Which national park should we visit 4/16-4/23?
 

We love mountains and hiking, but I think most of the mountainous NPs would have snow during this time. Any suggestions?

Saquaro, Big Bend, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Everglades, Redwoods(not sure what weather would be like there at that time).

You might like Guadalupe Mountains and spend a day at Carlsbad Caverns. Do the wild cave tour there is you go.

Arches and Canyonlands have great hiking, and you won't have to worry about snow or cold temps.

Good suggestions! Leaning towards Arches and Canyonlands. Thanks.

My favorite during the late April time period would be Zion National Park in Utah. It is pleasantly warm then but not too warm for hiking. To me, it is like hiking in Yosemite but with those marvelous red rocks (sandstone) instead of granite. You'll walk among ferns and waterfalls as well as abundant wildlife.

Death Valley is also a terrific springtime destination for hiking and exploring. However, one year we experienced unbearably hot weather, so my rule from then on was "not after April 10." Yet, my husband still insists that most years it would be fine until May 1. Your choice. But it's a wonderful park to explore, especially if you enjoy hiking.

Redwood National Park would not have snow. It would be chilly but certainly nowhere near freezing. It might be quite damp. It's a beautiful hiking park. It does take a bit of effort to get there, depending on your departure location.

Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains will (1) give you plenty of mountains, (2) give you all the hiking you could want, and (3) most likely be almost perfect weather at that time. They are close enough together that you could visit both in the space of a week.

I'd vote for either Big Bend or Death Valley. Both parks are huge and give you the option of desert or mountain hiking, and with the wide variation in elevation you can adjust which area you want to hike based on temperature. Desert in the morning, mountains in the afternoon.

The only problem with Big Bend is that it requires some travel time to get to, major cities are 6-10 hours away by car. Closest airport is Midland/Odessa and that's 4-5 hours away. But it's definitely worth the drive.

arches www.deserthighlights.com for canyoneering. I've gone with them twice and plan on going again.

The first ones that come to my mind are the ones that extra hot in the summer when I have been there: Big Bend, Guadalupe Mtns and Saguaro. The desert will be in bloom.

We have been going to Zion National Park every April for the last 6 years and highly recommend it. You can do a day trip to Bryce Canyon from Springdale (the town at the entrance of Zion). I have been to almost all of the major parks in the US and I can not get enough of Zion. The weather in late April is usually very pleasant for hiking, like high 60's to low 70's. It will be cooler than that in Bryce because of the higher elevation.

Yosemite Valley can be lovely a that time of year. Cool during the day and cold at night. Fewer visitors. Quiet. There probably will be snow on the higher peaks, but depending on the weather there may or may not be snow in the Valley and the falls may or may not be running heavily or in there semi frozen state (which is an amasing sight on its own) Seeing Half Dome with a dusting or layer of snow on it is quite beautiful. Hiking opporunities will be limited to trails around the Valley or perhaps Vernal and Nevada Fall (depending on the water flow) as the road up to Glacier Point will still be closed as will 120 up to Tioga Pass. There is a quite a snow pack up at the higher elevaions, so when it does begin to thaw, the falls are going to put quite a show this year.

The first one that popped into my mind was Zion.