Americans - tell me of your fair land!

[Heket]

This can extend to Canadians too

My partner and I are thinking to take a holiday in the US this year as we haven't had a holiday for a while. There are so many places I want to visit in your fair states (and country, if you are Canadian)! It'll probably be a 2 week stay and I have never been before, so it's a fresh canvas.

What I am most interested in seeing in our first visit are National Parks and scenery type areas. Here is a list of things I would like to include, although not necessarily all of them at once. That would be quite a feat.

Mountains
Forests, but not staying in one (see scardey cat)
Sea
Deserts
Staying in a log cabin
Lots of rugged landscape, but bear in mind I'm not very fit!
Natural features for me to sketch and paint
Geological marvels
I like trains
I like somewhere quiet and maybe dark too, as I am keen on astronomy
I'm also a massive scardey cat, don't send me anywhere with big storms or huge trees!


Where should I consider going? If you live near an area you think I must see, or have visited somewhere inspiring or even just know of somewhere that perhaps foreigners might not get to hear about, tell me! Sell your country to me!

Any travel hints and tips are good to know too :)

 

[Norton]

Yosemite in n cal is probably the biggest bang for beauty buck. Mountains, forest, giant trees close to rugged coastline and San Francisco.

Fantastic hostel in an abandon army barracks on the continental side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Tons of wildlife, stars and whale research at the beach down the path...all a 10 min ride from downtown San Fran.

Timing is key. Peak tourist season would suck. The badlands of north and s Dakota are amazing. The Great Lakes are awesome too. Surrounded by wilderness and interesting cities. Madeline island, win and traverse city michigan come to mind. Door county wi. Too.

Seattle, van couver, bc and Portland, or are fantastic cities surrounded by wilderness....but I'd say stick to Monterrey and north.

 

[Biddlin]

+1 on Yosemite and Victoria and Vancouver Island are pretty spectacular.
Then, there are the Sierra Nevada Foothills

Biddlin ;>)/

 

[smitty_p]

If you're looking for deserts, hit the Grand Canyon. It's quite breath-taking. The Painted Desert is pretty cool, too. I still have the petrified wood I bought at the Painted Desert gift shop.

For the forested stuff, Norton and Biddlin have already covered that pretty well.

 

[milesdeem]

Colorado is awesome (mountains, ghost towns, scenery)....went there when I was in the 9th grade ('78).
Michigan does also have mountains (in the UP Porcupine Mountains near Ontanogan) and more ghost towns than I thought. It has both variety and convenience, because there's a gas station/convenience store on every other corner now-a-days.

 

[Biddlin]

The Painted Desert was spectacular, when I saw it in '69. Didn't seem as vibrant 20 years later. Guess it could have been the peyote....
Biddlin ;>)/

 

[El Marin]

The Painted Desert was spectacular, when I saw it in '69. Didn't seem as vibrant 20 years later. Guess it could have been the peyote....
Biddlin ;>)/

That's easy to fix....

I went once to the Muir Woods near San Francisco... really nice... Tallest trees on earth

I have the chance to be back I would definitely never miss The Monument Valley, Colorado Cannon and Yellowstone... and would like to see and party at Mephis Tenesee (don't miss Graceland) and New Orleans

 

[dbb]

This can extend to Canadians too

My partner and I are thinking to take a holiday in the US this year .......

Mountains
Forests, but not staying in one (see scardey cat)
Sea
Deserts
Staying in a log cabin
Lots of rugged landscape, but bear in mind I'm not very fit!
Natural features for me to sketch and paint
Geological marvels
I like trains
I like somewhere quiet and maybe dark too, as I am keen on astronomy
I'm also a massive scardey cat, don't send me anywhere with big storms or huge trees!

+1 on Yosemite ....
Then, there are the Sierra Nevada Foothills

Biddlin ;>)/

If you're looking for deserts, hit the Grand Canyon. It's quite breath-taking. The Painted Desert is pretty cool, too. I still have the petrified wood I bought at the Painted Desert gift shop.

For the forested stuff, Norton and Biddlin have already covered that pretty well.

