoking materials, and quickly got over our fear of spook grizzlies in the midnight darkness. We sang to them: “Why don’t you love me like you used to do?” The grizzlies didn’t respond.

Glacier National Park

One afternoon I found myself with my eyes closed, feathering my fingers along the trunk of a great yellow pine, encountering platelets of bark, each unique and yet not unlike all the others. I was trying to imagine what that tree would mean to a blind person. That night, when the lake was still and mirroring silver under the full perfect moon, loons called and called, and I thought they were singing to me. It was one of those times when I found out that the world had more to it than I’d imagined, more pleasure, and more glory. And all because we’d chanced a few days of frivolity, play, and release.


Sure, there was that rapacious fishing. But I’m willing to excuse us; that was another world and we were rednecks on vacation. At least we weren’t trying to skip snowmobiles across the lake.
America the beautiful, the “fresh green breast of the new world,” according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about freshness and greenness as metaphors for life and health, a new-by-God-world that might stay sort of new and fair if we take care of it. Our national identity is embodied in liberties and natural wonders, freedoms, and the kinds of places we choose to celebrate in our parks—mountains, great swamps, canyonlands—all open and receptive spiritual playgrounds. That identity is threatened by each instance of environmental heedlessness, each clear-cut, each ill-sited power plant and oil drill, each extinction and political sellout. We need to understand that we are responsible for ourselves, for one another, and for the well-being of the natural world, which sustains us.
How to react? Go float down the Grand Canyon. Stop at Matkatamiba Rapids, and walk into the side canyon, which opens into walls of cream- and honey-colored limestone. Sit quietly, soaking in the infinities. Once I saw a wolverine on a lakeside sandbar in Glacier; it was there, then aware of me, and vanished, and was thrilling in its wildness. Yes, go visit the parks. Then come home refreshed, revitalized, and ready to save them.

Glacier

A Hiker’s Valhalla in Montana

Glacier National Park

Established 1910
1,013,572 Acres
COMBINED WITH WATERTON LAKES, its sister park just across Canada’s border, Glacier offers more than 700 miles of foot trails, 48 glaciers, 1,600-odd miles of river and stream, 650 lakes, soaring peaks, hanging valleys, meadows spattered with wildflowers, thick evergreen forests, and several species that outrank you on the food chain. In short, it’s a theme park for BACKPACKING. To find a chunk of backcountry all to yourself, the three-night, 20-mile Gunsight Pass Trail can’t be beat. You’ll trek through the guts of the park’s wilderness—one of North America’s largest intact ecosystems—with killer mountain-and-lake ambience, a Continental Divide crossing, probable sightings of mountain goats, and possible encounters with grizzlies (be prepared). Leave your car at Lake McDonald on Glacier’s west side, and take a park shuttle on 52-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road to Jackson Glacier Overlook, east of the Divide. Hike downvalley and then up from there, passing avalanche slopes and two glaciers, 6.2 miles along a drainage to Gunsight Lake, where you’ll pitch a tent and bask in celestial views of Mount Jackson and Fusillade Mountain. Day two calls for a challenging five-mile leg over the Divide at 6,946-foot Gunsight Pass to Lake Ellen Wilson; up top, take time to poke around the old rock shelter, the only one remaining atop Glacier’s passes. Day three is a short haul, “but the longest 2.7 miles in the park,” says Glacier wilderness manager Kyle Johnson: a 1,120-foot gain to Lincoln Pass, followed by a 450-foot drop into Sperry Basin. Take your pick here: Pitch a tent at Sperry campground, or upgrade to a fairly pricey bunk nearby at the 1912 Sperry Chalet ($150 for the first person, $100 for each additional person, meals included; 888-345-2649, ). Day four: six miles down, out of the subalpine zone, and into a forest of spruce, cedar, and hemlock to Lake McDonald.

