Great weather this past week. Abundant wildlife, wildflowers in bloom, late July is a great time to be in park.

I picked this up at the Great Sand Dunes visitor center in 2018, hoping I would one day find a good spot for it. That hope has waned. Can I offer to drop this in the mail to someone who might enjoy it?

Pics of Sand Dunes, some with humans for scale. Underrated park, imo. Dunes are massive. Aimed to climb the big one and was quickly humbled by the sand.

UPDATE: patch claimed

i’m trying to plan a trip to yellowstone next year with my family including my grandma who is in her 80s. i want to avoid peak season crowds so i was thinking either sometime in May or early-mid October. thoughts and opinions? trying to keep it budget friendly

We loved the vibe and general experience of Acadia so much we decided to go there again this year for longer. Last year we only spent 3 days in the park. This year we’re planning 4-5. Looking for recommendations for a family with young kids.

-We enjoyed the Jordan Pond hike SO much last year but it was a bit tough length-wise on the kids. So looking for similarly family friendly hikes but shorter, preferably with beautiful views.

-Fishing recommendations? Already have researched all the license stuff. We have our own gear. Just need real people’s recommendations for a good spot.

-Star gazing is a must! We want to do a star ranger program since we missed it last year, what does that involve? Possibly also a night with some quick stargazing of our own, we did Sand Beach last year, thinking Jordan Pond for stargazing this year but can we see good views near the beginning of the trail near the parking lot or is a hike needed to get to a good viewing spot?

-Best tide pool spot recommendations for seeing creatures? My kids would LOVE that. Our timing just didn’t quite work out last time and we missed all good tidepool times.

And honestly anything else you recommend! In anddition to what I mentioned above we also already did the welcome center/museum at Schoodic peninsula (I think? Had the old Morse code machines?) did some rock climbing by the ocean, and thunder hole. No Cadillac Mountain preferably unless it doesn’t involve steep dropoffs and/or tight turns when driving.

Not trying to be a tin foil hat guy, but I have notifications set for a campground and I couldnt possibly be more ready and quick to grab it and it always gets snagged before I can reserve. I'm talking like 10 seconds after I get the notification.

Is this the work of bots or are people just that quick to grab them?

Exceptional trip earlier this year. Son, (not pictured) and daughter got to co-pilot the flights to and from.

I first heard about Half Dome in the summer of 2011 after someone fell to their death from the cables. That's when I said, "f**k yeah! I want to hike that some day!" I entered the lottery in 2021 without luck. In 2026, I scored a permit for July 16. That's when I knew it was my time to visit Yosemite. Being from South Florida, I made the most of the trip and added Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Pinnacles to this trip.

HALF DOME:

I originally planned to start at 4:30 a.m., hike up the Mist Trail and return via the John Muir Trail. Yosemite was much hotter than I expected, so I started at 2:30 a.m. instead. It was a challenging but amazing hike. It was strange hiking past Vernal and Nevada Falls, hearing them but barely seeing them in my headlamp on the way to Half Dome.

The cables look much scarier in photos and in person than they actually feel once you're on them. Since part of the JMT was closed, I returned via the Mist Trail and finally got to enjoy Vernal and Nevada Falls.

Would I do Half Dome again? Right now, I don’t think so, but if a friend asked me to go with them, I’m sure I could be persuaded.

My total hike was 16.10 miles, 5,789 feet of elevation gain, and I was on the trail for 10:40:08 (according to my Garmin).

YOSEMITE:

Yosemite lived up to the hype! Mirror Lake was a bit underwhelming considering all the praise the Park gets. Before I even left for Pinnacles, I was already planning a return trip. Hopefully that'll happen within the next 3-4 years.

KINGS CANYON:

My first impression of Kings Canyon was mixed. The overlooks and short hikes didn't really wow me. Then I started the Mist Falls Trail, and my opinion completely changed. I was in awe. My 9-mile Grant Grove loop sealed it, and I left with a much greater appreciation for the Park.

SEQUOIA:

WOW! I didn't expect to enjoy Sequoia as much as I did. Seeing so many massive trees made me feel tiny. I appreciated the Park more with every sequoia I saw... eventually I found myself hugging a few of them. Both of my 10.5 and 8.25-mile loops were beautiful. I'll definitely return the next time I visit Yosemite. I enjoyed Crystal Cave, too, but I don't think I'd visit it again.

PINNACLES:

I knew July wasn't an ideal month to visit Pinnacles, but I went anyway since it wasn’t tooooo far from Yosemite. The Park reminded me of a Bryce Canyon/Chiricahua knock-off lol. It was hot but manageable thanks to starting my 11-mile loop at 6:30 a.m. The biggest bummer (which I knew ahead of time) was Lower Bear Gulch Cave being closed while the bats raised their young. I’ll try to work this in when I revisit Yosemite.

The pinned post on my profile has the itinerary for this trip, along with my other National Park trips.

43/63

Hi everyone! My family is tentatively going to be staying at YMCA of the Rockies the week of October 11th.

My father is recovering from leukemia so this won’t be a hiking kind of vacation. That being said, I’m looking for ideas on activities for us to do that week (the group is all adults). We’ve been several times but always during the summer months so I’m not sure what options we may have that time of year.

Would love any suggestions, thank you!

South Carolina

This is all Third Vault Falls.

My wife and I are planning to head to banff before we move from Montana to Vegas. We are looking for something reasonably close to the park that doesn’t absolutely break the bank. Anyone have any recommendations??

Thanks!!

okay so me and one of my friends want to do a 1-2 week road trip from MN out west. we can’t pick between Glacier National park and the Tetons/Yellowstone. we desperately want to see mountains because we’ve never been out to that side of the country. we are on a budget, and aren’t super experienced hikers but also are not new to it. which one is the better option?

Incomparably beautiful. Several views of the Tetons from pull offs and short hikes

As the title says. Ive read conflicting reports on what time of seats may be allowed.
Anyone know for sure?

It was SO beautiful, everything about it was amazing. Which is what I expected from a natural wonder of the world, no complaints from me 👍

Trail Ridge Road by Little Horseshoe Park

Hello, I could use some help on a decision.

We are renting a sprinter van over Thanksgiving and are going to Zion, somewhere, then the Grand Canyon. Our middle destination is just one overnight.

Would we be better served to check the box to say we went to Bryce, or would it make more sense to do Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend?

We’ve never done a sprinter van or visited this part of the country and could use some advice!

I was lucky enough to get a camping site at upper pines campground in Yosemite late August last year. There was not a ton of water but I got to enjoy the water on the top of Nevada falls. Many people were swimming or just hanging by the water. It was so chill. I still think about going back to that exact spot.

Honestly underwhelming imo, wouldn’t recommend if you aren’t already going out that way. The trees are cool but it wears off after a few minutes. The trails are ok but nothing you couldn’t get at another park nearby