Top Ten National Parks: Tie for No. 2 (Second One)
Discovering the Beauty of America's National (and other) Parks
We’ve only got two National Parks left in our Top 10 …
Let’s get to it!
This week’s park TIES with last week’s park, Sequoia National Park.
Our park this week is as iconic as it gets!
The picture above is on a scenic drive to visit the park’s two most famous scenic landmarks — El Capitan, and Half Dome. If you are a National Park enthusiast at all, then this completely gives it away that we’re talking about …
Yosemite National Park!
Keep scrolling to find out why Yosemite is tied for number 2 on our favorites list!
If we were to have a top 5 based on beauty alone, the list would probably look something like this:
Yosemite N.P.
Sequoia N.P.
King’s Canyon N.P.
Grand Canyon N.P.
A yet to be named N.P. that is number 1 on our complete list!
(Not necessarily in that order)
Yosemite may just be the most beautiful of all the National Parks we’ve seen so far!
Scenery:
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like there were about 100 of these beautiful Alpine lakes at Yosemite …
And miles and miles of these gorgeous scenic drives!
Like its neighbors to the south — Sequoia N.P. and King’s Canyon N.P. — the scenery at Yosemite N.P. is just plain hard to beat!
A perfect 5.0 star rating for scenery!
Variety:
I gave this category a perfect 5.0 stars as well. Yosemite is famous for rock climbing and hiking, also has more sequoia groves if you didn’t see enough at Sequoia N.P. and King’s Canyon N.P., and plenty of other attractions as well.
As the official National Park Service website for Yosemite says, “What is there to do in Yosemite? This common question is a difficult one to answer... because there are so many options.” Click the following link to learn more:
Plan Your Visit - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Wildlife:
I distinctly remember seeing a lot of deer on the trails near certain visitor centers at Yosemite, and that’s reason enough to give this park 5.0 stars in the wildlife category. In all seriousness, check out the link to learn about this park’s bear population and other interesting wildlife.
Animals - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Camping/Lodging:
There are three lodges and two hotels within the park, as well as plenty of options for tent camping or cabins as well. Good luck though, because lodging is popular here, so rooms can stay booked out, and can be quite pricey!
4.5 stars!
Other Amenities/Recreation Opportunities:
As stated previously in this blog covering some other National Parks in California, the area is a great vacation destination with plenty of places to see and things to do.
Be sure to check out Mammoth Lakes, CA, which was a quaint little town with ski resorts and great restaurants, hiking in the area, etc.
4.5 stars.
Busyness:
Yosemite takes an unfortunate dip here. This place is so amazing that word apparently gets around, because it’s crawling with people! Yosemite routinely has over 3 million visitors (sometimes 4, or even 5 million visitors) every year! So you better just go ahead and expect the crowds! 3.0 stars.
Accessibility:
Yosemite is not quite as accessible as Sequoia, but on par with King’s Canyon, and still quite good.
Here’s how far this park is from several major cities:
San Francisco, CA - 4 hours west
Los Angeles, CA - 5.15 hours south
Fresno, CA - 2.5 hours south (closest)
Las Vegas, NV - 7.45 hours southeast
For accessibility, this park gets 4.5 stars!
Personal Experience:
I honestly think, from the perspective of pure beauty, Yosemite National Park is the best of the best in that category. I’m thinking there may be just one National Park that may eventually beat it (Glacier National Park in Montana), but we haven’t been there yet!
Come to think of it, probably some of the parks in Alaska and perhaps Hawaii may eventually beat out Yosemite in terms of beauty, but we haven’t been to any of those yet either.
Regardless, those parks have big shoes to fill because Yosemite National Park has to be one of the most amazing places on the planet! Our family is incredibly grateful to have been able to go there, and you should go, too!
Yosemite gets a perfect 10.0 stars (5.0 bonus points) for personal experience!
Overall Rating:
Yosemite N.P. ties with Sequoia coming in with 5.19 stars! I definitely would love to take the family on another trip to visit Yosemite, and would probably try to visit Sequoia N.P. in the same trip, while also hitting some of the other California National Parks that we have yet to visit. (There are a whopping NINE National Parks in the state!)
Yosemite National Park — Tied for No. 2 on our top 10 ranking!
Next week, we reveal our long-awaited number 1 favorite National Park. Can you guess what it is? For us, it’s the one that started in all! (Sort of — More on that next time)!
Until next time,
Keep exploring, friends!
— Chase