WHEN TO GO: Many backcountry campsites, like Sperry, can’t be advance-booked until August 1, when summer (all five weeks of it) reaches the park. But if the snow clears early, walk-ins can sometimes score a coveted berth in July. Pre-snowmelt in the high country, you need crampons, an ice ax, and glacier know-how so you don’t Enron off a sheer drop-off into the abyss.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 1.73 million. (High: August, 487,800. Low: December, 3,387.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: RAFT the untamed, bouldery Middle Fork of the Flathead or the slightly more subdued North Fork (each Class II-IV), tinted emerald by glacial silt; BIKE Going-to-the-Sun by moonlight (east-to-west is the somewhat kinder direction).
HEADLAMP READING: Along the Trail: A Photographic Essay of Glacier National Park and the Northern Rocky Mountains, by Danny On and David Sumner; Man in Glacier, by C.W. Buchholtz
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Stop for huckleberry ice cream and Flathead cherries at any of the roadside stores on the way to the park. And the Park Cafe in St. Mary, Montana, makes ice cream and berry pies someone should write a song about.
INSIDE SCOOP: Need some incentive to brush up on bear etiquette? How about this: Since the park’s establishment, grizzlies have killed ten people within its boundaries.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 406-888-7800,

Acadia

A Seal’s-Eye View of the Maine Coast

Acadia National Park

Established 1919
47,498 Acres
NEW ENGLAND’S ONLY NATIONAL PARK, Acadia manages to shoehorn some 2.8 million annual visitors into its compact landscape, the bulk of it on Mount Desert Island (with smaller tracts on Isle au Haut and nearby Schoodic Peninsula). The finest way to lose the crowds and take in the park’s cymbal-crash surf, craggy stone-shored islets, and requisite cliff-top lighthouses is to venture out of bounds SEA KAYAKING. Because Mount Desert Island isn’t particularly well situated as a launching point for overnight paddle trips—the closest campable public islands are a daunting six to eight miles of open-ocean slogging to the east or southwest—day trips are more inviting. Put in at the public boat ramp in Manset, near the island’s southern end, and mosey up Somes Sound, the Lower 48’s only bona fide fjord, for a laid-back five-hour voyage through the Maine that sets watercolorists’ hearts aflutter. Watch for porpoises, seals, and cliffs more than 400 feet high (and do yourself a favor, Cap’n: Time it so you’re paddling in and out of Somes with the tides). Another day’s ramble begins at Seal Harbor’s beach and aims south for the Cranberry Islands; Little Cranberry, with the Islesford Historical Museum and decent seafood at Islesford Dock, is a fine spot to stretch your sea legs. The most reliable marine-mammal ogling goes down in Frenchman Bay, off Bar Harbor, where you can paddle among Bar Island and the magnificent and uninhabited Porcupine Islands. Keep a polite distance from seal ledges, please. Conditions in these parts can include 50-degree water, 10- to 12-foot tides, persistent fog, and wicked currents; unless you’re adept at wet exits, hire a guide. For group trips and boat rentals, contact Acadia Bike and Coastal Kayaking Tours (207-288-8118) or Aquaterra 国产吃瓜黑料s (207-288-0007). The Inn at Bay Ledge, perched atop an 80-foot cliff overlooking Frenchman Bay, is a most civilized base camp ($160 and up, in season; 207-288-4204, ).
WHEN TO GO: In the spring, the birds are nesting, seals are pupping, and the July 4th through Labor Day crowds haven’t arrived.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 2.8 million. (High: August, 630,240. Low: January, 18,090.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: Also on Mount Desert, MOUNTAIN BIKE the 40-odd miles of crushed-stone carriage roads, originally laid out by one John D. Rockefeller Jr., over stone-arched bridges and into the park’s aspen- and birch-packed interior.
HEADLAMP READING: The Sea Kayaker’s Guide to Mount Desert Island, by Jennifer Alisa Paigen; Discover Acadia National Park: A Guide to the Best Hiking, Biking, and Paddling, by Jerry and Marcy Monkman
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Don’t miss tea and popovers on the lawn at the park’s Jordan Pond House restaurant on Mount Desert Island, blueberry daiquiris at Poor Boy’s Gourmet in Bar Harbor, and lobster (of course) at Thurston’s in Bernard on the western “quiet side” of Mount Desert.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 207-288-3338,

