sikki

Please Rank the following National Parks in terms of breathetaking scenary and natural beauty.

- Yellowstone
- Grand Teton
- Rocky Mountain
- Glacier
- Mount Ranier

mooselywild

Eh...are you just doing this out of curiousity?

My top 2 are Yellowstone & MR.

tovarich

Glacier
Yosemite
Yellowstone
Mount Rainier
Grand TETON
Rocky mountain n.park
Paul

ipod_robbie

Never been to Paul, so I can't rank it in my top 6. The other 5 are all beautiful and offer different advantages and disadvantages.

Yosemite
Yellowstone
Grand Canyon

the above 3 are somewhat unique in the world.

The other 4 offer beautiful scenery but if you've travelled the Alps, Alaska, canada or other remote, high peaks areas they aren't as unique as the other 3.

Glacier
MR
GT
RMNP

happytrailstoyou

They are all great. My sequence is:

- Grand Tetons
- Rocky Mountain
- Glacier, tie with Mt. Rainier
- Mount Rainier
- Yellowstone, last because I prefer mountains to thermal activity--curious as it may be.

npurpleh2

Ranking parks like this is difficult but I've seen sikki's other post so I know there is a purpose to this question and this is not a random question.

Based only on sikki's qualifier of "breathtaking scenary and natural beauty", I'd have to say:

Glacier
Mt. Rainier
Yellowstone
Grand Teton

But listing in order of my favorites on sikki's list based on the total package including wildlife, hikes, scenery, activities, etc, I'd have to say:

Yellowstone
Mt. Rainier
Glacier
Grand Teton

Haven't been to RM so can't comment on that one. Yosemite wasn't on the original list but it is one of the best IMHO.

sikki

Actually am planning to visit the top 2-3 in early september.

For me the advantages are altitude/majestic peaks, trekking possibilities (trekking routes, huts and tours)etc and some cultural experience. How wud u rate the NPs with this criteria?? Thanks. Sikki

bbqboy

Breathtaking means Crater Lake, but it doesn't have the Depth of Experience the others do.
A very Unique place.
Sikki, rather than hit all National Parks, have you thought about doing a portion of the Pacific Coast Trail, for example?
There are Stunning spots in all the Western States that are US Forest, BLM Land, State Parks, all
aside from The NPS system.

mooselywild

Yeah-I agree with npurpleh2. Glacier is gorgeous, but I'm more of "all package" gal. Thus, Y and MR....

sikki

Thats the thing. I have no great experience as a traveler but I think the best, most breahtetaking places are usually not the best "complete package" places. Infact, the best places I have been to have always been raw, with very little or no sign of human intervention (houses, towns, well-managed roads and infrastructure). Pakistan has 2 of the worlds top 10 peaks. There are a lot of such completely isolated and grand places in Pakistan. It gives me goose bumps just thinking about them. I have to make sure there are 3-5 days lost in a place like that. Mt. Rainier and Glacier are begining to seem like must-do.

Is the point about the thermal activity true? I shud drop Yellowstone if the highlight is thermal activity.

I am now looking for info on Trails now. Thats a very interesting idea.

I really appreciate your help. It is really narrowing it down for me. Thankx people.

bbqboy

For instance:
Mt. Shasta-
http://www.bloomingrosepress.com/ima...t%20shasta.jpg

sikki

Now this might sound stupid but when i was a kid I watched First Blood(Rambo)like 30-40 times. I remember the scenary from the movie and later discovered that it was filmed in Oregon, US. Although fascination iwth rambo died away but always thought Id go to Oregon someday.

Now here is what I am thinking now (u may think I am drifting too much but. I'll go to Seattle, rent a car and go in a loop which can covers the Northwest-most 5 states of the US (Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Oregon)and I want to catch some of Highway 101/West Coast on the way back up from Oregon into Washington.

What cud be that loop be? Also have to identify trails in the area. Will appreciate suggestions. Sikki.

npurpleh2

sikki - Yellowstone incredible, including it's mountains too so I don't think you should rule it out. While the entire area is a caldera and signs of thermal activity are everywhere, there is a lot of backcountry area, gorgeous mountains, incredible diversity of the area, etc. It's a "must do" park. You'll see incredible wildlife and scenery within one park that isn't comparable to any other location I've been to.

mooselywild

Um- I wouldn't say the "highlight" is thermal activity at Yellowstone. But I like National parks, period. If you want "breathtaking" places to ramble- definitely Glacier and Mt R! The pacific trail is also a really good idea. There's plenty of "breathtaking" places in the west, that aren't necessarily part of the parks (like Crater). So- more places, shallower see though- or 2 parks, where you can ramble and really "feel" the place. If you make to MR, and like waterfalls- Snoqualmie falls is pretty cool.

sikki

Ok. So Yellowstone must be included in the loop. Suggest places in Idaho and Oregon for the turn around from Yellowstone towards Seattle?

mooselywild

Ahhh...Npurple, beat me to the yellowstone remark! But what she said

As for this-
"I'll go to Seattle, rent a car and go in a loop which can covers the Northwest-most 5 states of the US (Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Oregon)and I want to catch some of Highway 101/West Coast on the way back up from Oregon into Washington."

Uhhh...that's A LOT of driving. Where are you from? If you take the suggested route- it's mostly 2 lane highway, sometimes not very good two lane. And those states are actually a lot bigger than they look on the map.

The parks themselves are huge! How much time do you have??

But if you do that (or at least attempt it) The Oregon scenery you saw on TV as a kid was probably W. OR, or the Columbia River Gorge. You can skip most of Idaho- the gorgeous parts are mostly in Northern Idaho- lakes, trees, etc. Roads and scenery get much worse in the south. West of the Cascades in Washington, you'll like most (Mountains, lush greenery).
Montana and WY are a lot of driving, not really sure what route to take there.

In WA, the Olympic pen is gorgeous.

In Oregon- if you do nothing else- stop at Cannon Beach and see Haystack Rock (up close and at the view point)

Hwy 101 is definitely can't miss- actually, that's separate vacation by itself.

Seriously, I'd stick with your original plan if this will be your first time in the NW. That way you'll really get to experience 2 of the NP's!

Either way, best of luck....

mooselywild

Oh- Idaho- anywhere in the far north. Couer d'lane lake (sure that's not correct sp.) is great.

bbqboy

Moosey, he's in Pakistan.

sikki

I now know that i will be arriving in chicago and the other extreme that I will visit in the first 15 days is Seattle. In these fifteen days I need to see Glacier and Mt. Raneir and maybe Yellostone + one 2-3 day trekk on the Pacific Crest Trail on the section between Mt. Ranair & Crator Lake.

Mapquest says i can be driving around 3000 miles or for 45 hours one-way if I go from Chicago to Seattle through Glacier NP and then do some WA travelling to Mt. Ranair and maybe look at some of the west cost. Maybe I should do a 2-3 day trek on the Pacific Crest Trail, drop off the car and pay drop-off charges in seattle and fly back to chicago.

Also need to know what i can do travelling from Illinois to Wyoming. Because thats a big stretch (600-700 miles)I have no activity or stop overs planned for. Whats in South Dakota?

Appreciate it. Sikki.

iamq

USVI National Park on St. John. The beaches are amazing.

-Bill