What are your favorite national park sites?  The National Parks have been on my mind a lot lately.  I feel like President Trump is basically trying to demolish the National Parks, along with a lot of other things.  And working in the National Parks, even as a volunteer, is pretty stressful right now.  I have very strong feelings about what President Trump is doing and am doing my best to protest in helpful and constructive ways.

But I don’t want this blog to be a negative place.  And I don’t want my mind to dwell on negative things that I can’t do anything about.  So, in today’s post, I want to highlight my ten favorite National Park sites.  I have not been to all 433 of the National Park sites, so my list will certainly change over time.  But these are my current favorites.  They are more vignettes of a particular place and time than recommendations of a whole park.

10. Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho.  Tom and I visited here in 2017 and were absolutely blown away by the unexpected and stunning landscape.  It was like being on the moon.  Completely different from the rest of Idaho.  Although we weren’t there very long, we hiked a lot of the trails.  The beauty of the other-worldly landscape is both delicate and stunning.

9.  Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.  We first visited Cumberland Gap in 2022 and returned the next summer to work there.  This year we are working there again.  This place is like Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Shenandoah National Park without the crowds.  They have miles of hiking trails, caves, gorgeous scenic overlooks, wildlife, and a great campground.  I was so captured by the Fogfall that I have a picture of it as the screensaver on my phone.  There are several gateway towns that invite exploration, especially the scenic village of Cumberland Gap.

8.  Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  I haven’t been to Yellowstone since 1990 when Tom and I took a big trip across the United States.  Tom, John, and Steve visited there in 2006 but I wasn’t able to go with them.  Yellowstone is awesome because it is so diverse.  It has geysers and hot springs that smell like rotten eggs but dazzle with their colors.  There is extensive hiking and gorgeous waterfalls.  The wildlife, especially the bison, delight and yet warn us not to assume that animals in parks are tame.  The main reason I haven’t been back is because I refuse to go for a day.  I want at least a week in order to explore the park more extensively.

7.  Olympic National Park in Washington state.  Tom and I have been to Olympic several times.  We went to the park for a day in 2017 with Johnny and Val.  Our most extensive visit was about a week long in 1998.  My favorite parts of the park are Sol Duc Falls and Ruby Beach.  I have wonderful memories of John and Tom climbing all over the sea stacks at Ruby Beach at low tide.  Olympic has it all:  rain forest, beaches, and mountains.

6.  Muir Woods National Monument in California.  This is one of my favorite places in part because it is so accessible if you are visiting San Francisco.  Although it is close by, parking is always a problem, so visiting the park now requires a parking reservation.  But once you are inside the forest of old growth coastal redwoods, the stillness and grandeur of the giant trees is worth it.  Easy trails through Founders Grove and Cathedral Grove are opportunities to get acquainted with these giants.  I am always reminded how small I am and how great God’s creation is when I visit.

5.  North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.  The Grand Canyon always makes everyone’s top ten list with good reason.  I have wonderful memories of being snowed in at the south rim for a week with Tom and John.  But I always prefer the north rim, which I have visited several times.  There are no crowds, the views are just as spectacular, and it is cooler.  Also, on the way in, I get to stop for cookies at Jacob Lake Inn.

4.  Yosemite National Park in California.  Yosemite has spectacular hiking, soaring peaks, stunning waterfalls, and a river running through the middle of the valley.  We stayed there, at the historic and luxurious Ahwahnee Hotel for a week with John and Steve in 2006 and we never ran out of things to do.  The views are breathtaking, whether you are on the valley floor or on top of Half Dome.

3.  Point Reyes National Seashore in California.  Although it looks like Point Reyes is next to Muir Woods on a map, you actually have to drive a long way to get to the most spectacular parts of the park.  This is not a seashore where you sit on the beach all day.  Instead the windswept cliffs overlook almost inaccessible bays far below.  The Point Reyes Lighthouse is remote and windblown.  A small historic farm is close by.  Every time I am in San Francisco, I try to talk whoever is with me into taking a day or two to go Point Reyes.

2.  Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.  Tom and I have been to Bryce Canyon several times.  I like it better than the Grand Canyon because it is more accessible.  I could never hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and out again) but I have hiked to the bottom of Bryce two times.  In addition, Bryce is cooler and not as busy as the Grand Canyon.  I love the hoodoos with their imaginative shapes and the gorgeous colors of the rocks.  Tom and I were last there in 2018 and stayed overnight at Ruby’s Inn.

1.  Glacier National Park in Montana.  Glacier holds some of my very favorite memories of any national park site.  We went there in 1990 when John was two, and returned in 2005 when John was 17.  In 2005 we took along a bunch of Boy Scouts and camped at Two Medicine for a week.  We went hiking in the snow, fishing on the lake, rode the boat across the lake, and rode Jammer buses up Going-to-the-Sun Road.  It was a week filled with adventure and wonderful memories.  The scenery is spectacular and the hiking is endless.  Going with such a large group of scouts meant that there was always plenty going on.

Those are my ten favorite National Park sites.  Have you ever been to any of them?  What is your favorite National Park site?  Are any of these places on your bucket list?