WALKING AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS

[gotmeheadshaved]

I've long held an ambition to visit the Grand Canyon but I don't want to just 'visit' it I want to 'walk' it. There are other areas as well, such as Bryce Canyon, Death Valley and Yellowstone National Park, and I wondered if there was anyone on here who had done any of these places, or all of them, or could recommend the best way of going about it.

Thanks in advance 

Steve

[janeho]

We have been out on a few trips to the National Paks of the US
Have you seen the national park website? http://www.nps.gov/index.htm [nofollow]  search on each park and you will find lots of info on the walking.
We did Grand canyon Bryce and death valley in one trip, but went to yellowstone on a seperate trip. I think you would find its a long drive between them
There are all amazing places and well worth going. Like anywhere you don't have to walk far to get away from the crowds - I'm sure I read some statistic once that said that 90% of visitors to Americas NP's never left the tarmacsurfaces!
A few tips from our experience:
If you can stay in the national park itself then walking early morning or evening can give you better weather and less crowds (especially places like the Grand Canyon. The NP campsites are in fantastic locations but are usually fairy basic
You don't  need a pass for day walks, but often do for anything longer, eg overnighters. Walking down and staying at the bottom of the Grand Canyon gets booked up at least 12 months in advance.
It gets very hot in Grand canyon and death valley. We we went in spring and that was hot enough for us. had the surreal experience of 40 degrees at death valley one morning then skiing at mammoth mountain in the afternoon! Downside of spring is that Tuollome (?spelling) meadows road at Yosemite will still be closed.

[gotmeheadshaved]

Thanks for the info and advice Janeho. Really envy the fact you've been to those places! The Grand Canyon is the 'one' place on Earth I want to see and experience more than any other, and it's close to Las Vegas as well! 

Thanks for the link to the national parks website. I will have a look later.

Thanks again for taking the time.

Steve

[janeho]

Your thread made me go back and have a look at my photos. Unfortunately the ones of the Yellowstone trip got corrupted, but here's a couple of the Yosemite trip to wet your appetite


Joshua Tree - Good as a first destination if you fly into LA as its only a short drive


Red Rocks only a few miles outside Las vegas



Yosemite - in my opinion Yosemite has to be the most impressive place on earth. Go on a walk though and get up out of the valley floor

[gotmeheadshaved]

Looks amazing Janeho, especially Yellowstone! Great pics 

Steve

[mananddog]

I have been climbing and hiking about a dozen times. Grand Canyon and Canyon lands are good in October November - very cold on the plateau but nice and warm in the bottom of the canyons. If you are out that way there are loads of other great places. The areas are just so vast there is so much to do I am at a loss to really recommend just one area.

There are possibilities to do 2, 3, 4 days walks from the rim of the GC along the river and back up.

Yosemite is really superb and I have climbed there on a couple of trips and done a bit of hiking on rest days. The campsites get very busy in the valley but some of the nicest walks IMO are up at Tuolumne meadows out of the valley. There is a great walk from the valley to get there under the face of Half Dome with a campsite along the way. There are shorter trips onto the tops of the Half dome and other beauty spots. this is probably the easiest and most accessible place for a first trip and you can get to other places such as Kings Canyon and even the long drive over the Tioga pass to get to the back of the Sierras and Mount Whitney.

Bryce, Zion and Arches are all visitable in one trip but the latter gets very hot and you will be in real desert conditions. Ditto Canyonlands - stunning high desert but hiking is not to be undertaken lightly if you get in to trouble there might be no one for a hundred miles. I really enjoyed and area called Escallante Canyon - saw nobody at all.

Of of my favourite places include the Tetons and Wind River mountains. the latter is a wilderness area and not a NP. The Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho are also stunning. These tend to have fewer people, fewer facilities but are just as stunning are very peaceful. Look at the wilderness areas and national monuments and national forest areas too - there are some stunning walks and you will probably be on your own (Except for the bears!). They are so peaceful the loudest noise is often your own heart beat.
I could go on. I really don't know which one to recommend. The GC is good and if you go a the righ time of year you could visit other areas - but out of the canyon water will always be a problem in that area. Having said that I did get stuck in a snow storm in the desert and about 6 inches fell in less than 2 hours - there was plenty of water then - for about 24hrs.

I think I am talking myself into another trip (actually I will be going to Joshua Tree again next November)

[gotmeheadshaved]

I have been climbing and hiking about a dozen times. Grand Canyon and Canyon lands are good in October November - very cold on the plateau but nice and warm in the bottom of the canyons. If you are out that way there are loads of other great places. The areas are just so vast there is so much to do I am at a loss to really recommend just one area.

Thanks for that mate! Some great info there and if I had done half of what you've done and seen in America I would be a very happy man! Grand Canyon still wins out for me to do, but also love Westerns so anything like Wyoming, Colorado etc would be near the top of my list as well.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply and for your advice and guidance.

Steve

[KIDSTYPIKE]

There's some pictures here that I was sent from a reader of a walk in Claremont Wilderness Park  http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/OP033.htm

Alos some here from the Zion National Park from the same guy http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/OP032.htm

Regards,
Dave

[gotmeheadshaved]

There's some pictures here that I was sent from a reader of a walk in Claremont Wilderness Park  http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/OP033.htm

Alos some here from the Zion National Park from the same guy http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/OP032.htm

Regards,
Dave

Thanks for the links Dave. Love the ones of Zion. Looks amazing! 

Steve

[garyr]

I've long held an ambition to visit the Grand Canyon but I don't want to just 'visit' it I want to 'walk' it. There are other areas as well, such as Bryce Canyon, Death Valley and Yellowstone National Park, and I wondered if there was anyone on here who had done any of these places, or all of them, or could recommend the best way of going about it.

Thanks in advance 

Steve

We did the Blue Angel trail down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon about 12 years ago, it was amazing. We also did some walking in Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands and Monument Valley while we were there. We booked everything ourselves, flew into Las Vegas and hired a car and just went for it. We spent about 3 weeks over there, could have spent a lot longer, there was so much to see and do. Each of the National Parks have loads of info about the trails and things, from memory you didn't need a permit for hiking, but you did if you wanted to camp out wild which we did a couple of nights. The maps aren't anywhere as good as the OS, very basic topo maps which aren't that easy to follow. Saying that we found the trails well marked with carins along the way. Came across a few nasties while we were there, rattle snakes were quite common.
Its well worth going over, the scenary is amazing, I've never seen anything like Bryce Canyon ever, the colours at sunset/sunrise where breath taking. I'll try and have a rumage through the archives to see if I can dig some photos of the trip out. But it was well before the 'digital' days so they will be buried in the attic somewhere! 8-)

Gary .....

[KIDSTYPIKE]

Thanks for the links Dave. Love the ones of Zion. Looks amazing! 

Steve

My pleasure Steve. Did you follow the link at the bottom of the Zion page that takes you to the Mojave Desert and Death Valley?
Dave

[gotmeheadshaved]

My pleasure Steve. Did you follow the link at the bottom of the Zion page that takes you to the Mojave Desert and Death Valley?
Dave

Just had a look at those Dave and...WOW!! That looks absolutely stunning. I WANT TO GO!!!!!!! lol 

Steve

[gotmeheadshaved]

We did the Blue Angel trail down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon about 12 years ago, it was amazing. 
 .....

Sounds brilliant mate! The Blue Angel Trail is the one I want to do. How long did it take to walk down and back up?

Steve