What are your Favorite National Parks west of the Mississippi?

In Utah, Zion, Bryce, and Arches make a great trip, and the drives between these parks are beautiful, too.

However, since you will be traveling in August, consider Glacier NP combined with the Canadian Rockies--Banff, Jasper, etc.

Glacier and the Canadian side - Waterton - Gotta see Many Glacier area, Lake McDonald, Logan Pass, Going-to-the-Sun road. Lots of good hikes good wildlife opportunities as well.
Mt. Ranier
Olympia Nat Park - Hoh Rain Forest
Redwoods and the associated state parks in Nor Cal

In August I would not go much furter south than Rocky Mountain NP because of the heat and the fact you have lots of other choices. Yosemite (probably as crowded as Grand Canyon), Glacier, Olympia are all great choices. But, for the most spectacular scenery I would go to Alaska.

I love Utah, but would not consider most of it in August. What kind of weather issues do you think you would have in August in Alaska? It does rain the but that is part of Alaska. Perhaps Yosemite, or for smaller crowds Sequoia/King Canyon. Crater Lake/Redwoods/Oregon Coast/Portland/Columbia River Gorge/Mt St. Helens/Mt Hood was our 10 day trip this past summer and it was fantastic. as mentioned already, glacier, olympic, northern cascades, mt raineer would all be good as well. We did Kenai area July 4th 2 years ago and it was great. Very pretty, very expensive for everything we did. Float plane fishing in lake clark. Dog Sledding on a glacier with helicopter ride just to get there. Kayaking, hiking, train ride, calving glacier on tour.

Hiking and wildlife sightings in August. Hmmmmm.

You basically have four choices:

1) Glacier - Banff
Endless scenery and hikes, lots of wildlife

2) Yosemite - Redwoods - Sequoia
Endless scenery and hikes, not as much wildlife

3) Olympic - Mount Rainier - North Cascades
Lots of scenery, endless hikes, not as much wildlife

4) Alaska
Endless scenery, hikes, and wildlife. Less infra-structure in and near the parks, so what you find will be more crowded than other months -- the owners need to make all their profit in a short time, so they fill everything up completely.
I too am puzzled about what type of "weather" issues you have for an August trip, as it won't get much better than that month. Part of the Alaska experience is that rain and fog can come anytime without warning, making visibility and even travel a problem. If you want to avoid any weather problems, then Alaska is a place to avoid.

I would also recommend Glacier NP. We went their with our young adult children in late June and had a fabulous time. The park will be more crowded in August than it was in June, but more trails, etc. will also be open. The scenery was fabulous and you be sure of spotting wildlife.
Should you decide on Glacier, you might want to consider renting a vacation home (through sites such as VRBO) rather than staying in motels or lodges. We rented a GREAT vacation home in West Glacier through VRBO and it gave us more space and cost less than 2 rooms in a lodge.

Wow-keep em coming. I know this was not the most pointed question to ask,but I wanted to see what sorts of ideas you all had. Here's the weather thing-it's summer. Summer's supposed to be hot. In the Northeast, where we live, we don't get an overabundance of that. So, 60 degree, rainy temps are getting (somewhat) in the way. On my own, I'd narrowed options down to; Zion/Bryce/North Rim or Olympic Peninsula including surrounding cities mentioned above; or Glacier, where DH and I honeymooned almost 30 years ago; Canadian Rockies, and of course, Alaska. I considered a lot what all of you have recommended, but can't decide. Also toyed with St John VI, but I am not excited about that idea. I hadn't considered taking a vacation home in Glacier, and now will check that out. Great idea. Longhorn, was it too much driving from West to East to Waterton when you settled in West Glacier? I appreciate all the ideas, and references to trips you all did during your 10 days.

I prefer going to the parks at optimal times. August would not be good in Zion and most of the desert enviroments. You would be ok for the rest of what you mention.

We have spent a week in Glacier each of the past 2 Augusts and we love the place. This year, the weather was uniformly warm and pleasant. Last year we had 2 days of cold/wind/rain, but the rest of the week was nice. The hiking there is fantastic, and there are lots of opportunities to see wildlife. The flowers were at their peak this year in mid-August, but I think that is later than usual.

With 10 days you could spend a week at a vacation home at West Glacier and still have 3 to spend on the east side at Many Glacier. You might try to get a night at Sperry Chalet during your West Glacier week. For the east side, the 2-bedroom lakefront suites at Many Glacier hotel are less expensive than 2 separate (lakefront) rooms, and you get the bonus of two balconies.

We also love Zion/Grand Canyon North Rim, but I wouldn't venture there in August.

