Dreaming of landscapes & wildlife - which National Parks and what time of year for first visit?

[mike_scott2]

Most of my travel in the last 10 years has either been along the East

Coast (US) or overseas to Britain. My photographs from a recent

vacation in England's Lake District really have me thinking it's time

to experience our Western National Parks - Yosemite, Yellowstone,

etc., so I'd like to start planning a trip with my wife (who's also a

photographer). I'm thinking that late spring or early fall (to avoid

summer crowds) would be the best time of year for a first visit� but

where to go first?

 

What I'm asking is, given a week's vacation, what has been your

favorite National Park to visit and photograph, what time of year and

why?

 

This is a chance for you, fellow photonetters, to relive memorable

encounters and even brag a little by sharing images and stories. I'm

hoping we can have fun with this one, so please don't reply with "why

don't you search the archives, etc." I've read through a lot of

material in the archives and have been surfing the web for more, but

I'd like to get a lengthy thread started - a survey almost - on this

subject, so that I (and others too) may learn from those who have gone

before�

[gene_anderson1]

Several immediately leap to my mind:</P>

 

(1) Glacier NP in summer - great flowers, mountains, water, clouds, wildlife...</P>

 

(2) Yosemite <i>not</i> in summer - summer has <b>big</b> crowds, and while you can escape them, as a first time visitor you'll want to go a lot of the places they go. Spring, Fall and Winter have better color, better water falls, and much smaller crowds. A couple of my favorite Yosemite images during late fall, <a href="http://www.designsinlight.com/cgi-bin/photo_search.cgi?setup_file=photo1.setup.cgi&submit_search=yes&image=CA99-090-10.jpg&display=yes">here</a> and <a href="http://www.designsinlight.com/cgi-bin/photo_search.cgi?setup_file=photo1.setup.cgi&submit_search=yes&image=CA99-092-03.jpg&display=yes">here</a>. None posted from winter yet, but Yosemite is very beautiful then, too. With a whole week there, you can spend some time in the high country of Yosemite (as long as you're not there in winter), too.

[ryan_taylor1]

Mike:

 

Your post seems to indicate that you are interested in visiting one park for a week. I think this is a very good idea. I meet lots of people who try to pack in two or even three parks in a week. What a waste. In my opinion you can't really even see one park in a week. However, given the limited time of a week or two I think the best strategy is to visit one park and explore it as much as possible. I always find that to be much more rewarding than only scratching the surface a many different places.

 

Anyway, my vote for western parks is Rocky Mountain Nat. Park. The summer is crowded but I found it very easy to get away from crowds just by hiking a couple of miles away from the "hotspots". Summer is great for alpine flowers, birds, deer, elk and small mammals. Early fall in RMNP is a great time to watch the elk rut. One third of the entire park is above treeline (8,000 feet) so the altitude may take a bit of getting used to if you want to see some of the really beautiful areas along the hiking trails. Coming from sea-level, it took a little adjustment but it didn't really bother me too much. Looking back, I can't remember, was it the altitude or the scenery that left me breathless?

[ShunCheung]

Mike, you are asking a very broad question. I think you should take a look at the archives in this forum, as there has been a lot of discussion about many many different national parks in the US. If you want <B>both</B> landscape and wildlife, how about the most famous: the combination of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, which are adjecent, should be an excellent one-week trip. As it is the case in Yosemite, I would avoid the summer crowd though. The bottom of the main page for the Nature Forum has links to several location articles, including Yellowstone.

[clarke_ross]

Like the previous contributor, my vote goes to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. The last week of May or first week of June you will be ahead of most of the large crowds and the wildlife will still be very visable, but they will be sheding winter coats and look pretty ratty. The coats will be better in the fall, but I can't tell you how visable they will be in that time period since I haven't yet been there in rutting season.

 

Although not in this country, you should also put Baniff & Jasper on your list with the emphasis on Jasper. The first week of June or fall rutting season would be best. The scenery is great and wildlife very visable.