Canyonlands

High-Desert Surf ‘n’ Turf in Utah

Exploring Canyonlands National Park

Established 1964
337,598 Acres
RENAISSANCE FUNHOGS, BRACE YOURSELVES: This new trip, combining three days of MOUNTAIN BIKING with five or six days of Colorado River WHITEWATER RAFTING, may be the tastiest pairing since chocolate and cabernet. It takes you straight into the heart of the park’s high-desert rock garden, defined by the goosenecking canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers and an almost hallucinogenic symphony of spires, buttes, mesas, hoodoos, fins, arches, and slickrock. Phase One: a two-wheeled thrill ride on most of the 102-mile White Rim Road, a celebrated track that requires a four-wheel-drive support vehicle to tote food and gear (plan this leg yourself or through an outfitter). Aim counterclockwise, along the Green River in the Island in the Sky District. You’ll encounter funky sandstone formations, bottoms with swimmable holes along the river, Viewmaster overlooks of towering spires and the La Sal and Abajo Mountains, and a quad-burning hogback climb. Eventually you turn north to trace the Colorado, heading upstream, but instead of finishing the loop take a side trail at either Lathrop Canyon or Potash to your prearranged meeting with your rafting guides. Here either your cycling outfitter or your designated driver takes the bikes and bids adieu, and you embark on Phase Two: epic Southwest whitewater. A few miles below the confluence of the Green and the Colorado roars Cataract Canyon, a chain of 28 Class III-V rapids that some claim trump those in the Grand Canyon, at least in the high-water months of May and June. Sandbar camping (when the water is low enough) and side hikes into the Maze add frosting to an already savory cake. O.A.R.S. Canyonlands guides the raft trips ($1,176 for five days, $1,256 for six, return flight from Lake Powell included; 800-342-5938, ) and can link you up with a cycling outfitter. Book way ahead, especially if you plan your own cycling trip; White Rim campsite reservations are tightly limited.

WHEN TO GO: Midsummer’s desert heat eats cyclists alive, so the shoulder seasons earn raves. April brings wildflowers, cactus blooms, and rising water on the rivers; May and June bring the most bodacious whitewater; early fall brings sighs of deep contentment.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 401,558. (High: May, 55,109. Low: January, 4,110.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: Visiting Canyonlands without taking a HIKE ought to be a felony. Island in the Sky has plenty of short day loops with jackpot views; the Needles has lots of routes on slickrock, such as the Druid Arch Trail. Enter the remote Maze District for a double shot of Ed Abbey and Butch Cassidy backcountry—no pavement, no plumbing, no such thing as packing too much water.
HEADLAMP READING: Hiking, Biking, and Exploring Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity, by Michael Kelsey; Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West, by Wallace Stegner
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Head to Miguel’s Baja Grill on Main Street in Moab for tasty fish or lamb tacos.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 435-259-7164,

Yellowstone

Running with the Pack in Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park

Established 1872
2,219,791 Acres
CONSIDERING ALL THE PUBLICITY and controversy that raged when wildlife biologists reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone in 1995 after their 60-year absence, it’s surprising how few park visitors actually venture out to see the newcomers. But that’s lucky for you, because the Lamar Valley, one of the best venues for WOLF TRACKING, is in the park’s lightly trafficked northeastern section, far from such perennial crowd magnets as Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, and Mammoth Hot Springs. You can certainly head out to the huge open meadows alone, but the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance offers an upgrade worth pondering. Three times a year, the Alliance runs four-day wildlife-tracking trips in Lamar (February and autumn trips focus on the valley’s resident Druid Pack, and the April/May trip on both wolves and grizzlies, which emerge from their dens around then). Trips are led by Franz Camenzind, the group’s executive director, who is also a wildlife biologist, a cinematographer, and an expert on Canis lupus—now more than 200 strong in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The valley’s flat terrain lies between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, with three to four feet of snow cover likely from November to April, so trackers head in on either snowshoes or cross-country skis (except in early fall, when they trek in). With spotting scopes and binoculars, the chances of seeing wolves playing, loping, hunting, and post-kill gorging on up to 30 pounds of elk meat (per wolf, gulp) are excellent, especially around dawn and dusk. Groups usually stay in rustic cabins at the Yellowstone Institute, a science-education facility, attend afternoon classes in winter ecology or the like, and indulge in a celebratory soak at Chico Hot Springs before returning to Jackson Hole ($450 per person; JHCA, 307-733-9417).

