My wife and I are doing a road trip for an extended weekend to see these two parks. We'll be exploring the cave Friday and doing the Guadalupe Peak hike on Sunday. I'm trying to figure out the best itinerary for Saturday. We aren't in incredible shape, so I don't want to kill our legs before the Sunday hike. But we really want to see Guadalupe and what is has to offer. Do you have any suggestions for us on what to do for Saturday?

A pretty magical place that doesn't get the recognition of a lot of other parks. I'm glad I got the chance to see it during the fall transition.

Anyone know if this is cataloged anywhere? I have been googling but there does not seem to be a website where all the passes are displayed from every year since they started selling them.

Just had a wonderful time stood at desert view looking at the stars. Was just me and my fiancé so it was gloriously quiet

I do wonder though, the meows I just heard from the brush, that’s a friend right?

Hi everyone, I’m looking to do a hiking roadtrip in the USA some point next year. Unfortunately, I am very very scared of bears, so I’m wondering if the USA might be off limits for me. It’s a bit of an irrational fear as I live in the UK and have never actually seen a bear, but still.
Does anyone know of any parks that I’m unlikely to see a bear, or that don’t have bears. Thanks!

A few of my favorite photos from my trip to Dry Tortugas, Everglades, and Biscayne National Parks last week! (Photos in that order)

Photos taken by me with my new Fuji X-M5! No editing - the water was really that blue!

My daughter and her husband just visited here. Spectacular! I’d never heard of it.

Spent all Saturday at the park and hiked near Lake Ouachita on Sunday (hence the lake pic). Hiked as much as I could around the park trails Saturday, and I ended up around 18 miles. Highlight was definitely seeing an armadillo!! Otherwise, kind of a weird park--super commercialized and not my favorite. A nice day can still be spent there, though, so don't be dissuaded from going.

New River Gorge, Cuyahoga, Indiana Dunes, Badlands, Wind Cave, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Cap Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde. mid September- mid October ‘26. Mostly great weather just perfect for hiking….tried to spend a min of 2 days in every park and knock out at least 2 trails in every park. Snafus were minimal… some leg scrapes on the Emerald Pools Trail in Zion, a very close call with a cow collision on a pitch dark road outside of Bryce (Cattle are free range through much of UT), pulled for speeding en route to Cap Reef (got off with a warning), and escaping a borderline tornado rolling through Texas on the way home

First time ever to Zion + Bryce Canyon…loved both parks! That’s 11/64 for my NP list.

I'm on a road trip, listening to this book, from 1968, long before the "drive by" experience expanded so much. Please consider it before planning your "20 parks in 10 days" road trip. Yes, I am exaggerating to get your attention.

The parks expand when we leave cars behind and explore the beauty that awaits us deep inside. Not everyone can — esp if you travel with a dog. But the way we preserve our amazing parks is by using them as intended: on foot, slowly. Give your energy to the land. It will love you back 10-fold.

It lowkey beat my butt. The hikes were beyond my expertise. Very beautiful, nevertheless!

What an amazing experience.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were at RMNP and it was like if were in paradise. The scenery, the fall colors, snow in the mountains, the wildlife, the clean air, too bad the road to Alpine Visitor Center closed for the season two days before we arrived.

Great weather, awesome visit for the family

Not my favorite for sure but beautiful nonetheless

A couple of shots of Lily Lake from that evening, and shots from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake and Lake Haiyaha. Drove in at 0500, the trails were nearly empty, yet absolutely packed once we neared our return to the trailhead. The views around the halfway point to Haiyaha are amongst my fondest, especially the views of Bear/Nymph from above. We’d love to spend another week there, there are a ton of trails to explore.

Incredible beauty, we need to return and spend more time

Hello,

I have diagnosed ADHD and I am a college student. I had a 504 disability plan in middle and high school, and I currently get disability accommodations at university as it significantly impacts my ability to learn, working memory, etc. I also struggle with spatial awareness. (I also am very likely to have high functioning autism as well, but that is undiagnosed.)

I submitted an application, since my university is less than an hour away from a national park I would like to go to someday, if I can find transportation...

I submitted the letter that my dr gave me to get disability accommodations at college. Do you think it will be accepted? And how long will it take to be approved, if so?

"___Insert my name here_____ has been under my care for several years. She struggles with attention deficit.

She is currently on medication, but she will benefit from having extensions on deadlines with
assignments to help with time management.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call and thank you in advance."

I would really love to go to a national park before I die, so I am hoping that my ADHD will be a good enough reason for them to accept my application.

This was taken East of Fishing Bridge

Chiricahua blew me away the first time I visited in December 2022. Unfortunately, knee-deep snow put a damper on this Florida Man’s hiking plans, so I knew I had to return*. With my best friend living in Phoenix, revisiting in 2025 was easy and inexpensive. 

I copied my original 2022 Chiricahua itinerary and tried again, this time snow-free!

Like many National Parks, the nearest town isn't particularly close. In this case, Willcox is about 45 minutes away. 

During both visits, Chiricahua was very quiet as it wasn't a National PARK yet. I hiked a near 10-mile loop and saw my first person 6 miles in!

With its incredible, unearthly rock formations and new designation, I expect visitation to increase significantly. I hope the NPS considers a shuttle system because parking is very limited in Chiricahua.

Enjoy the solitude while it lasts!

\* I originally planned my 2025 Arizona trip to visit friends and hike the Grand Canyon R2R. Damage from the Dragon Bravo Fire forced me to change plans, so I used my solo days to explore Organ Pipe Cactus NM, several ghost towns and Chiricahua.