As for Mt. Rainier and the Olympics, I guess I live too close (in Seattle) to appreciate them fully. Great for an overnight with 2 dayhikes, but I don't know about a whole week.

As for Alaska---that could be a terrific family trip, but you have to have the right attitude about the weather and come prepared for anything. When I lived up there (many years ago), the weather was usually nice in June and very unsettled in August---but there are far fewer mosquitoes then. I don't know if the pattern still holds. We are trying to plan a trip up there ourselves, and I'm attracted to the idea of late August/early September for the fall colors.

Soxgirl, we wanted to see as much of the park as we could in a week, so we spent 3 nights at the VRBO vacation house in West Glacier, 1 night at Many Glacier Lodge and 2 nights at a VRBO vacation house in East Glacier (which was not quite as nice as the place in West Glacier, but had fantastic views of the mountains).
During our stay in West Glacier, we were able to do quite a bit of hiking there and some in the Bowman Lake area as well. We also took a day trip to the National Bison Range and did a couple short hikes there and saw some great wildlife.
We loved the scenery and hiking at Many Glacier and would have enjoyed staying there longer if not for the accomodation choices. We booked several months in advance, but the choices at both Many Glacier and Swiftcurrent were already limited by then.
East Glacier was enjoyable for us because there were so few visitors at Two Medicine and it's the only place we spotted moose. I think a lot of folks skip this area, but if you have 10 days for your visit, I'd seriously consider putting it on your itinerary. If you do go to East Glacier, be sure to eat at Serrano's Mexican food which was recommended by the owner of the vacation house where we stayed. It was excellent!

Longhorn, do you have the VRBO link to either of the houses you rented?
As we're still undecided, I am intrigued that so many of you say not Zion in August, which is when DH and I were there about 30 years ago. But 30 years ago, we could drive through the park, and skinny dip in the Virgin River. Oh well. If we were able to do our hikes before noon, I wonder if that would alleviate the intense heat issue? BTW, while I'm still thinking Alaska, my daughters are thinking St John, VI. Guess Zion is in about the middle!

Since you've spent time at yellowstone and glacier, and since it is August, I'd spend time out near the pacific (Ranier, Olympic, North Cascades, and perhaps Washington State's San Juan Islands and then Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It's a lot of fun to take the Ferries around. Some folks love staying on one of the Islands in the San Juans or near by islands and kayaking around. Might see Orcas and other marine wildlife. Seattle and Vancouver are both super fun towns.
If you are up for driving way up north on Vancouver Island, the Orcas up there are great.

> Summer's supposed to be hot

I totally get that. This year we had an extremely damp and cool spring for us. Even before those months of wet weather set in I had booked a week in Zion over July 4. Though many might cringe at this, the 100 degree temps felt like heaven to us! You find some shade and lay low during the real heat of mid-afternoon, but you can still get in plenty of hikes in the morning and late afternoon.

With the options on your list you have a no-lose decsion to make. Have fun!

When I say I wouldn't venture to Zion in August, I am speaking as a hiker.

We did a number of longish strenuous hikes there, starting in the canyon and hiking up to the rim on either side. It is gorgeous, but I wouldn't attempt that in August.

If you are not there to hike like that, and are OK with the heat, then it would be a fine place to visit. The Narrows walk in the Virgin River would be great in August, as long as there has been no thundershower activity. It's a very popular activity, so unfortunately will probably be too busy with people for skinny-dipping.

Soxgirl, in West Glacier we stayed at VBRO #81334 and in East Glacier we stayed at VRBO #95176. Of course, you will need to take the normal precautions whenever you rent through VRBO (or similar sites). I will say that the owners of both of the above-listed properties were prompt in contacting me by e-mail and telephone and were happy to answer all my questions. We had absolutely no problems with the rentals and enjoyed them both very much.

Love Yellowstone but you said you aren't interested. Here are some others.

Glacier--a super hiking park and some of the best scenery you will see anywhere. It can get very hot during the day, even that far north.
Grand Canyon North Rim--totally different from south rim--higher elev./cooler temps, much fewer people, laid back slower pace, nice trails along rim and into canyon.
Mt. Rainier and Mt. Olympus
Rocky Mt NP--good hiking, beauitful views

I'm curious why you think weather will be a factor in Alaska in August. It's usually a pretty good time to go. Been twice and LOVE it. Trails aren't like what you are used to in the lower 48. In fact, in Denali, there are no marked trails. AND you have to worry about bears. Other great things to do though like whale watching boat trip, flightseeing over Denali, fishing for salmon if they are running, bus trip into Denali to see bears, moose, caribou, etc.

I wouldn't go to Yosemite in August because of the crowds and the low water level in the waterfalls.

I loved Glacier NP, Canadian Glacier NP and Banff/Jasper.