WHEN TO GO: In October, bugling elk outnumber RVs, making it a copacetic time to check out even the most popular hot springs and geysers.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 2.84 million. (High: July, 768,040. Low: November, 13,422.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: With 100 miles of shoreline and nearly 150 square miles of surface, Yellowstone Lake’s chilly, crystalline waters invite unforgettable multiday SEA KAYAK jaunts. Several outfitters offer guided trips and lessons, among them Jackson Hole Kayak School (800-733-2471, ).
HEADLAMP READING: Hiking Yellowstone National Park, by Bill Schneider; The Wolves of Yellowstone, by Michael Phillips and Douglas Smith
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Eisenhower was president when Helen Gould began serving her crowd-pleasing Hateful Hamburger at Helen’s Corral Drive-In in Gardiner, Montana, at the park’s northern entrance. Forty-two years later, Helen is still behind the counter, serving up burgers, fries, malts, and tales of times gone by.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 307-344-7381,

Olympic

Washington’s Coolest Rainforest

The thick foliage of Olympic National Park

Established 1938
922,651 Acres
FEW NATIONAL PARKS make picking your poison so gut-wrenching: Should you light out for the 7,000-foot-and-higher peaks, glaciers, and sparkling lakes of the Olympic Peninsula’s interior? The rugged headlands and tidepools of the 57-mile Coastal Strip, the longest ribbon of primitive coastline in the Lower 48? Or the moist air, gushing cascades, and brooding old growth of the temperate rainforest? Tough call, but this should help: For a gratifying combo of remoteness, adventure, and greenery so lush you’d almost swear you can hear the plants breathing, set aside three or four days to BACKPACK a portion of the 31-mile out-and-back Queets River Trail, in the park’s southwestern spur. To reach the trailhead, coax your jalopy 45 minutes or so from mile marker 144 on U.S. 101 along a one-lane gravel washboard, and then strap on your Tevas to ford two rivers, the shallow Sams and the trickier Queets, one of 13 major streams that drain the Olympic Mountains. (Though the distance isn’t long, take caution crossing the Queets; the riverbed is rocky, uneven, and slimy in spots.) From the far bank, mostly level trail meanders through a wonderland that contains about as much biomass as anywhere on earth: hypertrophic Sitka spruces, Douglas firs, hemlocks, red cedars draped with epiphytes, and ferny undergrowth. Plus you’ll find riverside sandbars inviting quick dunks in the martini-cold Queets and many a well-situated tent site. Elk herds have been known to make a cameo. Words to the wise: Pay close attention the last three miles before the trail turn-around, because the path is easily lost here; rainfall during your journey could swell the river and strand you on the wrong side; and bear-resistant food canisters are yours to borrow from any ranger station ($3 suggested donation).
WHEN TO GO: After Labor Day, when summer crowds have ebbed and the weather’s still relatively unsoggy.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 4.18 million. (High: August, 732,335. Low: January, 158,250.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: Take a full-moon HIKE in the mostly treeless Obstruction Peak area off winding Hurricane Ridge Road (if you luck into clear skies); SOAK yourself at Sol Duc Hot Springs in the park’s northern quarters.
HEADLAMP READING:Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park and National Forest, by Robert L. Wood; Cascade-Olympic Natural History, by Daniel Mathews
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Many a hiker has replenished his lipids with a greasy burger and a blackberry shake at Granny’s Cafe, on U.S. 101 between Port Angeles and Lake Crescent.
INSIDE SCOOP: As national-park corpse stories go, it’s hard to top this one: In 1937, a local waitress named Hallie Illingsworth vanished unaccountably. Three years later, two fishermen on Lake Crescent, a 600-foot-deep glacial reservoir along the park’s northern boundary, discovered her floating body. It had risen from the lake’s sunless bottom, where in the 44-degree water it had saponified—changed to the consistency, as eyewitnesses put it, of Ivory soap. Shortly thereafter, her third husband was convicted of her murder.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 360-565-3130,

Theodore Roosevelt

Rough Riding North Dakota’s Badlands

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Established 1947
70,447 Acres
“A DESOLATE, GRIM BEAUTY,” said this park’s namesake, who hunted bison and dabbled in cattle ranching on its stark rolling prairies and broken badlands in the 1880s. Most visitors sample the park from their cars via scenic drives in one of its two units—North and South, separated by 45 miles as the eagle flies; a hardy minority brave the Easy-Bake summer climate to hike the park’s long looping trails. The most tantalizing local adventure, however, lies mostly outside park boundaries: MOUNTAIN BIKING the Maah Daah Hey Trail, 96 unpaved and remote miles that connect the two park units not far from the Montana border. Fat-tire junkies are already calling the trail, completed just three years ago, “the new Moab.” Heady stuff, but consider the evidence: the nation’s longest uninterrupted bikeable track, with some surprisingly demanding stretches, winding through buttes, canyons scooped out by the Little Missouri River and its feeder streams, rain-sculpted hoodoos, steep ravines, sagebrush valleys, thick stands of cottonwood and juniper, dry riverbeds and wet ones too. Four backcountry campgrounds spread out along the way either have potable-water wells, or will by sometime this summer, so you can make yourself at home where the buffalo really do roam (antelope, wild horses, and rattlesnakes, too). Bikes aren’t allowed within national park boundaries, so a spur trail out of Sully Creek State Park does an end-around to the west to skirt the South Unit. Take care not to spook the hikers and equestrians you’ll occasionally encounter along the Maah Daah Hey (a Mandan Indian term meaning either “grandfather” or “be here long”). Factoring in the heat, through-cyclers should allow at least five days to complete the trail, though backroads access also allows for a variety of sampler day rides; be forewarned that rain transforms the trail’s surface clay into a nasty, slick gumbo. Whichever direction you ride, arrange for a shuttle pickup to get back to your car through Badlands Guide Service (701-225-6109) or Little Knife Outfitters (800-438-6905), which also rents bikes.

