Christmas holiday and location

[leeuwtje]

Hi,

 

Two years ago during the summer I visited some NP (Yellowstone,

Bryce, Zion, Yosemity, etc)in the States. It was great.

 

This year I have some holiday left during Christmas. Can you travel

in these NP during december? Is it nice? Not too cold?

 

What would be an other (warmer) suggestions in the USA? I'm mainly a

landscape man and not much a bird man.

 

Thanks

Mark

The Netherlands

[thomas_t]

Mark,

Parts of Yellowstone are certainly open in the winter, and in fact, you might really appreciate the lack of people during this slower season. Transportation is usually through Bozeman to your place of lodging and then via snowmobile or large tractor buses (not sure what they are called) in the park itself. Delightful season to see one of the greatest parks in the world. If you check on the national parks services site, you should find winter information. It is cold, but nothing that goretex and fleece won't take care of. Cheers.

[ShunCheung]

You certainly went to the right places for landsacpe photography, but those places are quite different in the winter. Yellowstone is beautiful but cold in the winter. You need to travel on snow-mobiles. Bryce is extemely cold in the winter since it is at high altitute, over 8000 feet. Zion and Yosemite are not as cold in the winter. Last Christmas I spent 3 days at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was very cold at sun rise, in the single-digits Farenheit, about -10 or so Celcius. But it warms up pretty quickly and by 9am or so I only needed a light jacket. I have been to Amsterdam in January. If you are used to that kind of weather, you should be ok. Just watch out for snow storms where you can get stuck in the wild. With snow-convered peaks, the landscape is beautiful in a lot of those parks and it is very different from the summer view.

 

One of the most popular destination in the winter is of course Florida, but that is a location much better for bird photography than landscape.

[john_demott]

You might want to consider Death Valley NP and other locations in the desert, such as Joshua Tree NP. There is great landscape photography in Death Valley and weather is usually very pleasant in winter (unlike summer when it is unbearably hot). If you are interested, go to the Luminous Landscape Web site and search for articles about Death Valley. Many other photography web sites have information also, as does the National Park Service.

[greg s]

If you happen to end up in California (Death Valley, Joshua Tree as mentioned), then plan on visiting Owens Valleys too. The valley is at the east foot of the Sierra Nevada range, the weather is usually mild in the winter, and the view of the Sierras is fantastic. The valley floor is low elevation (just a few thousand feet or so) with the highest peaks at over 14,000 feet. Death Valley is just a 2 hr drive east from there. Check out web sites for the towns of Lone Pine, Big Pine, Bishop, etc.

[stemked]

I once read an old Russian Proverb:" There is no such thing as cold weather, just bad clothes".

 

Ok, I'll admit I like being out in miserable weather, and dress for it too. But if you are coming to the States are are really looking for pleasent warm shooting I'd higly suggest Flordia. The west coast offers Sanibel Island; a great place to shoot shells and lots of wading birds with other surprises thrown in. The Southern tip of the State offers the Everglades NP and it really is a no-miss place for wildlife (Alligators, lots of bird life, etc.) and marshy landscapes. The Keys are best shot underwater, but there are some scattered above water spots on some of the more isolated Keys worth checking out. The Dry Tortugas National Park is reported to be lovely although I've never been there myself, it's a little tough to get to.

[karl_lehmann]

For great landscapes in the US with warm weather at Christmas, I would also suggest southern Arizona (Organ Pipe and Saguaro National Parks, Superstition Wilderness, etc.) or any place in Hawaii. One of the most spectacular places with easy access is the Na Pali coast of Kauai.<p>Karl Lehmann <a href="http://www.lostworldarts.com/new_page_3.htm">Lost World Arts</a><div></div>

[Two23]

I sometimes visit Yellowstone in winter, partly because I live reasonably close. While it's nice, I mostly shoot black & white there in the winter. I don't consider it to be cold, but then I live in a place even colder, LOL! It is quite expensive in the winter. I think I'd rather go to see places like Mesa Verde in Colorado (ancient Indian apartment houses) that time of year since it will be cool and not crowde. Also, places like Canyon de Chelly in New Mexico and the large parks in eastern Utah. While I love the really frigid parts of the world and shoot more in the winter than the summer, I suspect most people would enjoy the area of southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, and eastern Utah more. And hey, how about the Grand Canyon down in Arizona? It's spectacular and not as crowded then. I don't think the North Rim is open but I might be wrong.

 

 

Kent in SD

[craig_gillette]

Something to keep in mind is that this is a holiday/vacation period for most American schools and there is a lot of travel congestion at popular areas. So in park accomodations may be more difficult to reserve, etc. Also, in the higher elevation areas of the west, many roads are closed for the winter. Much of the Yosemite high country is closed off but the valley area, redwood groves (usually) and part of the Glacier Point road would be open, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed but South Rim is open, etc. Zion is less impacted than Bryce. There are many parts of the southwest that are much more accessible or comfortable in winter than summer, like the desert Parks (Death Valley and Joshua Tree as noted). Most of the National Parks have extensive websites and related groups also post a great deal of helpful information on travel. The Monterey/Big Sur area is likely to be nice although storms are possible.