I went once to the Muir Woods near San Francisco... really nice... Tallest trees on earth

.....Yellowstone...... New Orleans

The Grand Canyon is indeed spectacular, particularly the North Rim. Yellowstone is also worthy of a visit, as is Muir Woods. Some say the tallest tree ( or 3rd tallest depending on who you ask) is now in Montgomery Woods, near me on the Comptche Ukiah road.

Montgomery Woods SNR

Montgomery Woods State Park In Mendocino County MENDOCINO.com

Montgomery Woods State Reserve (3rd Tallest Tree in the World) | Mendocino Fun

Giant Redwoods - the tallest trees in the World

"The tallest living tree stands at 112 meters (367 feet, 6 in.), or five stories higher than the Statue of Liberty. It is the Mendocino Tree, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found at Montgomery State Reserve near Ukiah, California, USA. It is estimated to be over 1000 years old. The tree was last measured in September 1998, and was also found to have a diameter of 3.14 m. (10 ft. 4 in.). It was declared the tallest tree in 1996."

The Guinness Book of Records has a different take ......

" The world's tallest living tree is the Stratosphere Giant measuring 112.7 m (370 ft) as of July 2004. This coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was discovered by Chris Atkins (USA) in August 2000 in the Rockefeller Forest of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, USA.

The precise location of the giant tree is always kept secret by the Park Rangers in case enthusiastic tree fans accidentally damage its fragile environment. The second tallest tree living, known as The Federation Giant, measures 112 m (368 ft) and also lives at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park."

Tallest Tree - San Francisco Chronicle article about redwoods

New Orleans is lots of fun!

We also have a local train that takes you through the woods!

Welcome to Mendocino County's Historic Skunk Train

California Western Railroad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Skunk Train - Guide to Taking the Skunk Train

 

[alakasam44]

NO NO NO NO NO NO, AND NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! CANADA AND THE U.S.A ARE VERY VERY DIFFERENT... I urge you to not compare them! Ok, your not from here, so you probably dont get this, Im kidding... anyways, yosemite or yellowstone are both good, depends if you are going to the east or west coast, because new york is pretty cool. Good luck.

 

[sgtbeefheart]

No-one recommending Route 66?

 

[smitty_p]

The Grand Canyon is indeed spectacular, particularly the North Rim. Yellowstone is also worthy of a visit, as is Muir Woods. Some say the tallest tree ( or 3rd tallest depending on who you ask) is now in Montgomery Woods, near me on the Comptche Ukiah road.

Yes. My most memorable moment at the Grand Canyon was on the North Rim looking down into the canyon. I remember looking down on an eagle flying about a 1/4 mile beneath me. Kind of reversal of perspective.

If you get there when there aren't a whole lot of other people there, you can hear the constant rush of wind...a very solemn sound.

 

[ghostwolf]

One thing to keep in mind here- anyplace that fits your description is going to
A: be beautiful, and
B: be extremely cold right now.
Forested areas are best visited in warmer months. But then being warmer, the local bears are more active... The good news, you don't need to be able to outrun the bear, just the person with you.

 

[SG John]

May I suggest New England? It's a short flight from Blighty, and gives both the ocean and mountains. There are Acadia and Mt. Katahdin National parks in Maine. The Maine seacoast is amazing. There is also the White Mountains in New Hamshire and Green Mountains in Vermont. Boston is an old city and has not lost a lot of its 17th and 18th century character from urban renewal. There is a lot of history if that's your thing, and there are many great museums, universities, rock clubs, etc in the city. You can drive a very scenic coastal route pretty much all the way up to Canada.

New Brunswick (Canada) is a seven to eight hour drive, and the Bay of Fundy is a must see place. It's gorgeous and has some of the greatest tide differences in the world. It's 57 feet between high and low tide. Cape Bretton is another 8 or so hour drive from there. Montreal is also about an eight hour drive, but in a slightly different direction.

New Your City is also about 4-5 hours depending on traffic, along wth the Catskills and Adirondacks.

No-one recommending Route 66?

Stay away from there. I was on RT 66 in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma a few years ago. Nothing but closed up, boarded up towns put out of business and into poverty by Walmart and Monsanto. It was quite depressing. No offense to any members living out there. I was just appalled at what corporate America has done to the "Mother Road" and it's people.

 

[Steve P]

Heket, come out here to British Columbia. We have most of the stuff on that list you mentioned.

