Winter wonderlands come in many shapes, forms, and temperatures in the National Park System. They can be pine forests shrouded in snow, or turquoise waters swimming with green parrotfish, blue tangs, and silvery barracudas. You can climb ice walls at Acadia National Park, kick-and-glide or skate to an overlook of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley, or find your way to the 13,159-foot summit of Wheeler Peak atop Great Basin National Park.
Birding is superb in Everglades National Park through the winter, and the season's temperatures are perfect for roaming the dune fields of Death Valley National Park, while the grounds of Valley Forge and Jockey Hollow lend a sense of what the Colonials endured more than 200 winters ago.
Here's a snapshot of some great winter destinations in the Eastern part of the country.
Acadia National Park's carriage paths, with their beautifully constructed stone bridges, can seem even more beautiful in winter/NPS
For snow conditions: (207) 288-3338
Ice skating, ice fishing, and even ice climbing are some of winter's pleasures at Acadia, where you can toss in skijoring, snowmobiling, dog sledding and, if the ice freezes hard and smooth on the lakes, even ice boating. For most visitors between Thanksgiving and April Fool's Day, though, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are the top pursuits. With 45 miles of carriage roads to kick-and-glide or stomp along, if the weather cooperates you won't lack for something to do. Stay on top of the latest grooming and trail conditions via the park's website, or turn to the Carriage Road User's Map to choose a route.
Winter can bring curtains of ice to Shenandoah National Park/NPS
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
For snow conditions: (540) 999-3500
Winter can be mercurial in Shenandoah. There are wonderfully unseasonable spells of mild temps, pelting storms of ice, and heavy snowfall ' and everything in between. But it's also a beautiful season in the park that draws hikers, horseback riders, and even motorists out for some windshield touring. Park officials welcome equestrians to the park's horse trails if the ground is frozen. If it's not, they recommend graveled trails in the park. If you lack a steed, Shenandoah's hiking trails are open, as is the backcountry for overnight camping. For camping without a tent, consider covering mile after mile after mile of the Appalachian Trail, with nights spent in shelters along the way. Throughout the winter the Byrd Visitor Center at Mile 51 on the Skyline Drive is open. There you can get the required backcountry camping permit, which is free.
Modern-day Colonials provide living history at Valley Forge/NPS
Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania
For snow conditions: (610) 783-1000
An estimated 2,000 low-slung cabins were built quickly once the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge in December 1777. Measuring roughly 14 feet by 16 feet and six-and-a-half feet high ' tight quarters for 12 soldiers ' these huts proved 'tolerably comfortable' for the Colonials. 'It would please you to see this Logcity, part of which is as regular as Phila. and affords much better quarters than you would imagine, if you consider the materials, season & hurry in which it was built,' wrote Ebenezer Crosby, a surgeon from Connecticut. Unfortunately, none of the original huts remain; all were lost shortly after the Revolutionary War's end. But a few replicas stand at Valley Forge today, and winter is the perfect time to visit the park and try to envision how the soldiers endured.
Other options:
Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts: Channel Henry David Thoreau by walking Great Beach, which he named, then head to Nauset Spit to see the harbor seals that gather here in winter.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania/New Jersey: More than two dozen bald eagles typically winter in the NRA. In Pennsylvania, look for them along Smithfield Beach on River Road, Bushkill Access, and Milford Beach on Route 209. In New Jersey, head to the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center just off Interstate 80 at the Water Gap.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Site, Vermont: Twenty miles of roads that snowstorms turn into playgrounds are perfect for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Traveler's choice: Winter casts Valley Forge, with its rich American history, as the Colonials endured it and leaves visitors with a better appreciation for the fledgling nation's fight for freedom.
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