[steve_thompson]

If you want to get WOWWED go the Teton-Yellowstone route. Plan to be at the Tetons on Sept.25 for peak colors in the Aspen. Be fore warned this date varies from year to year but it should get you good color somewhere in the park. Be sure to be at the Oxbow at sunrise a day or two. Also try some of the overlooks along the Snake river, Ansel Adams made some great photos there. Maybe try to set up for sunset on the dam on Jackson Lake for reflections in the water & Mountains in silhouette for a background. Mid day try to find the quintessential landscape, with the old barn in the foreground and Mountains in the background. hint get back aways and use a telephoto to make the mountains appear grand.

 

About wednesday morning load up and do the sunrise shoot and head towards Yellowstone. Shoot along the way maybe stop at West Yellowstone and see the sites a hour or so should do it. While at Yellowstone I have found it better to stay in the North end if you Motel it try Gardiner. From there you have very good opportunity for Elk and Moose in the Rut. Be in the field before sunrise, look for other photographers or if you are first to find animals you will soon have company. Not to worry it is not so crowded as to annoy. If you have not found something by the time you get to Norris jct. try as far as Madison jct. If you still have not seen anything go back the way you came they are there. Near the North entrance antelope are possible, wear leather boot to avoid the cactus. Towards the end of your stay you may get lucky and find some Bighorn sheep again near Gardiner.

 

Atleast that is how my last trip to the area turned out thanks for getting me to think about that experience again. Hope you decide to give it a try. I recommend it highly.

[tom_hill1]

Mike,

 

I have to make a second for Jasper and Banff. With the Canadian dollar the way it is, a vacation in Canada is quite reasonable. I've been to these parks almost a dozen times on weekends and weeklong trips and have never been disappointed with the wildlife. I usually go with the goal of shooting a particular animal. About 50% of the time I get the animal or I see something else that easily takes its place. Two weekends ago I spent seven hours photographing a Bald Eagle nest at nest level from a 70 meters away. Very exciting event and very accessible from the standard roads. I haven't heard of anyone being disappointed with their trip to these parks.

 

One side note. The rut is peaks end of September and Early October. Colors are not east coast incredible but they look great with the Elk, Big Horned Sheep, or what have you.

 

If you want more particulars drop me a line.

 

Tom Hill

[doug andrews]

I think the National Parks in southern Utah are a fantastic place for photography. I spent a week in early October in all of the parks, which was entirely too short. I particularly liked Arches and Canyonlands. An infinite choice of slickrock vistas. Sunrise and sunset are fantastic there as the light turns the sandstone a molten lava red. I photographed the most spectacular sunrise I ever witnessed at Bryce Canyon. Not much in the way of wildlife, but that was okay because I was too busy with all the landscape opportunities. Being from the east coast, the landscape was almost surreal in its starkness. I think late April or early May would be good for desert wildflowers juxtaposed with the canyons and arches. This country is what wide angle lenses were made for.

[bobatkins]

There's no doubt that if you want Landscapes AND Wildlife, Yellowstone is the best place to visit. I'd pick early fall (sept) to see the Elk in rut. The other suggested parks are great too, but you won't see the amount of wildlife (well, at least Elk and Bison, more if you work at it!) that you will in Yellowstone.

[gooseff]

Also worth checking out is Great Basin National Park. I have been there in July and it was fantastic. The contrast that this lush mountain park has with its salt-flat desert surroundings are incredible. The jouney there is hot, but GBNP is quite alpine and refreshingly green.

 

I think one other thing needs to be said, overall any park is beautiful at almost anytime of year.

 

If you really want to photograph elk in thier rutting season, then time and place are a bit more restrictive. Rocky Mountain National Park is fantastic anytime of year, but there are far fewer people from October to early May. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are also superb - again, rightfully crowded in the summers. Southern Utah has magnificent vistas, but can be nearly unbearable from May through August if you don't enjoy the heat. Don't rule out Olympic National Park. The ecosystems within the park boundaries of ONP are incredible.

 

If you go to a national park expecting solitude, serenity, and great weather, you may be disappointed unless you know where to go within the park and you get luck with the weather. But if you go to any national park with an open mind and few absolute expectations, you will experience nature to some degree and find many interesting subjects to photograph - even in rain, sleet or snow.

 

Don't just visit one, see them all, experience them all.