WHEN TO GO: Spring rains generally taper off after mid-June. If you can wait, a killing frost usually arrives by September 10 or so, cooling the daytime swelter, zotzing mosquitoes, and triggering the onset of fall colors.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 438,391. (High: July, 117,191. Low: December, 1,210.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: If the river’s high enough, CANOE the Little Missouri through both sections of the park and the grasslands between—110 miles of drifting through high banks, casting for catfish, camping in cottonwood groves, and occasionally walking your boat through rocky shallows. Paddlers often put in at Medora and finish up at U.S. 85 near the North Unit. River conditions are usually best mid-May to mid-June; check water levels on the Web at (click on the Current Streamflow Conditions link).
HEADLAMP READING: Exploring the Black Hills and Badlands: A Guide for Hikers, Cross-Country Skiers, and Mountain Bikers, by Hiram Rogers; Theodore Roosevelt National Park: The Story Behind the Scenery, by Bruce M. Kaye and Henry A. Schoch
LOCAL SPECIALTY: If all that meat on the hoof gets your mouth watering, the Iron Horse Saloon and Restaurant in Medora grills up a mean buffalo steak.
INSIDE SCOOP: Cyclists should Slime their tires and bring a patch kit and at least two spare tubes. The Maah Daah Hey’s prickly-pear cacti and sharp rocks bite—and so will your ride if you aren’t prepared for flats.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 701-623-4466, . (For Maah Daah Hey trail information, see the Dakota Prairie Grasslands Web page at , or .)

Virgin Islands

Caribbean Windjamming

The coast of St. John’s, Virgin Islands National Park

Established 1956
28,582 Acres
WITH ABOUT 60 PERCENT of its lush green hills and white crescent beaches set aside as national park, the island of St. John isn’t all that different from what Columbus saw when he claimed these islands for Spain. All things considered, it’s still the virgin Virgin. But with increasing numbers of day-tripping cruise-ship passengers catching the ferry over from St. Thomas, you need to pick your spots a little more carefully these days. In short, you need to charter a boat and go SAILING. Cruise among secret coves, secluded anchorages, 40 beaches, and the reefs that ring St. John (many of them within park boundaries) for ten days or more without exhausting the idyllic possibilities. Hawksnest Bay is a locals’ favorite, with three gorgeous beaches, where incurable Type A’s can usually find that day’s New York Times at nearby Caneel Bay Resort by midafternoon. Leinster Bay’s Waterlemon Cay is a blissful spot for ogling corals, starfish, parrot fish, sergeant majors, spiny lobsters, octopuses, and intriguingly ugly scorpion fish. Along the south shore, Salt Pond Bay offers more great snorkeling and a sheltered mooring, and from there you can catch the switchbacking trail for a mile through agaves and cacti up to Ram’s Head, a prime vantage for winter whale-watching. Since no water-skiers or jet skis are allowed in park waters, the only “noise” you’ll hear at sunset is the gentle slap of wave on hull and, presumably, the clinking of glasses. For crewed charters, contact Yates Yachts (866- 994-7245, ), the Virgin Island Charter Yacht League (800-524-2061, ), or Island Yachts (340-775-6666, ), which can also arrange bareboat charters. Prices vary widely, but figure about $1,300-$1,400 per person per week for a crewed boat (based on a group of six or so); bareboat charters start around $1,700-$2,500, depending on the season.


