Do you think National Park visitation popularity will go down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, you can definitely save money and go camping. But you rather sh*t all over camping, so the alternative is paying the hotel prices.

Dont complain about being bougie and then complain about being too cheap

I love this.

Who said anyone was shtting on camping? Some people like it, some people don't. Hotels in and around np's are horribly overpriced, it's a fact. We wanted to stay at the Springhill Suites (a SPRINGHILL SUITES, not a JW) in Jackson, WY last year and it was $800 a night. Give me a gd break.

Here is a very nice condo in Jackson, WY that is still available for the end of June. $370/night.
https://www.vrbo.com/2780493?chkin=2024-06-23&chkout=2024-06-28&d1=2024-06-23&d2=2024-06-28&startDate=2024-06-23&endDate=2024-06-28

You didn't look hard enough for cheaper lodging options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe identify some state and regional parks not yet discovered by the instagram folks.

I love how everyone blames "instagram" for this issue. I take it you've NEVER searched online for things to do / places to go? Because if you have -- if you've EVER found out about somewhere you'd like to go via the internet, youre just as 'bad' as these 'instagram' folks.

I'm old. I traveled around northern India for 2 months and used 3x24 shot camera films. That was before there was an internet. I guess I was part of the "library book" set.

Now I use the internet to find places to avoid.

What is a "3x24 shot camera films"? Do you mean you used 3 rolls of film?

I think they meant 300 exposure. it was what most people bought for snapshots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think the people going "hey, why is the place I want to visit so crowded". Well, uh, you're there too. You can't fault others for having the exact same idea you did.

National Parks are supposed to be a shared resource so they're going to try to accommodate as many people as possible. They're not supposed to be exclusive.

If you do research you can find some quieter spots or off times, it just takes work.

It sucks that they are so crowded but I cannot get on board with this reservation system. It takes the accessibility of our NP away. I get they want to control crowds, but come on. Everyone should be able to access these lands.

And all you have to do is hike to escape crowds. Most people never set much more than a few feet away from their car at national parks.

This is true. I was in Acadia and I hiked Mt. Cadillac. It was packed at the top (where you can drive up) but the actual hike was pretty quiet. We did the Precipice Trail instead of the Bee Hive and it was significantly quieter.

[Anonymous]

Our pro tip is to research the state parks in these same areas. Instead of Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan, we went to Silver Lake Sand Dunes, which is a state park facility a bit farther south of Lake Michigan. Not as crowded and cheaper, no need for year advance reservations.

[Anonymous]

Yeah parking at some central lot and then waiting 45 mi for a bus to a trailhead does not sound fun to me. Once was enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah parking at some central lot and then waiting 45 mi for a bus to a trailhead does not sound fun to me. Once was enough.

Yep, this was our experience in Sedona. The parking situation really marred the visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe identify some state and regional parks not yet discovered by the instagram folks.

I love how everyone blames "instagram" for this issue. I take it you've NEVER searched online for things to do / places to go? Because if you have -- if you've EVER found out about somewhere you'd like to go via the internet, youre just as 'bad' as these 'instagram' folks.

I'm old. I traveled around northern India for 2 months and used 3x24 shot camera films. That was before there was an internet. I guess I was part of the "library book" set.

Now I use the internet to find places to avoid.

What is a "3x24 shot camera films"? Do you mean you used 3 rolls of film?

Three rolls of film with 24 shots each. You didn't take 30 photos of the same thing. Film typically was sold in 100, 200 or 400 exposure ratings, which relates to speed and light.

Apparently real film is becoming a thing again, like vinyl records.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah parking at some central lot and then waiting 45 mi for a bus to a trailhead does not sound fun to me. Once was enough.

We have avoided this by going first thing in the morning. This way you also avoid crowds on the trails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think the people going "hey, why is the place I want to visit so crowded". Well, uh, you're there too. You can't fault others for having the exact same idea you did.

National Parks are supposed to be a shared resource so they're going to try to accommodate as many people as possible. They're not supposed to be exclusive.

If you do research you can find some quieter spots or off times, it just takes work.

