janellmartin___ Posted July 28, 1998 Share Posted July 28, 1998 Idaho is definitely a great place to visit in July/August. The higher elevations will still have a lot of wildflowers even in August. 60 miles from Sun Valley is the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Go anywhere off the road more than 100 yards and you'll be free of crowds. The Sawtooth Mountains are spectacular any time of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_hansen Posted July 28, 1998 Share Posted July 28, 1998 For my vote I tend to side with Sean. Must have to do with being a Californian. I would suggest the Lost Coast of Northern CA. Low crowds with some awesome coastal scenery. Cool temps 50s to low 80s depends how foggy it is. Plenty of birdlife and the Elk are just coming into full velvet. Plenty of trails with few people on them. If not CA I would side with those who choose Olympic. Hurricane Ridge would be on my list there. Best light to you wherever you go. As for me I'm going after some elk. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_allen1 Posted July 29, 1998 Share Posted July 29, 1998 As Dick Ginowski pointed out, the Smokies are great, and I love the Townsend side, too, but this time of year it's still too crowded. Try the Northwest side - that's the part nobody goes to. Mount Guyot has the 2nd highest peak in the Smokies and is lovely this time of year. And virtually empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew_plunkett Posted July 29, 1998 Share Posted July 29, 1998 Bob, <p> I usually seem to get pretty lucky with the crowds -- even in a human zoo like Yosemite Valley -- by walking 30 minutes away from paved roads. <p> With that said, I'd vote for Kings Canyon (little crowds, should be great wildflowers once the snow finally melts), Olympic NP, and Denali. (and AK is in the continental US, just not the contitguous US!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_tsong Posted July 29, 1998 Share Posted July 29, 1998 I find that if I'm starting a hike at sunrise (not so hard for a photographer, right), there's no problem with crowds. Plus, it's nice and cool and the bugs are less active. Of course, just try to convince my wife and kids of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwphoto Posted July 29, 1998 Share Posted July 29, 1998 Well, if you live in the Northeast, you might try (surprise) northcentral Pennsylvania. Has the eastern Grand Canyon, hundreds of miles of marked hiking trails, and more deer than people. A wild elk herd of 300 animals, lotsa bear, coyote, some otter and fisher. It is mostly a blank spot on the map, an enclave in the populus east. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_ginkowski Posted July 30, 1998 Share Posted July 30, 1998 This was one of the most interesting threads I've seen in quite some time. <p> As for Joysee, I agree that there are nice spots to photograph (like Cape May County) but getting there and doing it are entirely different stories. Not to mention the heat, humidity, etc, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_korczak1 Posted July 30, 1998 Share Posted July 30, 1998 Bob, <p> Since you are in New Jersey, have you ventured into the Poconos? It is only a 1-2 hour drive to some spectacular areas,but you do need to know wher to go, (just like Jersey). I have lived in the Poconos for about 10 years (after 20+ years in New Jersey), and have only discovered the special places in the last two or three. Cranberry Bog, Tobyhana, Dingmans Ferry are just a few spots. It really depends on what you are interested in, because summer time is not the active season for many species of animal or plant. I prefer to explore with my macro lens during the summer and wait for the foliage to turn for my 20 mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_su Posted July 31, 1998 Share Posted July 31, 1998 I would investigate central and northern Vermont. I've never actually been there for photo taking, but I spent a few years at Dartmouth College for school, and there is nothing like mid to late summer up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_meyer Posted July 31, 1998 Share Posted July 31, 1998 Bob, two places come to mind that I can think of that would fulfill all your "requirements" for the "best" place to visit. The mountains around southern Colorado are beautiful this time of year, of course, so are the mountains here in northern Colorado, but you asked for no crowds, and we definitely have the crowds here. I was in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP)the 18th and 19th of July. Extremely beautiful and the wildlife abounded, but the parking lots are usually all full and people are everywhere, and upon exiting the park I couldn't help but notice the line of cars extending over a mile long (no exageration) waiting to get into the park. Southern Colorado tends to be much less crowded though, try areas around Teluride and Ouray. Of