Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP, California While perusing the Grant Grove gift shop in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation between a young couple and the old Park Ranger behind the counter. The couple, looking for tips on what trails to take and areas to see, asked the […]
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Author: Dan Bourque
Crunch, Crunch, Poof
Kenai Fjords NP, Alaska It was a warm May day in Alaska, so my wife and I put on our shorts and tennis shoes and set out to Kenai Fjords. Now, the highlight of a visit to Kenai Fjords is a hike to the face of Exit Glacier, so we left our car and set […]
Walnut Canyon
Walnut Canyon, National Monument, Arizona, is home to a unique set of ancient Sinagua Indian ruins tucked into a scenic canyon 10 miles East of Flagstaff on I-40. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating ILNP Park Review Our Visit. We visited Walnut Canyon on the way to Petrified Forest NP in March […]
Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, which lays across the mountainous border between Tennessee and North Carolina, was established in 1934 to protect some of the densest “old-growth” deciduous forest in the world. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In a Word. “Refreshing” “How lovely […]
Tuzigoot
Tuzigoot NM protects a well-preserved ancient Sinagua Indian ruin on a hillside near Cottonwood, Arizona on US Alt 89. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating ILNP Park Review Our Visit. We visited Tuzigoot as part of our 8-Park Southwest tour in March. In one day, we were able to see three ruins […]
Sunset Crater Volcano
Sunset Crater Volcano, National Monument is home to an extinct volcano and its associated cinder cone and lava fields in the forests of north-central Arizona, about 20 miles north of Flagstaff on US 89. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating ILNP Park Review Our Visit. We visited Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki […]
Kenai Fjords
Kenai Fjords, Alaska, achieving National Park status in 1980, is home to about a dozen glaciers and some great Alaskan wildlife. Located on the Alaskan coast near Anchorage, Kenai Fjords is best seen both by land and by boat. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review […]
Sorry, This Car is Full
Yellowstone NP, Wyoming Most of you know that Yellowstone National Park has a large herd of bison. We knew this too, but we didn’t quite know they enjoy being lap pets! One day, seven of us were crammed into a minivan driving through Yellowstone when we noticed a herd of bison walking alongside the road. […]
Denali
Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska was founded in 1917 as Mt McKinley National Park. The centerpiece is Mt McKinley (known to locals by it’s native American name, Denali), North America’s highest peak at 20,320 feet, but the park’s 6,000,000+ acres are also home to a fantastic array of wildlife including moose, caribou, Dall […]
Carlsbad Caverns
Carlsbad Cavern National Park was established to protect the enormous caves under the southern New Mexico desert. While these caves are not the most ornate (“decorated” in spelunking terms) in the world or the largest, they are certainly some of the best caves in the world at combining size and beauty. The Park makes a […]
Wrangell – St. Elias
Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, is the largest national park in the system, more than six times the size of Yellowstone. It covers both a massive land area and a massive elevation gain, going from sea level to more than 18,000 feet of ocean, glaciers and jagged peaks. It was established […]
Lassen Volcanic
Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, was created in 1916 from two national monuments established in 1907, Cinder Cone National Monument and Lassen Peak National Monument. It protects an area of rare geologic features such as mud pots and hot springs. Lassen is still an active volcanic area with the last major eruption only a century […]