There's a huge difference in having visited the parks for 40 years and now having to share them with people who just discovered them and treat the land poorly. Even 25 years ago, you didn't see people stringing hammocks from Joshua trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our pro tip is to research the state parks in these same areas. Instead of Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan, we went to Silver Lake Sand Dunes, which is a state park facility a bit farther south of Lake Michigan. Not as crowded and cheaper, no need for year advance reservations.

State parks are very expensive for non-residents. It's hard to justify, especially if you have a free national park pass like we do.

[Anonymous]

Lodging within a National Park is limited, for a reason! So yes, it's going to be challenging and expensive. I lived/worked in and around National Parks for 10 years and it was similar "back in the day." I feel grateful we even have these experiences and places available to us, but you do need to be crafty sometimes to make it work. Use points/miles - excellent redemption when the Springfield Suites are $800/night. Go in off season, shoulder season, end of season, etc. JH in July is a nightmare, avoid it. I get that it might be the best time for you, but it is for everyone else!

In July of 2010 and I went to every National Park in the western part of the US for work and I would only ever go to the north side of Grand Canyon and Olympia NP again at that time. Last year we went to Glacier the last week of August and it didn't feel crowded at all. But avoid if at all possible from the end of July through mid August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lodging within a National Park is limited, for a reason! So yes, it's going to be challenging and expensive. I lived/worked in and around National Parks for 10 years and it was similar "back in the day." I feel grateful we even have these experiences and places available to us, but you do need to be crafty sometimes to make it work. Use points/miles - excellent redemption when the Springfield Suites are $800/night. Go in off season, shoulder season, end of season, etc. JH in July is a nightmare, avoid it. I get that it might be the best time for you, but it is for everyone else!

In July of 2010 and I went to every National Park in the western part of the US for work and I would only ever go to the north side of Grand Canyon and Olympia NP again at that time. Last year we went to Glacier the last week of August and it didn't feel crowded at all. But avoid if at all possible from the end of July through mid August.

***end of June through mid August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, you can definitely save money and go camping. But you rather sh*t all over camping, so the alternative is paying the hotel prices.

Dont complain about being bougie and then complain about being too cheap

I love this.

Who said anyone was shtting on camping? Some people like it, some people don't. Hotels in and around np's are horribly overpriced, it's a fact. We wanted to stay at the Springhill Suites (a SPRINGHILL SUITES, not a JW) in Jackson, WY last year and it was $800 a night. Give me a gd break.

OP says "and camping sucks" so yes, that is shitting on camping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe identify some state and regional parks not yet discovered by the instagram folks.

I love how everyone blames "instagram" for this issue. I take it you've NEVER searched online for things to do / places to go? Because if you have -- if you've EVER found out about somewhere you'd like to go via the internet, youre just as 'bad' as these 'instagram' folks.

I'm old. I traveled around northern India for 2 months and used 3x24 shot camera films. That was before there was an internet. I guess I was part of the "library book" set.

Now I use the internet to find places to avoid.

What is a "3x24 shot camera films"? Do you mean you used 3 rolls of film?

I think they meant 300 exposure. it was what most people bought for snapshots.

300 wasn't a thing. It was typically 100, 200, 400, 800.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think the people going "hey, why is the place I want to visit so crowded". Well, uh, you're there too. You can't fault others for having the exact same idea you did.

National Parks are supposed to be a shared resource so they're going to try to accommodate as many people as possible. They're not supposed to be exclusive.

If you do research you can find some quieter spots or off times, it just takes work.

It sucks that they are so crowded but I cannot get on board with this reservation system. It takes the accessibility of our NP away. I get they want to control crowds, but come on. Everyone should be able to access these lands.

And all you have to do is hike to escape crowds. Most people never set much more than a few feet away from their car at national parks.

This is true. I was in Acadia and I hiked Mt. Cadillac. It was packed at the top (where you can drive up) but the actual hike was pretty quiet. We did the Precipice Trail instead of the Bee Hive and it was significantly quieter.

It's not nearly as crowded these days with the timed entry during peak season. It's actually possible to find a parking spot now without circling 10x.