BSD said:

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Thanks. But since I posted that I've done a little research and found that it is open year round and several outfitters that have dry suits for rent. They've told me kids do the hike often in the fall. So it is possible, I just don't know if I want to take a 9yr old on that kind of hike or save it for another time. The plan as of now is to do it.

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If you do Yosemite, make sure the roads are open. First time visitor to the park, you really should do the tioga pass road and glacier point open.

BSD said:

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Thanks. But since I posted that I've done a little research and found that it is open year round and several outfitters that have dry suits for rent. They've told me kids do the hike often in the fall. So it is possible, I just don't know if I want to take a 9yr old on that kind of hike or save it for another time. The plan as of now is to do it.

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Oh wow, i wouldnt have thought that. Good luck!

Stopped by Guadalupe Mountains NP as we drive up to Carlsbad Caverns. Only hiked a mile (and spent time learning in the Visitor Center) but this is a place that I want to come back to when I'm not traveling with a 9 yr old kid in 90 degree heat.

BSD said:

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Just left my second day at Carlsbad. Holy schnikeys!!! That place is awesome. I like it much more than Mammoth Caves, which I thought was pretty damn cool. Be sure to plan ahead and do the King's Palace ranger guided tour. The nightly bat program is a must too. We also did the Left Hand Tunnel Tour which is a candlelight lantern tour. It was fun but if you're on limited time, go for the King's Palace Ranger guided tour or the Big Room self guided tour.

From King's Palace (and doesn't do it justice):

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wind cave is lame in comparison. Just an FYI.

Haha! I have a feeling most caves will be lame now. Luckily, the Wind Cave trip will be part of a much larger vacation with all the other parks in the area.

BSD said:

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Haha! I have a feeling most caves will be lame now. Luckily, the Wind Cave trip will be part of a much larger vacation with all the other parks in the area.

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. You can have fun In the black hills. Scenic area. Rushmore, wind cave, jewel cave, Custer state park. Throw in devils tower and the badlands. It is worth a visit. I'm heading back il there next weekend. It's onjy 4-5 hours from my home.

I haven't seen mammoth cave yet, but I just remember thinking wind cave was so much less than even the first 1/2 hour of Carlsbad.

Glacier Bay in Alaska is a beautiful cruise. The scenery is spectacular.

Just got back from Olympic National Park. Loved it - such diverse experiences in one (large) park

BSD said:

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Thanks. But since I posted that I've done a little research and found that it is open year round and several outfitters that have dry suits for rent. They've told me kids do the hike often in the fall. So it is possible, I just don't know if I want to take a 9yr old on that kind of hike or save it for another time. The plan as of now is to do it.

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I've hiked Zion at least a dozen times. The statement that the Narrows is open all year long is slightly misleading. Once water flow reaches a certain level it's shut down for safety reasons. It's almost always shut down in early to mid-spring because of snow melt.

You can certainly walk to the end of the short mile trail that takes you too a point where you get into the water just about anytime and go a short way but you can't go too far when the river is flowing at certain flow rates.

In November ,absent a storm, the water flow rate is usually way down and you'd certainly be allowed to hike.

That being said once you get 3/4 mile to a mile into the canyon the water is probably going to be over a nine year old's head. It will certainly be over his head once you get past Orderville Canyon.
Do you really want to be in a position where your son is going to be forced to swim upstream against a current ? You're in the water and there is no river bank to get on - just sheer canyon walls. And the water temp and air temps will be cold.

The difficult Narrows hike requires transportation to an entry point into the river outside of the park and is an 18 + mile hike which requires most people at least 2 days.

Hiking in the river is extremely slow. You're hiking on very slippery large round rocks and boulders the entire way. Very easy to lose your balance and/or twist an ankle.

And don't even think about hiking it if there is any chance of rain anywhere near the park. There are significant stretches where there is no escape from a flash flood.

JMO but I wouldn't do it with a 9 year old. Maybe go a quarter of a mile upstream to get a taste of it but you're not going to be able to get to the true Narrows. Plenty of other hikes to do.

Personally I'd wait until your son is older ,stronger and taller.

SA68AG said:

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That being said once you get 3/4 mile to a mile into the canyon the water is probably going to be over a nine year old's head. It will certainly be over his head once you get past Orderville Canyon.
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What? I hiked up past Orderville and I never saw water that approaches a nine year old's head....much less within the first 3/4 mile.

mpl35 said:

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SA68AG said:

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That being said once you get 3/4 mile to a mile into the canyon the water is probably going to be over a nine year old's head. It will certainly be over his head once you get past Orderville Canyon.
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What? I hiked up past Orderville and I never saw water that approaches a nine year old's head....much less within the first 3/4 mile.

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Well the water level was that high (and actually higher since it got to my chin level) the time when I did it which was late August or early September. It's been a few years. It must have been a little past Orderville Canyon where the canyon really narrows down. I went to what would be the last campsite if you were coming from upstream.

So I guess you can take your chances and hope that it's lower. Also I did it in my mid 60s and I'm 70+ years old now so my memory isn't what it used to be. Gotta cut the old man a little bit of slack.