course, it also depends on where you want to stay, if you want to be in motels, then you might have a problem, but a 4wd and camping gear can get you out into no mans land quickly down there, but that is also where some of the most beautiful scenic's are as well. <p> My other suggestion would be the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is an often overlooked area, which I like since not a lot of people go there, but it provides some stunning beauty and wildlife. Close to the Black Hills are the Badlands (but here you deal with 100+ temperatures most of the time) and of course Mt. Rushmoore is nearby, but lots of people there. Also of interest would be Devils Tower, Wyoming which is certainly within distance of the Black Hills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm_thompson Posted July 31, 1998 Share Posted July 31, 1998 Well, I have to agree with those suggesting Idaho as a great mid-summer place for great photos! Not many people at most of the sites I have been to. Panhandle National Forest, Targhee and Challis all have great things to see and photograph! I am from the central Texas area..it is very hot for certain...and most of the flora and fauna is struggling and not at it's best, but the granite features of the hill country in the Burnet/Marble Falls/Llano area are still worth seeing and photographing at this time of year:-) although the bluebonnets in April still are the prize *s* for those areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zack_lau Posted August 3, 1998 Share Posted August 3, 1998 If you can't stand crowds the 1.2 mile hike to Bluff Point in Groton, CT thins them out. If you don't mind being watched by birders with spotting scopes on the boardwalk--try Milford Point CT; yesterday I explained to one of the locals why photographers take so many shots. Not the place for landscapes with the 20mm--use a longer lense to edit out civilization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ_arcuri Posted August 3, 1998 Share Posted August 3, 1998 Showing my regional bias -- The Adirondacks are very nice this time of year, and they meet all your requirements. You can get some very nice landscape shots, as well as birds and other wildlife. If you pass near Utica, give me a call - I'm in the book. See <a href="http://www.adirondacks.com/">http://www.adirondacks.com/</a> for ideas about a trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ_arcuri Posted August 3, 1998 Share Posted August 3, 1998 Bob, I should clarify one point -- you can meet the "no crowds" requirement in the Adirondacks if you follow two guidelines: 1. The middle of the week is better than the weekends; and 2. Avoid the real hot spots like Lake Placid, Lake George, and Old Forge. Traveling 15 miles outside of these areas will cut down on the crowds by 90% or more. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus_erne Posted October 6, 1998 Share Posted October 6, 1998 Bob, I am curious ! <p> What did you do this summer? Were you able to find THE NON-PLUS-ULTRA site with pleasant temperatures, with no crowds, with cheap lodging, covering all the differrent facettes of nature photography and resulting in a great sales increase of your work ??? ;-) <p> No kidding, I am always looking for a nice (cooler) place to go myself during summer. Preferably in the 60-80 F range and blue skies, of course. ;-) <p> Marcus <p> Marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_wasserman Posted September 30, 2000 Share Posted September 30, 2000 Reading this thread we decided to go to the San Juans and Vancouver Island for a labor day trip. It turned out to be a great time to go and wasn't too awfully crowded. For specifics see http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0010TV&topic_id=34&topic=Nature%20Photography Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erick_lamontagne Posted October 1, 2000 Share Posted October 1, 2000 Minguan Archipelago National Park, located on the north shore of the St-Lawrence river in Quebec. Not exactly in the US, but it does meet all other Bob's requirements. The park being on the islands, most tourists are visiting them during daytime, when the light is too harsh anyway. There's is two ways to avoid the crowd: Stay on a island between two interpretive tours and you'll have the place for yourself or even better yet: camp on the islands, you'll have to share it with few other campers and you'll be there for the magic hours. As for things to photograph, the islands are out of this world. Seabirds, whales, intriguing rock formations and what amazed me the most, the flora. The parks is on the islands and the taxi boats are operated by private companies, so it can be tricky to understand. If anyone wants to go, you can send me an e-mail and I'll be glad to give more specific info. I'll be going again next summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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