Which of the U.S. national parks in this image do you think is the most worth visiting? There are three exceptions.

We’re talking about a vacation this summer so we can plan ahead. My mother (who will pay for it) said she’d love to go to Yellowstone, but it looks like it’s about a 24-hour drive for us. Still, I like the idea of going to a national park. We’re in Indiana, so this image shows about the limits of where we’re willing to drive. Maybe 14-15 hours at most, which puts most of the ones in the image in range.

However-

• We’ve already been to Indiana Dunes and Gateway Arch.

• My daughter is scared of caves, so Mammoth Cave is out.

Out of the rest, which would you most recommend so I can suggest it to my mother?

Is there anything not in Indiana that is within this area that you think is more worth visiting than a national park that also would take a decent amount of time to visit and see different things? (Not a city, obviously.)

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Sequentialsilence,

Having been to all but voyageurs go to either the smokey mountains or new river gorge. I was going to put mammoth cave on that list but, you know fears and stuff. I will say mammoth cave does not feel like your typical cave, it’s way larger, and has been adapted for tourists.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

I’ve been to Mammoth Cave before myself and really loved it, but she doesn’t care how big the cave is. She says she just doesn’t like the idea of all of that rock above her head. We tried to convince her a couple of years ago, but she’s dead set against it. Smokey Mountains sounds like the best choice.

figjam,

Isle royale is on my list because its so wild. May not be great for a family though because its so hard to get to.

jace525,

I’ve done quite a bit of camping in the UP of Michigan and have been really impressed by how much beauty can be found up there. Doing Pictured Rocks, Tahquamenon Falls, and Kitch-iti-kipi on a 4 day weekend trip is pretty incredible. So I’d do Isle Royale and hot up a few more landmarks while being up there. Sounds like a good clean inexpensive trip!

itsgroundhogdayagain,

I live in VA and I find Shenandoah to be the most boring national park I’ve visited. Unless you can catch it during foliage season, I’d go somewhere else. That said, Skyline Drive is a mess during foliage season. Great Smoky Mountains is nice.

intensely_human,

Hot Springs in Arkansas.

I have no idea why the St. louis Arch is listed as a national park here. More like a national arc at best.

orcrist,

Shenandoah tends to be very very packed. It’s cool but it’s full of people. The Smoky Mountains also can be quite busy depending on the exact season that you’re visiting.

And then it just depends what you want to do. National parks are national parks for a reason but then again there are a lot of great state parks that might suit your interests.

Bahnd,

Note on Yellowstone, Grand Teton is just south of it, and is much smaller, but significantly more dramatic (If you expect to summit anything there without a ski lift, good luck).

As for the east coast, New River Gorge WV is very active with guided activities, last I checked. One of the good places for rafting, also the Greenbank National Radio Observatory is within a days drive. If the Virginia(s) is your direction, in addition to the national parks, you also have the estates of some of americas founding fathers in the area, along with old battlefields that are open to the public, if history is on the menu. I would argue that the best park for hiking on the US east coast is White Mtn. State Forest in NH. Middle of ski country for the winter and summer is peak hiking for the best section of the AT (the Presidentials will kick you and your cars ass, Mt. Washington is up there and you can drive to the weather facility at the top)

growsomethinggood,

Not a national park and kind of on the outskirts of your radius, but any thoughts on the Finger Lakes region of NY? Lots of hiking, waterfalls, lakes, etc.

Ithaca

Watkins Glen

PhlubbaDubba,

Personally I’m partial to looping them all into a trans continental high speed rail network, make them all visitable in simple order

GrabtharsHammer,

Not national parks, but Elephant Rock and Johnson Shut-Ins in Missouri are both pretty neat.

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