We camped at Great Sand Dunes NP over the weekend

We had a great time, and it was really cool. Rent your Sand boards before you get into the park - they don't rent them there (and snow sleds don't work well at all).

My wife kind of felt it was a stretch for it to be a NP.....I can see what she meant but I thought the size of the dune-field gave it that uniqueness for it to be one

AgRyan04 said:

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My wife kind of felt it was a stretch for it to be a NP.....I can see what she meant but I thought the size of the dune-field gave it that uniqueness for it to be one

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Why? Because of size or singular feature?

It is larger than Lassen, Saguaro, Guadalupe, Great Basin, Arches, Teddy Roosevelt, Dry Tortugas, Mammoth, Mesa Verde, Acadia, Carlsbad, Bryce, Wind Cave, Haleakala, Cuyahoga Valley, Black Canyon, Pinnacles, Congaree, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Hot Springs.

On features, it has alpine lakes, six 13,000-foot mountains, and old-growth forests in addition to the actual dunes.

I'd say many of the above listed also have few unique features to set them off in comparison to GSD.

If you go to Great Sand Dunes when Medano Creek is running with some flow, it is incredible. It only does that for a little while, but it is awesome.

Hit 3 in the last 5 days: Grand Canyon, Arches, and Cayonlands. The first two are well worth it, but CL isn't (edit: isn't, at least as much). It is literally down the street and around the corner from Arches so hit it too, but I hear Bryce Canyon is much better. I'll post some photos at some point.

Thanks for the update We plan to spend a day at each of those parks so if you had any specific recommendations of things to do or not to do, we will definitely strongly consider your thoughts And photos!

We will be going at the end of May next year

We really liked Canyonlands.

Agreed. Canyonlands is impressive in its own right. Definitely not as crowded as grand canyon and has some arches features just like near by Arches....but personally, I would not visit it in the summer...

if you can share specifics, that would be great - we plan to spend a day there... just not sure where to park, see, etc. in order to see the best things

Not discouraging anyone from going to CL -- in fact, the opposite. However, I wouldn't really use the word impressive, especially compared to the other two and reportedly, compared to other parks in the general area (so I've heard). It had some great views and some great trails but I found Arches and especially the GC much more to my liking. If anyone else disagrees, that's fine. You might have seen things I missed.

My ONLY point here: if you can ONLY see Arches OR Canyonlands, I'd suggest Arches. But others may have a different view and I'd encourage you to check out both views (pardon the pun). CL is definitely much less crowded.

Yes, I think she was surprised by the size.....primarily the small amount that is easily accessable.

I have no doubt there was more to it but that "more" is restricted to 4x4 vehicles or much linger hikes than we could do with the family. Not to say that it should be easily accessable - that certainly has its value - but compared to the majority of the parks we've visited the road doesn't get you very far.

Canyonlands kind of felt like that too (on a larger scale) - massive park but the road only takes you so far. Not so great with the kiddos but maybe one to come back to when we get them out of the house

We were SOO bummed it wasn't flowing. We planned the entire timing of the trip around "peak" flow when we made the reservations however many months ago. But we still enjoyed it.

In many ways King's Canyon is like that too. You can drive to Roads end, but almost all of the Park requires hiking to see. I guess for me GSD was just so unique. Plus I planned my visit around summitting Mount Herard so I knew the size of the park. Of course a fire prevented that so I'm still trying to get back!

Rocky Mountain national Park was beautiful this week!

Bachelor99 said:

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1. Yosemite is by far and away the best national park in the national park system. words and pictures do not do the place justice....first class hiking all around the park.




2. Glacier
3. Yellowstone/Grand Teton
4. Zion
5. Rocky Mountain
6. Grand Canyon
7. Olympic
8. Bryce
9. Sequoia/Kings Canyon
10. North Cascades or Crater Lake

I have been to over 40 national parks...these 10 have been the most memorable to me...I think after the top 4 or 5 the rest is just up to personal preference...

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Excited to hear this, we have a trip planned there after Labor Day. We've been to many of the NP's but first time here. Any general advice? Nearby lodging and restaurants for non-camping days?

This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

Sentinel Dome and Taft Point

Cathedral Lakes

Cloud's Rest.


Add those three

Great idea for stargazing! Is it possible to hike from Glacier Point back to Yosemite valley at night?

Dude. That's amazing. I can't wait to get there someday. We've got a few more lined up later this year: Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and a possible return trip to Death Valley. I'm saving the Northwest trip for when my boy is older and we can push it a little harder. Did you hit any of the other parks while you were up there?

Were headed to Glacier in August. I'm excited to see it but scared about drag-assing my out of shape self on the trails.

Thanks, man. I was up there for a wedding last weekend so we only had one free day. I'd been in the PNW a few times for work but it was always in the winter, so this was new to me. It was so nice. Can't put into words how crisp and clear the air was. The dust cloud in Houston destroyed me the days leading up to the trip, but I didn't cough once while at Rainier.

If I had another day, I'd love to stop by the North Cascades. We all took a drive up to Vancouver, so it was actually on the way. Next time.

As for Rainier, highly recommend. Been told that just about every hike, short or long, has some of the best payoff-to-mileage ratios of any of the NP's and I can't disagree. At least on my one hike. Something beautiful every 15 minutes.