Tag Archives: National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

October 17, 2019 Raven About The Parks 5 Comments

Overview

Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, with both sides offering incredible views. The park is similar to Shenandoah National Park in that it was mostly purchased from private landowners before its establishment by the federal government in 1934. With around 11-million visitors annually, it is easily the most visited of the 62 National Parks in the National Park Service system, perhaps because it has no entrance fee.

Highlights

Clingman’s Dome, Cades Cove, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Foothills Parkway, Oconaluftee, Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

Many interesting sections of Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserve the human history of the region, like the popular Cades Cove with its iconic old grist mill. To learn more about the Cherokee indigenous to this region, visit Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the North Carolina side. While there you might also spot a herd of reintroduced elk.

Best Trail

Even on the bumper to bumper Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, all you have to do is park and take a hike to find some solitude. Grotto Falls Trail passes through old-growth hemlock forest, an area very popular with black bears.

Instagram-worthy Photo

As you can imagine, this park is incredibly popular in October and November because of the beautiful fall foliage. Early in the season, head to 6,643-foot Clingman’s Dome, then drop in elevation as the autumn progresses.

Peak Season

Summer and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Newfound Gap Road is the major thoroughfare connecting the two sides of the park and it is plowed throughout the winter. The 11-mile loop road through Cades Cove is open year round, but the 7-mile spur road up to Clingman’s Dome and the 6-mile one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail are seasonal.

Camping

There are 10 campgrounds within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but if you need RV hookups you will have to find a private campground outside the park.

Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina-Virginia)

Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

This design we created to celebrate Great Smoky Mountains National Park is available on a variety of products at Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – While most National Parks do not allow dogs on trails, what are the two trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park that do?

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Florida

Everglades National Park

September 12, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Everglades National Park covers most of the southwestern corner of Florida. The ’Glades are very flat, with elevation topping out at 8 feet above sea level. This region is important to many unique species of wildlife, imperiled by sea level rise and the introduction of exotic species. Incredibly close to the city of Miami, the Shark Valley tram tour offers a great opportunity to see alligators. Near the campground at Flamingo, Eco Pond and Mrazek Pond are both good spots to watch for wading birds like ibis, egret, heron, wood stork, and roseate spoonbill.

Highlights

Eco Pond, Mahogany Hammock, Anhinga Trail, Shark Valley tram tour, Wilderness Waterway

Must-Do Activity

There are few roads in Everglades National Park, so the best way to experience this “river of grass” is from the water. There are guided tours out of Flamingo and Thousand Islands, or you can get a permit to explore the untamed Wilderness Waterway and the keys of Florida Bay. We had a blast navigating the mangrove channels to our chickee (elevated camping platform) and did not see another person for two days. “Hell to get into; hell to get out of” is how old-timers described the mazelike route to Hell’s Bay. Good navigation skills are required and you should come prepared for mosquitoes every month of the year.

Best Trail

On the Anhinga Trail, its namesake birds stretch their wings to dry in pond apple trees while alligators swim right under your feet beneath the boardwalk.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Wildlife abounds so you will want to remember to bring your binoculars and a zoom lens for your camera. You can get good photos of alligators while remaining safe and dry on the Anhinga Trail boardwalk. We also got very close to a barred owl and several black vultures on the same trail in April 2014.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$30 per vehicle or America The Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

The major entry roads are paved to access Flamingo, Thousand Islands, and Shark Valley.

Camping

Camping in the park, at Long Pine Key or Flamingo, provides quick access to trails that come alive with wildlife during the crepuscular hours (sunrise and sunset).

Tiff photographing a gator on the Anhinga Trail

*This design we created to celebrate Everglades National Park is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – Who was the woman instrumental in the creation of Everglades National Park when she published The Everglades: River of Grass in 1947?

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New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

August 8, 2019 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico is the most spectacular cave in the United States (and #1 on our Top 10 List). Exploring the Big Room at your own pace is a great option, but you can add to your experience with guided tours of off-limits sections. The King’s Palace Tour is short but scenic; and Left Hand Tunnel was historically used for movies. Lower Cave Tour requires the use of ropes and ladders to access unlit portions of the cave. Slaughter Canyon Cave tour requires an extra hour drive, but visits some astonishing formations. “Wild caving” tours include Spider Cave and the Hall of the White Giant.

Highlights

Big Room, Walnut Canyon Desert Drive, Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area, Bat Flight Program

Must-Do Activity

To enjoy the evening Bat Flight Program (where cameras are prohibited) you must come during the warmer months. Brazilian free-tailed bats migrate to the cave from the south and around sunset exit from the Natural Entrance in clockwise circling swarms. You will swear there are like a “Brazilian” of them, but the actual number is closer to 500,000. For an experience you will hear more than see, come back before sunrise as the bats zip by your head down into the cave for their day’s rest.

