National parks in East coast
 

We are from Pakistan and visiting USA for first time with family of 3 including girl child aged 9 years in July 2016 for about 25days. We are restricting ourselves to the East coast cities like NYC, New Jersey, Washington, Miami, Orlando and Niagra fall

We still will have about 2-3 days and would like to visit one of the National Parks in the East coast. Our main interest is Scenic beauty in terms of Lakes, greenery, mountains, good views etc

I think the main National parks in our reach will be
1. Acadia national park (maybe a bit out of the way)
2. Olympics
3. Smokey mountain

We would like your input & suggestion on which to visit and any other choice we may have. Also,
1. how to reach it
2. How to enjoy it the most etc etc
3. Accomodation

Are you going to drive yourself or are you looking for a tour to see the parks?

An easy way to get from NYC to Washington DC is to take the train, you will not want a car in either city.

From Washington DC you could rent a car and drive west to Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway which is a slow road but does go down into the Smokies. It runs in a northeast/southwest direction from western Virginia down through North Carolina.

I'm not sure what you mean by Olympic, but if it is the one I'm thinking of it is on the west coast, not the east coast

Acadia is a beautiful National Park, but it is a long way from any of the cities you mention.

Niagra Falls is also a very long drive from NYC, you might want to fly to Buffalo,NY or Toronto, Canada to get there.

One NP that is not on your list is Cape Cod National Seashore, not mountains but lovely seashore, sand dunes, etc. . It could be reached from New York City without driving by taking a train, bus or plane from NYC to Boston and then taking the ferry to Provincetown. In Ptown you could rent bicycles or take one of the tours from there to get to the nearby National Seashore.

Be aware that in the east there are a LOT of state parks - which you might want to consider along with national parks. There is the enormous Adirondacks park in upper New York State, including mountains, lakes and tons of places to stay and things to see/do. The oldest state park founded n the 1870s it includes a number of towns in which you can stay but provides a great natural reserve - as well as some interesting historic sights on the way there. To see it you really must rent a car so you can get there from NYC - but it is a great national treasure.

Shenandoah National Park was originally created so that people in Washington would have a national park within a day's drive. After you use Amtrak to get between NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington; rent* a car and drive Interstate 66 to Front Royal VA, then drive south into Shenandoah.


* In the USA, you "rent" a car while you "hire" a driver.

The Smokies get my vote based on the cities you are visiting and your desire for mountains/water. If your 9 year old is not terribly enthusiastic about the nature portion you might consider staying in in or near Gatlinburg, TN. It's a sort of tacky town located just outside Great Smoky Mountain National Park that has tons of appeal to kids (and fun loving adults, too).

Although not mountainous, you might also consider Everglades national Park when you visit Miami as it is very close.

And as PauRabe notes, Shenandoah national Park is very close to Washington D.C. and has all the things you are looking for in a park--hikes, mountains, pretty views, water features.

Unless you plan to go to Maine, which is quite far from all the other destinations on your list, Acadia may not be the best destination for you. As others have said, Shenandoah is the closest alternative to the cities on your itinerary, and it's know for magnificent scenery. Great Smoky Mountains, a huge, very busy park, is further south and also not particularly convenient to the other destinations on your list.

Everglades National Park, however, is near Miami, though July is definitely not the best time to visit.

<<Everglades National Park, however, is near Miami, though July is definitely not the best time to visit.>>

Indeed, I would never have recommended it if they weren't already going to Miami in July. But it might be nice to get away from the heat of the city for a day or two. Then again, they may want to stay by the beach/pools in the July weather!

Thank you for ur replies

What is the main difference b/w National parks and state parks. Are national parks much more bigger?

To me, it doesnt matter whether it is National or State parks, my criteria would be
1. Not too much out of the way, but can travel a bit if its something 'Really good than others''
2. Beautiful, scenic lakes, falls, greenery, mountains
3. Not too highly priced in terms of Accomodation, food etc (USD130/ for accomodation of 3 people)
3. Breath of fresh air and some 'COOL' air would be appreciated
4. not interested in 'history'

I guess, Acadia NP is out, as it is too much out of the way. We are now left with
1. Smokey
2. Ever glades
3. Shenandoah
4. Adirondacks park
5. Cape cod (maybe if it is more sea shore, than we wont be going to it)

Any others whether State or national

Would also appreciate a comparison b/w these parks

I think the Smokey Mountains is a good choice for July but perhaps also consider NH's White Mountains National Forest which is very close to NH's Lakes Region. Because you have a 9 yo with you, I highly recommend visiting Squam Lakes Science Center in Holderness. In addition to seeing wild animals native to NH, you can also take a pontoon boat ride of Squam Lake. Or, for a larger boat, you can cruise Lake Winnipesaukee on the SS Mt. Washington. Although it would be a day's drive from NYC, it's probably about 2-3 hours from Boston. The Flume is a popular hike through a scenic gorge. There are several state park beaches in the area where you could enjoy lake swimming.