[mike_scott2]

Thanks to everyone who replied, at this point it's a toss-up between Yosemite & Yellowstone. I'm working weekend shoots (graduations) for the next six weeks just to put $$ in the travel kitty, and I'll do more reading, etc. before I decide.

 

My long-term goal _is_ to experience them all...

[john lehman, college alask]

One thing to consider on timing is that many of the trails in the northern mountain parks (Wyoming on north) are still blocked by snow until mid to late June. Also, much of the wildlife sheds winter coats in June, which can make for unphotogenic pictures. This makes early Fall more attractive.

 

I would put in another strong suggestion for Jasper. It is less crowded, and both the scenery and the wildlife are great (stopped there last summer while enroute to the Northwest Territories).

[piaw]

I've been to Yellowstone, Glacier NP, Yosemite, Jasper, Banff, and Waterton Lakes NP, mostly before I was a serious photographer. Rather than try to see too many places at one go, I'd go to one place and get to learn it really well. If you have a couple of weeks, you could easily explore Yellowstone thoroughly --- in many cases, the best photographic opportunities happen when you get to know an area really well. (See Brandenberg's "Chased By The Light" to see what I mean --- he shot the same subjects over and over)

 

Fall after labor day is probably the best time to go! Fall colors start to show mid-late September, and the crowds are gone. Campgrounds open up (I remember spending 2 nights at a backcountry site with my parents --- only 4 miles away from the trailhead, but we had the place to ourselves next to a hotspring and a stream, with Bison walking through the campsite every night), and you really have the run of the place.

 

Of the parks, Glacier/Waterton Lakes NP probably has the most spectacular opportunities. But I didn't get enough time in Yellowstone to do it justice, and it was gorgeous too.

 

I like Yosemite, but it's frequently crowded because it's a bit too close to the Bay Area. Go there in Spring for spectacular waterfalls. Go there in the fall to get away from the crowds. Between Banff and Jasper NP, I would pick Jasper, since it's got more room, less crowds. These are very pretty places, but I was there in late August and it didn't have the same impact on me as it might have in the fall.

[ann_lee]

Hi Mike,

 

I have been to only a couple of national parks, and of course all of them are great. Of the parks I went to which includes Yosemite, Olympic, Mt Rainier, Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon, I like Zion the best. Zion in the fall is amazing, absolutely amazing. I missed the fall last time I went when the leaves are changing colors. If you have never went to Zion it is very beautiful. I like it more than Yosemite. It is amazing, amazing. Vertical red cliffs, vistas and mesas, rivers and canyons, puffy clouds galore. Check out some times to go in the fall when the leaves are turning. I have some aweful pictures at my site, some point and shoot stuff (literally):

 

http://carcassi.eng.uci.edu/intropictures.htm

 

Good Luck,

[stevierose]

Wow, what a question!! If you want the most bang for the buck for

landscape AND wildlife, I agree that Yellowstone/Grand Teton is

the choice. Go in September.

 

If you want to go someplace that will have you shooting photos

all day long because of the awesome wierd beauty of the place

go to Zion and Bryce. It's like stepping off of a spaceship onto

another planet. Go in spring of fall. Summer is too hot and

crowded.

[roger___3]

Mike, I shall offer contrarian point of view, though many of the suggestions above are great. National Parks by my experience ten to be over-crowded, over-used, and the prominent attractions are over-photographed. I you want to bring back a trophy photo or two these are great choices. If you really want to "experience" the West and use some artistic imagination to get some nice photos there are much better ways to go about it. The library or bookstore would be a good starting point. For example if your thinking about the Monument Valley, Bryce or Zion, also consider the Valley of the Gods in southern Utah as a better alternative. If your thinking about Mesa Verde, the Ute Tribal Park is a better choice. How about the Nebraska Sandhills, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or how about the Rawahs in N. Colorado or the Black Hills in SD as opposed to RMNP. How about inquiring to the Nature Conservancy about some of their holdings. Make it an adventure. (Maybe I've said too much - I would like to keep these places uncrowded). roger

[the lone ranger]

of all the parks ive been to, olympic has the most variety. alpine scenery, rugged ocean coasts, rain forests, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, valleys. wildflowers. extreme weather...