WHEN TO GO: For fewer visitors and lower off-season rates, find the gaps on the calendar between winter’s peak crowds and August-to-October’s hurricane season—namely, May through July and November to mid-December.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 703,992. (High: March and April, both about 82,600. Low: September, 26,134.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: None of the park’s 22 HIKING trails is longer than a couple of miles, but all lead to extremely pleasant diversions: ruins of Danish colonial sugar mills and plantations, petroglyphs, aromatic tropical forests, and views of Tortola and the rest of the British Virgin Islands.
HEADLAMP READING: A Natural History Atlas to the Cays of the U.S. Virgin Islands, by Arthur Dammann and David Nellis; Lonely Planet’s Diving & Snorkeling the British Virgin Islands
LOCAL SPECIALTY: At Skinny Legs, a beach-shack hangout in Coral Bay on the island’s east side, you can enjoy a proverbial cheeseburger in paradise and a Blackbeard Ale while mingling with the yachties who stop in after picking up their mail next door.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 340-776-6201,

Isle Royale

Michigan’s Superior Beneath the Surface

Isle Royale National Park

Established 1940
571,790 Acres
KAYAKERS COME to this roadless, carless Lake Superior island for its rocky shoreline; fishermen and canoeists, for its 22 inland lakes; backpackers, for its wooded basaltic ridges populated by moose and timber wolves; and hermits, because in its entire season Isle Royale sees 40,000 fewer humans than Great Smoky Mountains gets on an average July day. A savvy and intrepid handful of park trailblazers know how to really get lost here: Venture below the lake’s forbidding surface for SHIPWRECK DIVING. Ten major vessels have come to rest in park waters in the last 125 years, and the same frigid 40-degree water that forces divers to don drysuits has drastically slowed the wrecks’ decomposition. Visibility is so good you can survey a ship’s exterior 40 feet down without a light. The shallower remains are most popular, such as theAmerica, a package freighter that sank in 1928 and whose bow lies just a few feet below the surface. Others sit farther down; the Kamloops, a Canadian freighter that took 50 years to locate after it succumbed to a blizzard in 1927, lies between 175 and 260 feet under. Most divers join one of two Park Service-sanctioned dive-charter operators—Superior Trips (651-635-6438, ) and RLT Divers Inc. (507-238-4671, )—and spend a week diving and camping in any of the park’s 36 designated campgrounds. Isle Royale is only open mid-April through October; ferry rides from Grand Portage, Minnesota, or Michigan’s Upper Peninsula take three to seven hours.
WHEN TO GO: The number of visitors—as well as blackflies and mosquitoes—subsides in the shoulder seasons, before June and after August, if you don’t mind risking more fickle weather and rougher chop on Lake Superior.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 15,180. (High: August, 5,664. Low: October, 112.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: HIKE a portion of the 165-mile network of trails, such as the 42-mile Greenstone Ridge or the rougher 29-mile Minong Ridge. Each traverses the island from northeast, over steep bedrock ridges, to southwest, where you’ll find thick forests of birch, maple, and other northern hardwoods. The Minong’s marshy wetlands are prime moose turf in the summer. Come nightfall, listen for the spine-tingling sound of wolves howling.
HEADLAMP READING: Shipwrecks of Isle Royale National Park: The Archaeological Survey, by Daniel Lenihan, et al.; Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails and Water Routes, by Jim DuFresne
LOCAL SPECIALTY: At the Harbor Haus in Copper Harbor, Michigan, the picture windows overlook Lake Superior, the walls are adorned with deerskins and beer steins, the German-leaning kitchen serves up lake-caught whitefish, venison sausage, and desserts made with local thimbleberries, and the table-waiting frauleins duck out onto the back patio for a Rockette-style kick line to greet the ferry returning from Isle Royale.
INSIDE SCOOP: The park is a remarkable case study of the peculiar cycles of island biogeography. In the mid-19th century, it harbored populations of caribou, coyotes, chipmunks, and redbacked voles—none of which exist there now—but not a single moose or wolf. Prevailing speculation suggests that the moose swam over around 1900, and that wolves arrived in the winter of 1949-1950, the last time ice formed an unbroken bridge to the mainland.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 906-482-0984,

Rocky Mountain

Hugged a Colorado Fourteener Lately?