Here is information about the Adirondack state park:

The Adirondack Park includes New York's Forest Preserve in Upstate New York, United States. The park's boundary corresponds to the Adirondack Mountains. Unlike most preserves, about 52 per cent of the land is privately owned. This area contains 102 towns and villages.[2] The year-round population is 132,000, with 200,000 seasonal residents. The inclusion of human communities makes the park one of the great experiments in conservation in the industrialized world.[3]

The park's 6.1 million acres (2.5×106 ha) include more than 10,000 lakes, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and a wide variety of habitats including wetlands and old-growth forests.

Because there are many small towns actually incorporated in the parks there are MANY lodgings available at all price points from very expensive luxury "lodges" to small family size cabins, many on local lakes with canoes, rowboats, etc.

Adirondacks Park is enormous - bigger than almost any of the national parks. For example the Smokey Mountain Park is only about 500 million acres - less than 1/10th the size of the Adirondacks.

Suggest you check out the varius parks on a map and also look at the weather and proximity to where you will be. (Since Adirondacks if northern NYC State it tends to be cooler.)

Well, Cape Cod is a national seashore and there are no mountains, so I that's out (plus, it's a 6-hour drive from where you'll be). Similarly, Everglades is a massive wetland (i.e., no mountains, nothing taller than a lookout tower). It's called the "river of grass". So I guess that's out too.

The Adirondacks is a vast area in New York State, all mountains, lakes and waterfalls. But if you were to go to Niagara Falls by car, then the Finger Lakes, a beautiful region of Central-Western New York full of gorges, waterfalls, lakes, and mountain scenery might be a good destination. It's about 5 hours from NYC by car, so about halfway between Niagara Falls and NYC. There are chain motels in both areas where you can probably stay for your budget (which I have to say is low for high-season travel ... and all national and state parks are highest of high season in the summer).

If you don't drive to Niagara Falls, then I still think Shenandoah is your best bet, having every single thing you are looking for within easy driving distance of Washington DC. Great Smoky Mountains is a wonderful mountainous place, but it's an additional drive.

I guess the basic issue is what you consider too much out of the way. DC to Shenandoah is less than 3 hours and passes through some beautiful Virginia countryside. DC to Asheville, NC, which is near Great Smoky Mountains, is over 7 hours drive. You could do the former on a long day-trip or an overnight. The latter would require 2 overnights.

> What is the main difference b/w
> National parks and state parks.
> Are national parks much more bigger?

The difference is simple: national parks are administered by the federal government, and state parks are administered by the state government. ON THE AVERAGE, national parks are larger, but that's because the federal government (1) administered a lot of land that was viewed as worthless*, thus never being pillaged by private owners, and (2) has a lot more money to administer parks. Also, national parks carry a lot more prestige -- thus bringing in more tourist dollars -- causing state governments to lobby for federal control of natural & historical wonders within their borders.

As noted above, however, some of the most wonderful places to visit are state parks.


* One of my favorite quotes is from 1857, when a federal geological party visited the Grand Canyon: "The region last explored is, of course, altogether valueless. It can be approached only from the south, and after entering it there is nothing to do but to leave. Ours has been the first, and will doubtless be the last, party of whites to visit this profitless locality. It seem intended by nature that the Colorado river[sic], along the greater portions of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed."

If in the NJ/NY area this place should do. http://www.nps.gov/dewa/index.htm

I would shy away from the parks you mentioned that are further south. The Smokies are beautiful, but it will be HOT in July. I was there several years ago at the end of July, and temperatures were over 100 degrees F several days.

I would lean more towards the Adirondacks or the Niagara Falls via the Finger Lakes route. The Adirondacks is huge, and can offer you many options for lodging. Your 9 year old might enjoy a day at either Water Safari in Old Forge, or Great Escape in Lake George.

Meandering through the Fingers Lakes would also offer many opportunities to see different geography. You could visit Ithaca and hike the gorges and see the waterfalls, or visit Letchworth (dubbed the Grand Canyon of the East).

If you have 2-3 days, I would stick with Adirondacks, Finger Lakes - plenty to see and do. Also within reasonable distance of your travels. You also mentioned a lot of cities, are you planning to fly between them?

Thank you All

So now i guess its b/w Adirondacks and Smoky. What is the main difference.

i'll be arriving in Buffalloo by air from Miami to see the Niagara fall, so from there how should i travel to go to the Adirondacks

Yes, we are looking for a bit cooler weather and if Adirondacks is one then it would be given priority over Smoky

Most of our travel b/w long distance cities will be by Air, like NYC TO WDW
MI TO BUFFALLO

You're flying into Buffalo in July and
> we are looking for a bit cooler weather

Combine these two, and your only reasonable choice is the Adirondacks.

> from [Buffalo] how should i travel to go to the Adirondacks

From Buffalo, take Interstate 90 East towards Syracuse and Albany. This portion of I-90 is also known as the New York Thruway (NYT). After reading this URL thoroughly
http://visitadirondacks.com/first-time-visitors
decide where in the Adirondacks (or possibly the Finger Lakes Region) you want to travel to. Then check the map on how to get from I-90 to your choice.

Great smokey comes under the top visited National parks in USA, whereas i havent heard much about Adirondacks

Why is that soo

Yes, cooler weather would be good in the month of July but if tourist turn out has to be considered then we see that Great smokey is one of the highest visited place in USA

Any particular reasons?