Best Trail

For your first visit, we recommend taking the self-guided trail from the Natural Entrance down a steep, paved passage into the heart of the cave, since you can always ride the elevators back up to the surface. After being surrounded by the natural cave formations, it was a bit jarring to come upon a modern restroom and cafeteria 775 feet underground.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Nothing can prepare you for the immensity of the Big Room, which is big enough to fit eight football fields with a ceiling that rises up to 255 feet. It defies belief that this cavity could have formed naturally. Perhaps the best part of this section of cave is that you can take as much time as you like admiring the formations. For the best photographs, we recommend using a tripod.

Peak Season

Summer, though it can be hot outside the 56°F cave.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

No entrance fee, but there is a charge for each guided cave tour.

Road Conditions

Main entrance road is paved, but Walnut Canyon Desert Drive and much of the route to Slaughter Canyon Cave are not.

Camping

There are no campgrounds within the park, but there is a private campground near the park entrance in Whites City, New Mexico. Just down the highway in Texas, the National Park Service offers camping at Pine Springs within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Free permits are required for backcountry camping, with Rattlesnake Canyon off Walnut Canyon Desert Drive being a popular destination.

The trail descending into the Natural Entrance
Scott on the King’s Palace Tour
The Papoose Room seen on the King’s Palace Tour
A massive stalagmite in the Big Room
Scott on the Left Hand Tunnel Tour
The hallway to the underground bathroom
The crowd waiting for the bats to come out
The entrance to Slaughter Canyon Cave
Chinese Wall in Slaughter Canyon Cave
A creepy formation in Slaughter Canyon Cave
Mule deer seen along Walnut Canyon Desert Drive

*This design we created to celebrate Carlsbad Caverns National Park is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Pres s and Amazon.

Explore More – Historically, what was mined from the Natural Entrance and Slaughter Canyon Cave?

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Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands National Park

June 13, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

More than half the island of St. John is part of Virgin Islands National Park, a Caribbean paradise known for its white sand beaches and crystal waters. The National Park also includes 95% of Hassel Island, which was once a peninsula connected to St. Thomas. The region is still recovering after Hurricanes Irma and Maria did extensive damage in 2017, but did not seem to affect the sugar mill ruins that have been standing since the 1720s.

Highlights

Trunk Bay, Maho Bay, Annaberg Sugar Mill, Petroglyph Trail, Saltpond Bay

Must-Do Activity

Snorkeling is the number one reason to visit St. John, which is surrounded by coral reefs. The Underwater Trail in popular Trunk Bay is a good place to start, but our favorite spot to snorkel was from the beautiful beach at Saltpond Bay where we saw sea turtles, reef squids, and countless other species. From the beach a trail leads 1.8 miles roundtrip to the 200-foot high cliffs at Ram Head.

Best Trail

Reef Bay Trail starts near the island’s high point at 900 feet in elevation, then descends 1.5 miles to the split for Petroglyph Trail where the rocks around a seasonal waterfall have several Taino carvings. Reef Bay Trail continues another mile to the ruins of a sugar mill where ranger-led hikes (fee) are met by a boat.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A small, paved pulloff at the top of a hill on North Shore Road looks east towards the white sand beaches of Trunk Bay, an image used in almost every promotional publication for St. John.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None, except when lifeguards are on duty at Trunk Bay.

Road Conditions

Two narrow, winding, paved routes (North Shore and Centerline Roads) leave from Cruz Bay where the ferries arrive. Several dirt roads require four-wheel-drive, including Catherineberg Road. Note: you drive on the left side of the road in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but in standard American left-side driver seat vehicles.

Camping

None on the island of St. John until the NPS reopens Cinnamon Bay Campground, which closed following the 2017 hurricanes.

Overlook of Cruz Bay on the Lind Point Trail
Reef squid in Saltpond Bay
Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins
Yes, that is a white-tailed deer on a beach on an island in the Caribbean
Scott with petroglyphs
Bananaquit
Tiff on the cliffs at Ram Head
Sea turtles and a remora in Maho Bay
Catherineberg Sugar Mill ruins
Hawksnest Bay
Tiff came upon this iguana along the trail to Leinster Point
Stingray
Tiff wearing Raven About the Parks gear at Saltpond Bay

*We created* *this design to celebrate Virgin Islands National Park and it is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – How long did the violent slave revolt in 1733 last before French troops arrived on St. John to return slaves to the sugarcane plantations?

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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