Yellowstone? Yosemite? Glacier NP ? Ideas????
 

Our family usually cruises or goes to the beach. We live in Virginia, and want to do something totally different in May. Want gorgeous scenery. Have never been to Yosemite, Yellowstone, or Glacier NP. Don't care for desert, have to have trees! Know nothing about the above places. Open to other options. Main thing is incredible natural beauty.
Thanks!
Linda

No clue about time budget but

www.yellowstone.com is nice my fav

Usually rent a car out of DIA to Thermopolis Cody

up to Glacier NP if time then back down through

the Tetons and Jackson to Denver...

2-3 weeks minimum for best experience.

www.mapquest.com for directions distances.

Happy Hunting,

I've been to all three places. All are beautiful. What month?
How many days? Do you want to see geysers and bubbling mud pots or tall waterfalls running off cliffs in an incredible Sequoia forest. Mid-summer is the best time to visit Glacier to fully enjoy the Going-to-the-Sun Highway.
If you go to Yosemite you can easily visit Sequoia/Kings Canyon on the same trip.
Tell us more about what you want to see besides the trees.

May too early for Glacier NP
Borderline early for Yellowstone
Good time for Yosemite, although the high country will still have snow. Allow another 2-3 days for Sequoia/Kings Canyon.

As soon as you make your plans, get accomodation reservations. Places fill up a year in advance.

I personally think May is early for all your choices. My favorite place to go in May is St. John--it's the beginning of the off season. Villa rentals are less expensive. Beautiful scenery.

We have also enjoyed the Turks and Caicos in May--absolutely some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen but the island is a scrubby desert.

Of your choices, I would choose Yosemite.

Haven't been to Glacier yet but from all my research on it, May is too early to really get to see the Park the way it should be seen.

I've been to Yellowstone but only in early August and February. Depending on what time in May, parts of some Yellowstone roads may still be closed. They've had a lot of late snow, but it all depends on what the weather does between now and then. May can be great according to the people I've talked to who've been then, because the baby animals are beginning to arrive, there is still snow on the surrounding mountains, and the crowds are low. Late May is probably a safer bet than earlier in the month. Yellowstone offers a great variety. You have everything from geysers, mud pots and other thermal features, to waterfalls (which should be roaring in May), rivers, lakes, meadows, and a lot of different kinds of animals. There are trees, but they aren't the main attraction and aren't everywhere. It's one of favorite places and we're going back this Fall, as well as going to Glacier. And we want to go one year in late May/early June.

I've been to Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon but in late June. They, too, have had a lot of snow this year so who knows what the Park might be like. Again, later in May is more likely to see most, if not all, of the roads and trails open. The snowmelt should have all of the falls really flowing high. In addition to the falls and rivers, Yosemite has some beautiful meadows, really big trees, and amazing geologic formations. Sequoia/Kings Canyon has even more really really big trees, some small falls, and is one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.

A bit more info on what you want to do, besides haing trees, would help people give you better advice.

Our National Parks are amazingly beautiful places. It's hard to go wrong picking any of them.

Yosemite is beautiful all year long. Parts of the park may still be closed due to snow but the valley is always beautiful and it will be much less crowded than it is during summe .

Go to any of them and you will be going to the other two the next two years. Ten times better than any beach or cruise. These parks can get a little crowded compared to some of them. Try these and then go to one sometime that is "off the beaten track".

We were in Yosemite 3rd week of May last year and it was great. Waterfalls and trees are amazing. You mention gorgeous scenary. I can't imagine a more scenic 7 miles than The Valley in Yosemite. I think May would be to early for Yosemite and Yellowstone. Don't expect 5 star lodging(although I love the historic lodges). They are rustic for the most part. You really need to get your reservations a year in advance at all three of them.

You've mentioned three place that I consider near (or AT) the top of beauty and wonder in the U.S. But, as others have noted, May is too early for Glacier -- the Going to the Sun road won't open till mid-June, for instance. Some Yellowstone roads will be closed as late as May 27th.

Yosemite Valley will be open, and the waterfalls MAY be flowing. Tioga Road and Glacier Point MIGHT be open
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/seasonal.htm
but don't be upset if they aren't -- ultimately, it isn't the Rangers' decision.
However, the campgrounds and trails outside the Valley will definitely NOT be open. The Valley itself may meet your needs, or it may not.

Although it isn't as impressive as any of these three, at least Rocky Mountain National Park meets your needs for mountains, trees, and being (generally) open in May. However, most of the trails will be closed or iffy at best.

Perhaps I shouldn't add this, but your ULTIMATE desire -- "Main thing is incredible natural beauty" -- can easily be met in May in the desert southwest. Yes, I know you said "Don't care for desert" and "have to have trees," but May is probably the BEST time to see these natural wonders. If you don't plan to see the Grand Canyon in May, just when DO you plan to go there?

The south entrance to Crater Lake NP is open all year. You will see snow there in May. There may be a little snow in Redwood NP but you will be able to drive through and come back to San Francisco.