National Park Trip

I have a 2003 Chevy 2500hd 4x4 and a 2008 FR Cherokee 29' tt. may do so stays at Walmarts on the way out but hoping for full hook ups once we get the parks. Could you give me a list of the best sites to see?

It would help to know your rig type and if you are set up for boondocking. We do three months out West without reservations BUT we are fully self contained and used to winging it.

This year in May and June, we visited some new ones and old favorites of the NPs. A few thoughts from this and previous trips:

It was very nice, sunny but cool enough to need jackets early in the day or at night, at the south rim of Grand Canyon in mid-May.

Yosemite's waterfalls were spectacular this May due to heavy winter snow melting, but the park was also already very crowded.

Some NPs can only be visited in late June or later. Check when roads and campgrounds will even be open in parks like Crater Lake (which had snow piled higher than the visitor center in early June), Mt. Ranier and Glacier. Their seasons are mainly July and August. North Rim of the Grand Canyon is cooler than the South Rim in summer, and is open from about May 15 to October 15.

The Canadian Rockies NPs and Icefields Parkway are worth the long drive up. We were there mid-June and everything was open and already busy.

Plan to see Waterton NP in Canada when you go to Glacier - well worth it.

Rocky Mountain NP was great in late June with beautiful snow-capped mountains but pleasant temperatures.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton can be visited in late August and early September when families are back home for school, but note that most campgrounds begin to close mid-September.

Utah's NPs are wonderful and an be really hot by August. Bryce at a high elevation is cooler in the summer than Zion. Be aware that mid June to the end of September is the Monsoon season of rains and flash floods in parts of the Southwest. I agree that spring or fall work best for the Grand Circle/Four Corners.

We were thinking of leaving in early May. Would that be to early? I guess I need to compile a list of all the places we want to see and map it out.I got a lot of planning to do.

If you are coming out West, you'll probably be hitting the "Grand Circle" of National Parks in Southern Utah. This should be your first stop since you are leaving in the Spring. Waiting until the summer will have you in the hottest times of the year there. Yellowstone and the Grand Teton can wait until summer as they are really at their best, temperature-wise, at the hottest times of the year, and that also includes Glacier and Olympic National Parks. Another great stop is Mt. St. Helens National Monument in Washington. If you have your passports, you can visit Vancouver Island, catching the Black Ball Ferry in Port Angeles, Washington. Just a couple of suggestions.