Falls River, Rocky Mountain National Park

Established 1915
265,769 Acres
JUST AN HOUR AND A HALF’S DRIVE from Denver and less than an hour from Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park draws legions of Front Range residents with its elk meadows, hikes to chilly alpine lakes, and Trail Ridge Road, its Divide-straddling highway. Less appreciated is that when it comes to CLIMBING, the park’s got something for every subculture: alpine routes, sport climbs, bouldering, ice climbs, ski-mountaineering tours. At 14,255 feet, Longs Peak is “the granddaddy of them all,” says Jim Detterline, a ranger who’s summited Longs 186 times and counting. Perhaps as many as 20,000 other people also reach the top each year, most of them by the Keyhole Route (the only way to hike to the top) and most of them in August. Very few brave the Stettner’s Ledges route on the mountain’s East Face. Their loss. Rich with alpine history, the climb, rated a Grade III 5.8, was first ascended in 1927 by a pair of German-American brothers from Illinois; at the time, it was among the continent’s toughest routes, and it’s still no gimme, even for those acclimatized to high altitude and up to the task. Stettner’s entails a pre-climb backcountry bivouac, a glacier crossing, and ten pitches (the last four on the Kiener route) over fractured granite, chimneys, cracks, ledges, and past rows of rusting pitons from generations ago, all capped by a 600-foot scramble over scree to the top. Typically, this means six to eight hours of heroics after a 5 or 6 a.m. start to avoid afternoon lightning. But you’ll still want to pause to catch your breath and take in your surroundings, which include a close-up view of the Diamond, a 1,200-foot-tall face that Detterline likens to a Yosemite-style big wall, only with high altitude thrown in for good measure. Those who prefer to start on a slightly smaller scale can contact the Colorado Mountain School in Estes Park (970-586-5758) about lessons and guided climbs.

WHEN TO GO: The last two weeks in October are a good bet—winter hasn’t yet arrived, and most tourists have departed.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 3.4 million. (High: July, 774,781. Low: January, 79,126.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: The elk put on a blockbuster show from late August to early October, when bulls battle for mates and eerie bugling echoes through the meadows. Catch the performances sans the mob in the Arapahoe Meadows and Lily Lake areas.
HEADLAMP READING: Rocky Mountain National Park Climber’s Guide: High Peaks, by Bernard Gillet; Rocky Mountain National Park Natural History Handbook, by John C. Emerick
LOCAL SPECIALTY: If you’re really determined to go native, drop in at the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver’s oldest restaurant, for the Rocky Mountain oysters (translation: fried bull testicles).
INSIDE SCOOP: Rumor has it that stashed away in a file at park headquarters, there remains a sheet of butcher paper on which a pair of hikers years ago sketched an outline of a five-toed, 24-inch-long, humanlike footprint they found in the mud in a seldom-visited area of the park—evidence, some allege, of Rocky Mountain’s very own Bigfoot.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 970-586-1206,

Lake Clark

Untamed Alaska, and Lots of it

Twin Lakes, Lake Clark National Park

IF YOU’RE LIKE ALMOST EVERYONE else on earth, you’ve managed to overlook Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and its four million acres of stunning alpine and tundra wilderness. Ranger Dennis Knuckles sums up the amenities in this roadless domain nicely: “There’s no 911, no cell-phone structure, and nobody saving your bacon.” If remote and unforgiving terrain and capricious weather appeal to you, this huge tract on Cook Inlet 150 miles southwest of Anchorage won’t disappoint. Visitors are few and natural spectacles plentiful: the jagged 6,000-foot Chigmit Mountains, three National Wild and Scenic Rivers, glacier-gouged lakes and valleys, boreal forests, and even two active volcanoes. A FLY-IN BACKPACKING trip is the best way to see a portion of the park’s vast western interior. Have a floatplane deposit you above tree line at the shores of Turquoise Lake, whose milky aquamarine surface reflects the surrounding mountains (if you get dropped at the south shore, you can avoid a potentially hairy crossing of the Mulchatna River). Pitch your tent anywhere you like and stash your watch deep in your pack—you won’t be needing it. You’ve got seven days (or whatever you and your bush pilot agree upon) to downshift. Explore the shrubless tundra. Hike to a living glacier. Wake to thousands of caribou outside your tent. Commune with moose and Dall sheep. See no humans. Gradually meander ten to 12 miles south to the north shore of Lower Twin Lake, the vegetation slowly shifting from tundra to scrub to black spruce and dwarf birch. If you wouldn’t mind a little hand-holding, Alaska Alpine 国产吃瓜黑料s guides trips here in summer and fall (877-525-2577; ). For air-taxi information, go to .
WHEN TO GO: Late June and early July promise a decent chance of sunshine and close encounters with the Mulchatna caribou herd, some 200,000 strong, plus 19 hours of daylight; for the warm-blooded, March is great for epic winter camping and cross-country skiing around the lakes.