You can take a tour up the Canadian Rockies and get a spectacular view. (you don't have to mountain climb it).

Stand on a glacier.

Take a ride on the Kettle Valley Railway in the Okanagan. (lots of vineyards in the there too so you can do lots of wine tasting if that's your thing)

Hit up the Skeena River for some fishing then come out here to the coast for some whale watching, scuba diving, sea kayaking, a beach side bonfire!

We have lots of great scenery and wildlife out here.

Banff national park (on the border of Alberta and BC), Okanagan Valley and the Kettle Valley Railway.

A view of the Olympic mountains from my hometown here in Victoria BC.

Lots of Great stuff out here. Great fishing, hunting, camping (including log cabins), wildlife, scenery, AND we got stronger beer than our neighbours south of 49

Some more pictures of BC https://www.google.ca/search?safe=o...0.0....0...1ac.1.32.img..1.15.656.oDshipWFy3Y

Ok, there's my sales pitch, see you when you get here

 

[Heket]

Thank you all for your replies! There is so much to see I'd probably be taking trips to the US for the rest of my life to see even half of it. Your country is so BIG. At the moment I think it's a 3-way tie between Yellowstone (volcano!), Yosemite (trees!) and over the border around Vancouver Island (mountains!).

Timing is key. Peak tourist season would suck. The badlands of north and s Dakota are amazing. The Great Lakes are awesome too. Surrounded by wilderness and interesting cities. Madeline island, win and traverse city michigan come to mind. Door county wi. Too.

We'll probably try and go at least a little off-season, although I don't know if autumn counts as off season? I certainly don't intend to go anywhere in the winter, and especially not Canada or the North/Midwest!

If you're looking for deserts, hit the Grand Canyon. It's quite breath-taking. The Painted Desert is pretty cool, too. I still have the petrified wood I bought at the Painted Desert gift shop.

Grand Canyon is also a must-see! I'd also like to see the Badlands and Rocky Mountains, because they always show those places when they shouw paeleontology videos. I was a real dino geek as a kid, and I'd still like to walk along those dusty ridges and imagine dinosaur skeletons beneath my feet.

Colorado is awesome (mountains, ghost towns, scenery)....went there when I was in the 9th grade ('78).
Michigan does also have mountains (in the UP Porcupine Mountains near Ontanogan) and more ghost towns than I thought. It has both variety and convenience, because there's a gas station/convenience store on every other corner now-a-days.

Never thought of Colorado before, but it looks good! A quick search shows mountains and meadows as well as a deserty lean with sandstone formations. The ghost towns look fascinating, I'd love to go explore. Never seen a ghost town before. Is Colorado a stormy place?

The Grand Canyon is indeed spectacular, particularly the North Rim. Yellowstone is also worthy of a visit, as is Muir Woods. Some say the tallest tree ( or 3rd tallest depending on who you ask) is now in Montgomery Woods, near me on the Comptche Ukiah road...

.."The precise location of the giant tree is always kept secret by the Park Rangers in case enthusiastic tree fans accidentally damage its fragile environment. The second tallest tree living, known as The Federation Giant, measures 112 m (368 ft) and also lives at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park."

I'd love to see the redwoods. Probably my worst nightmare once I see those spindly meagliths, but I have to at least get a little look-in. I can't even comprehend a tree that's nearly the size of Big Ben, it's just completely beyond my scope.

I have a book called "Remarkable Trees of the World" (maybe I would class as an enthusiastic tree fan) and it has several trees in Muir Woods area in it. I'd like to see General Sherman, supposedly the most massive, and the Bachelor and Three Graces. And the tallest ones that you mentioned!

NO NO NO NO NO NO, AND NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! CANADA AND THE U.S.A ARE VERY VERY DIFFERENT... I urge you to not compare them! Ok, your not from here, so you probably dont get this, Im kidding...

Hey don't worry, I know the US and Canada are very different! But it just so happens the that border areas have some fantastic scenery on either side. I didn't want to rule Canada out.

New Brunswick (Canada) is a seven to eight hour drive, and the Bay of Fundy is a must see place. It's gorgeous and has some of the greatest tide differences in the world. It's 57 feet between high and low tide. Cape Bretton is another 8 or so hour drive from there. Montreal is also about an eight hour drive, but in a slightly different direction.

