We Made It! Top Ten National Parks: No. 1!
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We Made It! Top Ten National Parks: No. 1!
Discovering the Beauty of America's National (and other) Parks
It’s finally time to reveal our number 1 most favorite National Park that we have ever visited!
Last week, we talked about how this park was …
The one that started it all!
(Well, sort of!)
Technically, it’s not the first National Park we’ve ever visited …
But it is the first one that gave us “National Park Fever,” so to speak, and we’ve been trying to see as many as possible ever since!
Our number 1 most favorite National Park (and in my opinion, it will probably never be topped) is …
Yellowstone National Park!
Perhaps the most magnificent place on earth, words simply cannot describe the adventure that awaits the visitor to our nation’s first National Park! In that sense, it’s the one that started it all!
But there’s more …
I still vividly remember the day we were visiting St. Louis, MO …
home of another National Park, Gateway Arch N.P. with some friends!
I believe it was the Saint Louis Science Center where we watched an Omnimax Theater program on exploring National Parks.
I remember watching in awe as James Bay’s Hold Back the River soundtrack serenaded us while we took in breathtaking views of Yellowstone, and I was instantly bitten by the National Park bug! Our friends and we instantly started planning a trip to Yellowstone almost from the moment we exited the theater!
(By the way, Hold Back the River is still my family’s unofficial theme song every time we go on National Park trips!)
We decided on a plan. Let’s find some cheap flights from Memphis to Denver (Thanks Frontier!), and from there go in together to rent an RV and drive up to Yellowstone and Grand Teton N.P.’s for the adventure of a lifetime! We timed it perfectly for preaching school’s summer break, and set off on the trip that would forever change my vacation philosophy for the better!
Scenery:
There are actually a few places we have visited that are a little more beautiful than Yellowstone in my opinion, but Yellowstone is still a gorgeous place with no lack of amazing views. Thus, Yellowstone still comes in with a perfect 5 stars in this category.
Be sure to check out the views of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from both the perspectives of Upper Falls and Lower Falls for a special treat. Also, be sure to check out Lamar Valley, and Mount Washburn as well, to name a few!
Variety:
This is really where Yellowstone shines! I honestly believe that we could visit this park a hundred times and never get sick of it. There’s just SO MUCH to do at this one!
For instance,
be sure to visit the iconic geyser Old Faithful (or several other geysers in the park as well) …
Several of the park’s amazing thermal features …
Especially Grand Prismatic Spring!!
Also, mud pots, waterfalls, cliffs, canyons, mountains, meadows, etc. Truly Yellowstone is a place of varying wonder!
A perfect 5.0 stars for Yellowstone for the ultimate standard of variety.
Wildlife:
The wildlife viewing opportunities in Yellowstone are also simply outstanding! On our trip, we saw: Bighorn Sheep, Buffalo (Everywhere!), Rocky Mountain Elk, Bald Eagles, Pronghorn, and even Grey Wolves (I saw the cubs play fighting each other, one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!)
You might also find both Black and Grizzly Bears (we may or may not have seen one for a split second before it wandered below a hill out of view - Haha), mountain lions, mountain goats, and moose.
Yellowstone N.P. easily gets a perfect 5.0 stars in this category!
Camping/Lodging:
As I said, we rented an RV which was a great choice. There are also plenty of campgrounds and lodges to choose from as well. Or you can stay in nearby Jackson Hole, Wyoming or West Yellowstone, Montana. Hotels in the area can be quite pricy though, so be sure to do your research!
For Camping/Lodging opportunities, this Yellowstone gets a perfect 5.0 stars!
Other Amenities/Recreation Opportunities:
There is no shortage of things to do in the area! For instance, try rafting the Yellowstone River out of West Yellowstone, MT, or the Snake River out of Jackson Hole, WY. It’s so much fun! 5.0 stars!
Busyness:
Yellowstone does take a bit of a hit here, because it is SO popular … But Yellowstone is so amazing and a pretty big place, so I doubt you’ll be worried about the crowds! 3.5 stars.
Accessibility:
Yellowstone is a little more remote from big cities compared to some other parks we have visited, so it does take a slight dip here as well.
Here’s how far this park is from several major cities:
Denver, CO - 8.5 hours southeast
Salt Lake City, UT - 7.5 hours northwest
Boise, ID - 6.45 hours southwest (closest major city)
Billings, MT - 7 hours northeast
Bozeman, MT (major city? Eh not so much) - 4 hours northwest
For accessibility, this park gets only 3.5 stars!
Personal Experience:
Yellowstone National Park is probably my most favorite place on earth. There’s just so much to take in! It kicked off my love for U.S. National Parks, hiking, camping, etc. This blog would not exist, were it not for Yellowstone. All of that, topped with special memories with some great friends and the first big trip we took with my son, and this place will probably never be topped for me!
Of course a perfect 10.0 stars (5.0 bonus points)!
Overall Rating:
The highest ranking on our top 10 has always been Yellowstone’s for the taking! 5.25 stars!
Yellowstone National Park — No. 1 on our top 10 ranking!
We’re just getting started. The plan is to take a little break, and be back in a few weeks (hopefully) with some more writeups that we hope you will enjoy.
Until next time,
Keep exploring, friends!
— Chase
We Made It! Top Ten National Parks: No. 1!
I would love to visit this place one day!