From tropical paradises to stunning deserts and alpine mountain ranges, every national park has an ideal season. In this article we suggest a park to visit each month, and it wasn’t an easy task narrowing our selections down to one per month. Truth be told, for each month there are many parks you could visit and have the time of your life; our selections should be merely a starting point for planning your next year of travel.
Continue reading “Your National Park-a-Month Guide”Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend is one of the supermodels of our public lands. It’s the ultimate “look at” site. You go there, stand at the overlook and look at it; that’s it. Of course, you’ll also take a million pictures, but my point is that looking at it is the activity. And it’s worth it. Even the most cardio-seeking, marathon-trail-running enthusiast will stop in their tracks at the sight of the bend.
Continue reading “Horseshoe Bend”Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel
The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park opened in 1927 as people were beginning to flock to our country’s incredible public lands and wanted accommodations that matched the splendor of those natural places. Nestled into Yosemite Valley, its stone exterior blends seamlessly into the surrounding granite cliffs.
Continue reading “Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel”El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon’s historic El Tovar Hotel sits about a hundred feet from one of the grandest natural views in the world: the overlook into the canyon from the South Rim. In 1903, President Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon, and in a speech, he implored onlookers to leave the area as it was, unspoiled. He was concerned that any building, even the smallest cottage, would mar the beauty of the canyon.
Continue reading “El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park”Antelope Island State Park, Utah
Looking west toward the open prairie, we saw dozens of brown humps in the distance: bison grazing against a backdrop of yellow, grass-covered hills that rose 2,000 feet above the plain. Without knowing better, we would have thought this was the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone or the desolate Henry Mountains in southern Utah.
Continue reading “Antelope Island State Park, Utah”Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
The label “one-of-a-kind” has never been more appropriately used than when applied to Goblin Valley State Park. Its main feature is the unusual rock formations called goblins. Over millions of years, wind and water eroded the Entrada sandstone to form rounded spires. A typical goblin has a cap rock that’s wider than its base, giving it a mushroom-shaped look. Some of the stone structures are no taller than you or me; others are a couple of hundred feet tall.
Continue reading “Goblin Valley State Park, Utah”