Anonymous wrote:Guided tour of a national park? Waste of money. These are popular national parks full of tourists, in your home country. It's not Papua New Guinea.

I’m the one who recommended that. A lot of NPs these days require a lot of planning — long entrance lines, reservations, parking issues. For someone who knows nothing about NPs, it might be worth it to hire out those details. Especially if it’s just a part of a larger trip and not the whole thing.

Guided tour of a national park? Waste of money. These are popular national parks full of tourists, in your home country. It's not Papua New Guinea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - the only one in the parks system.

The only one of what?

I assume PP means national Lakeshore. There are actually two others.

Anonymous wrote:There are Zion haters on this board but I found it so accessible and breathtaking. Just avoid it in the peak of summer.

Agree with Joshua tree. And Rocky Mountain National Park.

I am not a Zion hater, but we went in the summer and didn’t love the crowds. If we go back, will try the off season.

For an accessible park, near a big city, recommend Rocky Mountain NP. Lots of great hiking and if you’re not into hiking, you can get great views from your car on Trail Ridge Road.

I love all National Parks, but two of my favorite are Glacier NP and Olympic. Olympic is probably the best- so many different things to do in a diverse setting- mountains, lakes, rain forests, rocky coastlines/beaches.

Good thread, OP! I actually am outdoorsy but am overwhelmed with figuring out how to start visiting national parks (except Shenandoah, we go there a few times a year). It’s doable in a day trip.

Anonymous wrote:Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - the only one in the parks system.

The only one of what?

Anonymous wrote:See if you can do a day trip to Olympic National Park while in Seattle.

Or Mt. Rainier

There are Zion haters on this board but I found it so accessible and breathtaking. Just avoid it in the peak of summer.

Agree with Joshua tree. And Rocky Mountain National Park.

We just got back from Joshua Tree-it’s very accessible. It’s about 3 hours from San Diego lots of places to stay nearby, lots of short walks/hikes and very kid friendly. And gorgeous.

We’re thinking of doing Olympic National Park next summer. Also very kid friendly and near Seattle. Mt Rainer is also close, as is North Cascades National Park.

If your 9 year old is a 4th grader you can get a free annual national park pass for them.

A national parks vacation is its own thing. It can't usually be added onto another vacation.

That said, most cities do have monuments either in or near them that you can include in a city vacation.

Those could easily be added on to the kind of vacations you're describing, and they are usually free.

Here's an article that describes them:
https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/you-can-always-go-downtown-national-parks-cities

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - the only one in the parks system.

I think you might get more out of it if you don't try to shoehorn it into a city vacation but make it a separate trip.

Some of the most interesting National Parks (Yellowstone - features like geyers and geothermals which can only be found in a few spots around the world), Glacier, Jackson Hole, Bryce Canyon and southwestern Utah in general are not really part of a city trip but so worth it to see.

My mother was for the most part a city person, didn't really appreciate nature and the outdoors but even she loved a two week trip we took out West starting in Jackson and moving all the way up to Banff and Jasper in Canada, capped off in Vancouver - so there was a city at the end.

Most national parks are not near big cities or airports. Which is good - they are more untouched spaces and not heavily populated. But that means they are usually the focal point of a trip and not something you add into an itinerary.

Like you can combine Yosemite and SF, but you'll need a couple days for Yosemite (driving, spending time etc)

Because you’re completely new to outdoor trips, you may prefer guided tours.

For example, for your San Diego trip, consider doing a day trip to Joshua Tree and hire a tour like this: https://www.viator.com/tours/Palm-Springs/Joshua-Tree-Backroads-Hummer-H2-Tour/d648-6740P7

There are a lot of city national parks (many of them historic sites). For instance, Rock Creek Park was one of the first federal parks, even before the creation of the National Park Service. The Park Service also operates a White House visitor's center, the Washington Monument, the Old Post Office Tower, and a bunch of historic sites around DC. The Freedom Trail, ;Black Heritage Trail, and Harbor Islands are the national parks of Boston. Statue of Liberty in NY, Golden Gate and Alcatraz in LA. Tons to explore that aren't centered on hiking.