ANNUAL VISITORS: All of 4,397 (High: June, 954. Lows: November through April, all tied at about 150.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: RAFT or KAYAK the Tlikakila, the only river that flows entirely within park boundaries. It runs swift and shallow, slicing by forests of spruce, aspen, and birch, snowcapped peaks, waterfalls, and sheer cliffs. Three- to four-day trips from Summit Lake usually run about 45 miles; if you choose to float without a guide, have your pilot take a pass over the river beforehand to scout for logjams. Go to for a list of kayaking and rafting guides who serve the area.
HEADLAMP READING: Looking for Alaska, by Peter Jenkins; One Man’s Wilderness, by Richard Proenneke and Sam Keith
LOCAL SPECIALTY: Cast into Lower Twin Lake for grayling or lake trout. Both take well to a dry fly and (shortly thereafter) a little butter and cornmeal.
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 907-781-2218,

Great Smoky Mountains

The Southeast’s Backwoods at its Best

Morning mist settles along Great Smoky National Park

Established 1934
521,490 Acres
IN THE SMOKIES, the numbers tell good news and bad: 930 miles of trails, almost 500 miles of fishable streams, hazy blue ridges topping out above 6,000 feet (the highest east of the Rockies), 4,000 species of plants, 65 of mammals…and upwards of nine million humans every year. So head where the masses aren’t—the Greenbrier area, across the North Carolina border on the Tennessee side—for three sweet and soothing days of HIKING and FLY-FISHING. Start hoofing it at the Porter’s Creek trailhead, reached by entering the park off Highway 321 east of Gatlinburg. Follow the wide creek for five miles until you reach the evocatively named Campsite 31, gaining about 2,000 feet of elevation in the process—good reason to stop and wet a line. Casting is easier here than in many of the park’s cramped, brush-banked streams, and you can catch browns, rainbows, speckleds, and brookies (throw back the latter; they’re the only natives). Legend has it one ranger landed a 21-inch trout in Porter’s, so come prepared. Next morning, backtrack a couple miles from your campsite to the Brushy Mountain Trail, where you’ll cross more trout streams and roam through tulip poplars, hemlocks, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels. Bunk that night at the Mount LeConte shelter, a three-sided stone structure at 6,593 feet (free; reserve through the backcountry office at 865-436-1297). Or book a slot at the LeConte Lodge, a rustic haven reachable only by trail and lit by kerosene lamps (cabins and group lodges start at $81.50 per adult per night; call 865-429-5704). On the third day, march six more miles on the Boulevard Trail, encountering many a heart-stopping mountain vista, to another shelter, at Icewater Springs near the Appalachian Trail (70 miles of which traverse the park). Finally, a two-mile taste of the AT takes you to Newfound Gap Road, where you thoughtfully arranged for a shuttle to pick you up ($44, A Walk in the Woods, 865-436-8283).
WHEN TO GO: Early spring before school’s out, and September after Labor Day. Flower fans, mark your calendar accordingly: April brings ground flowers; May, mountain laurel; June, rhododendron. Yes, the fall leaves are pretty, but skip October—that’s the park’s second-busiest month.
ANNUAL VISITORS: 9,196,408. (High: July, 1.4 million. Low: January, 297,855.)
MORE CHOICE ADVENTURE: Treat yourself and your MOUNTAIN BIKE to eight-mile Round Bottom Road and its lightly traveled curves. You’ll find it on the North Carolina side in the park’s southeast end.
HEADLAMP READING: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, by Rose Houk, photographs by Michael Collier; The Wild East: A Biography of the Great Smoky Mountains, by Margaret Brown
LOCAL SPECIALTY: The Old Mill, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, serves up heaping helpings of southern Appalachia: rocking chairs on the porch, bluegrass on weekends, and more fried chicken than you can finish. Drop in early to avoid lines.
INSIDE SCOOP: Stock these trout flies in your arsenal, and your odds of getting skunked diminish greatly: Smoky Mountain thunderhead, Coffey’s stonefly, blue-winged olive, yallerhammer, Palmer fly, and Adams variant. Hunter Banks, a fine fly shop in Asheville, North Carolina, offers gear and advice (800-227-6732; ).
PARK HEADQUARTERS: 865-436-1200,

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