New Your City is also about 4-5 hours depending on traffic, along wth the Catskills and Adirondacks.

You mention 8 hour drives like they are nothing, haha. We Europeans are not used to distance driving, and I don't drive. My other half likes driving, but I don't think he's ever driven anywhere near that length before. Sounds lovely though, a good mix of things to see. Catskills! Don't we have a member here from the Catskills?

Heket, come out here to British Columbia. We have most of the stuff on that list you mentioned....
....Ok, there's my sales pitch, see you when you get here

See you soon! If not on this first trip then definitely some other. I am breathtaken by the scenery in that area and I'm keen on wildlife too, as long as I don't get eaten by a bear. The pictures are stunning!


I have a lot to consider and I suppose I should consider travel capabilities too. Yosemite and Vancouver are nice and easy with direct flights nearby, not sure about Yellowstone. If I went to San Francisco I could see my cousin too. What a choice to make, this is exciting! The wildest landscapes I've ever been in are the Alps, which can get pretty mountainous but also quite confined. La Palma was pretty wild too, with it's volcanoes and sub-tropical rainforest. Certainly a lot different to suburban bliss :)

 

[ghostwolf]

Another point of interest might be the Great Lakes, which conveniently have forests in close proximity. Well, aside from the cities that have grown up around them.
If i may ask, why would large trees be a nightmare?

 

[Heket]

Another point of interest might be the Great Lakes, which conveniently have forests in close proximity. Well, aside from the cities that have grown up around them.
If i may ask, why would large trees be a nightmare?

When I was a toddler I woke up during a big windstorm and saw a falling tree in our garden. Haven't been the same since I'm not good at walking near big trees, especially when it's windy. I get scared they might fall. Doesn't help that I know redwoods have very shallow roots! Alternatively, if a storm comes then I get scared I might get struck by lightning .

The Great Lakes is indeed another point of interest. Thanks for reminding me, I didn't even think of those!

 

[Biddlin]

A view of the Olympic mountains from my hometown here in Victoria BC.

Lots of Great stuff out here. Great fishing, hunting, camping (including log cabins), wildlife, scenery, AND we got stronger beer than our neighbours south of 49
Ok, there's my sales pitch, see you when you get here

When I see photos of the BC forest, I can actually smell the ferns and decaying debris on the forest floor. We vacuum and deodorise them down here, you know. Beautiful British Columbia, indeed.
Biddlin ;>)/

 

[smitty_p]

May I suggest New England? It's a short flight from Blighty, and gives both the ocean and mountains. There are Acadia and Mt. Katahdin National parks in Maine. The Maine seacoast is amazing.

YES! You can't overlook Maine. My wife is from Maine. We frequently visit Acadia when we go visit her family. Interesting fact, Acadia has one of the only natural sandy beaches in Maine. If you look at the sand very closely you can see finely ground shells composing some of the sand "grains". But, the water is very cold, even in summer!

Plus, if you come to Maine, you can have a REAL lobster meal.

Here are some shots of that Maine seacoast in Acadia National Park that I took the last time we went.

Not far from Sandy Beach, near Thunder Hole:



Another pic from the same spot but facing a different direction:




This is Thunder Hole. It's called that because as the tide comes in the waves splash into a natural depression and make a loud thumping sound.



This is just another pic. This is a couple of years before the others:

 

[Krosis]

I don't know much about outdoorsy stuff around here. There are some parks and mountains in the north part of NJ/southern part of NY and of course the beaches down the NJ shore. But if you're gonna be making an international trip, there are much more grandiose locals to see.

But if you're passing through the area I'd be glad to show you around. Chances are you'd probably have to fly through one of the NYC area airports (Newark/JFK/La Guardia) on your way in. If you like beer I know plenty of great places for grabbing a drink. I'm part Irish, they say the Irish don't belong in the sun, they belong in pubs

Seriously though, I second the motion for the Grand Canyon or Colorado. I've never been to California or the Pacific Northwest and I've heard those are beautiful places too. I hear Vermont has great bike trails. I'm dying to go to New Orleans, they have swamp tours in Louisiana. That sounds awesome.