There was a disconcerting column in the Utne Reader the other day, one that dubbed those who tried to visit all 58 national parks "elitist." "Determined," is one adjective that comes immediately to mind when talk turns to visiting all 58, but "elitist"?
Under the title, Don't Be a National Park Bagger, writer Keith Goetzman claims that those who set out to visit all 58 of the "national parks" do so so fleetingly that they can't possibly come to truly, and intimately, appreciate the 58. Plus, he points out, you'd leave a huge carbon footprint with all the driving and flying necessary to accomplish the task.
"Face it", writes Mr. Goetzman, "only the wealthiest and luckiest among us has the vacation time, the money, and the means to have a chance at ticking off all 58 parks, and even announcing your achievement to the world can come perilously close to bragging about what an amazingly fortunate life you lead—not the sort of message parks advocates should be sending."
Hopefully the folks who are members of the National Park Travelers Club don't catch wind of his column. This group celebrates travelers who look at visiting as many of the 391 units of the National Park System not as something that's elitist but rather something that's both a challenge and a great way to celebrate and appreciate the national parks movement in the United States.
And really, how elitist is it? Where I live in Utah, seven national parks are within a half-day's drive. Stretch that to a full day on the road and I can add another six. With some rather typical vacation planning, anyone in the country could knock off anywhere between three and five national parks during a two-week vacation, or a series of four-day weekends scattered throughout the year. Would it really be that "elitist," if you were so determined, to visit the 58 national parks over a period of a decade or so? True, for those on the East Coast getting to Alaska could be an expensive endeavor, just as it would be for those in Alaska determined to visit Everglades or Virgin Islands national parks. But over the course of your adult lifetime, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible if you were determined to visit the parks.
Concerned about your carbon footprint? There are mass transit options that can be combined with park shuttle systems, as well as other ways to offset your carbon footprint.
The other point Mr. Goetzman raises is whether those who set out to tour the 58 could come away with more than a superficial, fawning glance.
...the “collect ’em all” mentality goes against a better, nobler impulse, which is to get to know the land intimately. Better that we should acquaint ourselves with one, two, or a few parks very well than attempt to superficially survey them all in baseball-card-collector fashion. Several years ago, I worked for the summer in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, driving a tourist shuttle van between the tiny gateway community of McCarthy and the mining relic town of Kennicott. Among my passengers I met a few park baggers, most memorably a man and his teenage son. They “explored” the park in an afternoon, which meant strolling among Kennicott’s dilapidated buildings, looking up at the stupendous glaciers around them, and then riding my van back down to resume their journey. Never mind that Wrangell-St. Elias is the nation’s largest park at 13 million acres, and that even someone who’s there for months, as I was, can barely claim to have scratched the surface of its vast wonder. The man told me that they were off next to the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, which they would fly over in a bush plane—not even setting foot on the tundra. They added both parks to their all-important list, yet they didn’t have a true wilderness experience in either place.
Indeed, if all you seek to attain is a National Park Passport stamp, then yes, "park bagging" is over-rated and denies those involved in such an endeavor a tremendous opportunity to see fantastic landscapes and get at least an introduction to different ways of life and cultures. But let's be fair to those who visit Wrangell-St. Elias. The park, spanning more than 13 million acres, has two gravel roads that make forays of a combined 101 miles into the park's 20,580 square miles. Even if you knew how to live off the land and had the available time, it likely would take more than a lifetime to "know the land intimately."
Many people do fall in love with a small handful of parks, and visit them time and time and time again, which can be a wonderfully rewarding experience. But let's not be so self-righteous as to ridicule those who want to see as many of these magnificent landscapes and soak up the rewards they offer.
Comments
Different strokes for different folks. Writer Keith Goetzman is a snob. A snob is a type of elitist. Therefore, this legend in his own mind is an elitist. Who died and put him in charge of determining how people should visit the National Parks?
Park collecting is not for me. I like to spend at least a few days to a couple of weeks at each park that I visit. I believe that this allows me to see a national park more in depth than windshield tourist do. By seeing the national parks in this manner, I have left the crowds behind me and see things not possible to be seen from the road. However, I realize that what satisfies me is not what satisfies many other people and that not everyone has the time and/or money to take as long as I have taken for some of my vacations in the past.
The important thing is that people go out and enjoy the national parks in the ways which most suit them. The national parks are for everyone, not just some self-appointed experts.
I Don't know if these 2 parks are what you're looking for but they are beautiful and well worth a trip. The first one is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Munising, MI in the upper peninsula, with the gorgeous shoreline of Lake Superior, waterfalls and of course the Pictured Rocks. The second one is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Empire, MI. with Lake Michigan and its lovely shoreline and huge sand dunes and a couple of islands to boot.
Those are sure enough gorgeous NPS units, Marcy, but both Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes are designated National Lakeshore, not National Park. There are four national lakeshores in all. The other two are Indiana Dunes (at southern end of Lake Michigan) and Apostle Islands (in Wisconsin on Lake Superior).
Planning on taking a four day trip in November in which I will be flying to Vegas. In those four days I plan on taking day trips visiting Hoover Dam, Kings Canyon and Death Valley. Guess I won't be having that "wilderness experience" but I know it will be well worth the trip.
Looking at places to see in New Mexico, I came across Valles Caldera National Preserve ( http://www.vallescaldera.gov/index.aspx ). This doesn't seem to be listed on either the NPS site or the Wikipedia site.
It's not exactly an NPS property, but rather seems to be a quasi-NPS/FS entity with a board of directors.
Keith Goetzman can go suck a lemon.
When I was a kid, I loved roadtrips. Sitting up in the front seat next to dad, listening to the radio, reading the map as we went along. Always loved looking at maps...
When Reagan was president, there was some concern that the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua would welcome fleets of russian tanks, and that it was just a '4 day drive' from Nicaragua to Texas. I remember thinking "4 days from Texas to Nicaragua, huh? Cool..."
I have been to 315 of the 391 units of the National Park System. I believe that my life has been affected deeply by the experiences I've had in traveling to them, and will continue to visit units of the National Park System and also visit National Forests, National Wildlife Preserves, Bureau of Land Management areas, State Parks, and Indian lands. I also like lighthouses, museums, ghost tours, old churches, weird roadside stuff. (I'm actually going to go to the Creation Museum that Bill Maher went to in 'Religulous' in Kentucky, not far from Cincinnati. On their website they mention that they're "within a day’s drive of about two-thirds of the U.S. population.") Thats just the U.S. I've camped in and explored historic sites and national parks across Canada and Mexico. The lessons I've learned about this whole continent, land, people, history, culture, humbles me. Elitist? I feel that there's so much more to learn and see, and I will continue to explore and learn as best I can.
Tell Keith Goetzman to go pick on people who are out there trying to bag all the Hard Rock Cafe's, not people who go to our National Park System.
Years ago I resolved to visit all 50 states and had visited about 45 of them by the time I graduated from college. I got to Alaska in 1995 and thereby completed the quest. I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot about the country socially (especially during thousands of miles of hitchhiking) and saw a lot of scenery. Except when hitchhiking, I stuck to two-lane roads whenever I could do so without crawling through suburbs or densely settled areas. That meant that west of, say, Ohio I was able to avoid freeways almost all the time. I still avoid them as much as time permits.
I've also been to all Canadian provinces except Prince Edward Island (which I saw from a distance across the frozen sea in the 1970s). I learned a lot about Canada too, y compris le Québec. I do need to visit the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Whether visiting all of the national parks is a worthwhile goal I don't know, but it sounds like it would be unless one only drove into the visitor center parking lot and then moved on.