Hiking is one of the best ways to get away from a lot of the stresses in your daily life, but also enjoy nature. However, one thing that you should know is some hikes are a stress inducing time and this is very true if you pick a very crowded hiking trail or the wrong place to go hiking. Now, that really left me thinking more about the trails that I have traveled down in the national parks in America. Well, with over fifty true parks in the system, not including lands that are not a park. So which of the parks are the best for hiking? Well, that is what led me to getting together my list of the 5 best U.S. National Parks for Hiking.
How Did I Pick The Best National Parks For Hiking
Well, the first thing that I did was consider some of the parks that I know have extreme beauty and plenty of trails. Now, the other thing that I started to look at was the weather that is common in the area the parks are located. I know some people want to hike in a more temperate area, but others want to hike in the extreme heat of the desert trails. With me, though, since I have kids I tended to pick more of the calmer weather as my kids do not really like the heat and as any parent can attest you can only take so much of the I am hot from your kids before you turn around and go back to the car.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is one National Park that I have to admit has a trail that will keep you almost completely satisfied for what you are looking for. The downside is the trails and the level of skill that is required for some of the trails may be over the level that you are willing to accept. So you need to make sure you check out the trails and please make sure you accept the level of the trails as some of the trails are only meant for advanced hikers and if you are not at that level you could end up having to call on the rangers to have some assistance.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Now, this is one park that has more of the temperate climate that you would expect with mountains. The mountain trails for the most part are going to take you to some stunning waterfalls, but they are going to be stunning waterfalls. Now, Great Smoky Mountains National Park does have some great trails and they tend to rest on the easier side. I will warn you that not all of the trails are paved and if you rely on a trail that is paved for you to hike on then you may end up disappointed here as quite a few of the trails are unpaved and more along the line of the dirt trails or wood chips.
Sequoia National Park
When you go to Sequoia National Park it is one of the true treasures that you can find. The trails that you have to hike on at Sequoia National Park will wind through a variety of paths and places. Now, what is really nice is if you get deep enough into some of the trails and areaway from a lot of the crowds you can hear nature like you never have heard before. Remember John Muir said this was one of the most beautiful areas that you could find in all of America and walking on these trails it is easy to see why.
Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon is definitely a place that a lot of people have heard about and not all of the press and news has been good. I mean yes, most of the time people talk about the beauty of the park and how nice all the trails are. However, sometimes people mention the hazards of the park or even the dangers of the trails. However, what you will find is many of the trails that are found in the Grand Canyon take you all over the park and provide you unique views of the canyons. These canyon views are often stunning and can leave you awestruck at the beauty you find in the park and sometimes feels unbelievable that you are able to see something so amazing and it is all from the power of God in creating the planet like he wants it formed.
Acadia National Park
Okay, I have to say that this is one park that is going to be more of a summer time hiking park. Located in Maine, you know that it is going to get rough in the winter month. However, at the same time the Spring weather in Maine can get very wet as well and when you are on the trails you could end up having some issues in staying on the trail as it will be difficult for you to keep your footing. However, on the plus side if you are hiking in the spring you tend to have the trails to yourself outside of nature. You mainly get them to yourself for the same reason that you do not want to go out and that is most of the time people hate hiking in the pouring down rain.
Which Of The Best U.S. National Parks For Hiking Should You Pick
As you can tell I did leave off a couple of states that have some great national parks and that is in Hawaii and Alaska. The reason these two places were left off of my list is the fact that not everyone is able to make it to those areas. Now, with that being said, I have to admit that any national park that you go to that has hiking trail will work perfect for a great outing. However, I picked what I feel are the 5 best U.S. National Parks for hiking based off of what I enjoy and to help you decide as well based off of my own opinion.
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