| Favorite U.S. Parks @ Pickatrail.com: |
| 1. Yosemite National Park (CA)—This is a favorite park during the winter and spring. I haven't pulled an RV into this park, so I can't comment on the experience, but I have camped here in tents and stayed at the Lodge. It's all good. Half Dome, the Ahwahnee, it's all here. You can watch the waterfalls from a distance, at the valley floor, or take a short hike to Vernal Falls and see one up-close. |
| 2. Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)—I've stayed in this park for weeks at a time. I hiked the Bright Angel Trail, the Rim Trail and many others. There's a lot of wildlife to see. The campgrounds are reasonably priced, there's an RV dump station, showers and laundry facilities. On the South Rim there's also a lodge, grocery store, and restaurants. |
| 3. Yellowstone National Park (WY)—Like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone is a huge park. The buffalo roam free here, it's awesome. There's a lot of trails in the park, both long-distance and short day hikes. And of course there's the geysers, which everyone should see at least once in their life. |
| 4. Mesa Verde National Park (CO)—This is an amazing, unique park. Last time I was here, I took an early tour of the cliff dwellings and there was only eight people in the group. During the tour we had to climb wooden ladders and crawl through narrow tunnels, it was a lot of fun. And the cost of the tour was just a few dollars. There's plenty of trails in the park where you can get away from the crowds. The park campgrounds are clean, they have a free dump station for the RV, free showers and free WiFi at the camp store and cafe. |
| 5. Great Sand Dunes National Park (CO)—The name of this park describes itself well, there are really great sand dunes here. I stayed at the park campground and hiked the dunes. It's a dog-friendly park, so you can take your pet with you to the top of the dunes. |
| Favorite Trails @ Pickatrail.com: |
| 1. The Tahoe Rim Trail (NV)—I haven't hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail completely, instead I've taken many day hikes and visited different sections of the loop, mainly on the Nevada side. |
| 2. The South West Coast Path (UK)—In 2004 I wrote a 96-page trail guide about the Dorset and East Devon sections of this trail. You can read the online version of the printed trail guide here: Backpacking England. |
| 3. The Deep Ravine Trail in Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (MT)— This is a very short, wheelchair friendly trail with markers that document a battle in 1876 between the United States and Native American Indians. The Lakota and Cheyenne united and defeated the U.S. Army's invasion of their homeland. It is sad what occurred here, but I include it in this list of favorites because of its history. |
| 4. The Red Beds Trail at Devils Tower National Monument (WY)—This trail circles the tower, a distance of about 3 miles. I hiked the South Side Trail from the park campground and connected to the Red Beds Trail. If you want to see Praire Dogs, the South Side trail or the Valley View trail are excellent places to see hundreds of them. |
| 5. I've hiked the Valencia Peak Trail in Montana de Oro State Park (CA) hundreds of times, during the evening and daytime. There's beautiful views of California's central coast at the top. |
