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Reader Participation Survey: Help Us Name the Top 100 National Park Locations to See Before You Die

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Earlier this week we touched on the national parks mentioned in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Somehow, Mammoth Cave National Park didn't make the cut, and if you've been there, you know it should have. Help us compile a list of the top 100 national park locations to see before you die. We'll start the list.

* Mammoth Cave National Park. The longest cave in the world -- and still with no end in sight! -- this underground labyrinth presents geologic wonders sculpted down through the millenia by trickling waters.

* Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park. This geyser has been amazing viewers for hundreds of years.

* Half Dome, Yosemite National Park. Just making the trek to the top of this granite dome is something you'll never forget. Gazing down into the Yosemite Valley is another marvel.

* Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park. Why the architects of the cliff dwellings that drape Mesa Verde fled the region continues to be a mystery. Today the dwellings are a showcase of the tenacity and ingenuity of a long ago society.

* Logan Pass, Glacier National Park. While the Going-to-the-Sun Road is a main attraction for those visiting Glacier, stopping atop Logan Pass to snap photos of the ever-present mountain goats and to look at the whittling long-ago glaciers did to the surrounding mountains is an image that stays with you long after your vacation ends.

* The Racetrack, Death Valley National Park. True, it takes some determination to reach the Race Track, but when you pass Tea Kettle Junction and finally reach the playa with its rocks that mysteriously snake across the landscape, you're left with a mystery that you'll talk about for years.

* Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park. An idyllic setting on an island that is idyllic on its own, the pond and its pond house, where you can snack on over-sized popovers smothered with strawberry jam, or stick around for a lobster dinner, is one of the iconic settings in the National Park System.

Comments

A few of the most memorable spots I've been lucky enough to see that haven't yet been mentioned (in no particular order):

The view from Harper's Corner in Dinosaur National Monument
Walking up to the rim of Cedar Breaks National Monument on a winter's day
The top of the big dune in the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Exploring the lava tubes at Lava Beds National Monument
The Korean and Vietnam War Memorials
The Chateau at Oregon Caves
Visiting the bristlecones in the Great Basin National Park

And of course many of those already mentioned.


Snowshoeing in Sequoia National Park after a big snowstorm! Nothing so beautfiul as the giant sequoias, blue sky and 3 feet of snow.


Dante's View in Death Valley National Park.
Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point (I think it's a better view than half dome).

If, as planned, we get the San Gabriel National Recreation Area, I have quite a few must-see spots to name there!


The sea caves at the Apostle Islands.


In no particular order:
- Navajo Trail in Bryce Canyon. Any reasonably fit person can do it (including my then two year olds) and the views are incredible
-Going to the Sun Road in Glacier. I know its been mentioned but it truly is one of the greatest drives on the planet.
- Glacier Point in Yosemite. Wow- what a view!
- Walk amongst the Redwoods at Redwood NP.
- Sunrise at Haleakala NP
- Inspiration Point at Grand Teton will always hold a special place in my heart
- Hayden Valley at sunrise or sunset in Yellowstone to view the American Serengeti
- Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic NP
- Pay your respects at the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor
- View SF and the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands, specifically the Point Bonita Lighthouse.


I wholeheartedly agree with all the posts here that places like Mammoth Cave,Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc. are spectacular and certainly not to be missed. I regularly travel through the Smokies and I would be remiss in not adding them to the list. But I'm afraid that we are sometimes too much in love with the monumental and the grandeur while we miss the small and beautiful that is also a part of our National Park System. We recently took a boat ride from Everglade City and what a treat. Out of season, there were just seven of us on the boat. The peace and tranquility of the trip made us realize that our National Park System isn't always about that spectacular mountain view; sometimes it's about preserving a place of silence and wonder.


Sequoia National Park: The backcountry, Mount Whitney, but most of all, the park's namesake: the ancient, awe-inspiring GIANT SEQUOIA GROVES. Envision Yosemite without the crowds.


Hiking to the top of the unnamed peak above Fletcher Lake in Yosemite with views of Mount Lyell, the Lyell Glacier, and Irland and Evelyn Lakes; spending a night during full moon in the summit crater of Wizard Island at Crater Lake National Park (probably not allowed, or only allowed under special permitted conditions); hiking to the Canyon Overlook in Zion National Park by full moon to observe sunrise and first light on the Temples and Towers of the Virgin; spending a night under the stars at Alaska Basin along the Teton Crest Trail in the Grand Tetons National Park; hiking the Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden Trails of Bryce Canyon, in the dead of winter when the trails are covered in deep snow; watching a storm break over the Grand Canyon from Toroweap (as a double rainbow appears over the Colorado River); star gazing on a moonless night at the caldera rim at Crater Lake National Park; star gazing at Panorama Point in Arches National Park; hiking to Cascade Pass in the North Cascades National Park; wishing I was at lower elevation while ascending above Disappointment Cleaver on the upper slopes of Mt. Rainer; watching sunrise from Cadillac Mountain and using a mountain bike to negotiate the carriage trails in Acadia National Park.

Owen Hoffman
Oak Ridge, TN 37830


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