The Axelrod’s “Top Ten” National Parks in the USA- Part 1
- Mar 6, 2023
- 9 min read
If you have been following our blogs you probably already know how much we love our National Parks system. They are all true American dreams... yes, all of them! During our journey we have been to thirty-eight National Historical sites including sixteen National Parks. Still it's not easy to come up with a "Top Ten" even when you're only judging 10 out of 16. Uh-Uh! It was difficult as heck!. We did narrow down our "Top Ten". in order, and here's how we did it.
After much discussion and passionate negotiation between us we were struggling to totally agree on our "Top Ten" order. So, we went to a number system to help break the ties and finalize our order. We judged each of our ten NP's on a 1-5 basis on fun, landscape, wildlife, picturesque, hiking and bike trails, and driving availability. Then, we needed an additional tie-breaker for the last six because there were numerous ties. So, on that same 1-5 basis, separately, we gave each NP an overall rating, on an individual basis. Here's what we came up with and we hope you enjoy it.
#10 Grand Canyon in Arizona
Surprise-Surprise! Yes, it's number ten! We thoroughly loved our visit to the Grand Canyon (herein referenced as GC) so don't miss interpret this number ranking as a negative. It's truly BIG-UPS to the other Nine. The GC has wonderful marketing and PR behind it but being completely honest, it's a HUGE hole, viewed at a hundred different angels. Now, let's be fair, each and every view of the Canyon is close to magnificent but it still is numero diez in our "Top Ten". You can check out the scores below of the GC and of the following four as well.
We went to fourteen different overlooks, viewpoints, towers, and points while there.
On our first day, we entered by the main entrance of the South Rim and went to the Visitor Center. That day we did the two mile stroll from Mather Point to Yavapai Point ending at the Village. All the views of the 18 mile wide canyon were remarkable. Other highlights of the stroll also included Lookout Studio, with additional stops at the Hopi House, Kolb Studio and The Tolovar Hotel. All were in the village at the end of the 2 mile walk with the close of the hike was us watching a beautiful sunset.
The 25 mile Dessert View Drive was the best way to access most of other viewpoints and all were by car. They also had a shuttle that was pretty convenient to see the western portion of the park.
Dessert View Drive was awesome. Every angle and at every different landing and overlook gives you a different view of the one mile deep, 277 mile wide Canyon. One distraction, especially for Kathy, was all the people who would go over the path borders to get the best picture or selfie. It was unbelievable how many people were willing to take a risk to get their best picture. Not us! uht-uh!
In all fairness, it was snowy and icy while we were there so we didn't take advantage of any of the canyon hikes or trails and the forecast was for more snow so we left a day earlier than planned.
#9 Badlands-South Dakota We did the Badlands National Park visit on our way back from Connecticut in our car-ride back to Idaho Falls. Where we had left our RV earlier. It was a great stop! Why? Cause the Badlands are Bad-Ass! Buffalo (locals call them Bison), antelope, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs roaming throughout our visit. Very soon after we entered the park we saw three of the first four wild animals. Holy wildlife Batman! It was a great start to the adventure!
We came back to the park after a day of touring to see the sunset and this is what we ran into as soon as we re-entered. Wow! Wow! Wow!
As we drove through the park we had a handful of great stops. The first one is below and was of these two guys walking out on to a dangerous divide at Pinnacle Overlook. We stuck around to see if they safely returned...or fell. We then told them that we admired their work but thinking to ourselves how stupid they were. That was stupid and crazy! We did tell them how we appreciated the entertainment though. Other stops included Notch Trailhead, Prairie Wind, Bigfoot Pass and Yellow Mounds Overlooks, all seen below.
The Badlands had alot of personality and the coolest thing about it was the upfront and close proximity to all the splendid wildlife. Below is our upfront and personal Antelope experience. It was very cool!
#8 Zion-Utah Zion starts the run of three National Parks in Utah that gave us three bang-bang-bang awesome "Top Ten" NP visits back-to-back-to-back. This park had it all going on except for wildlife and the best way to get around the park was only by shuttle. Not the most convenient. We like to do our own thing and not to be hanging around waiting for a bus. It was a hop-on and hop-off shuttle which was cool but it limits your coming and going a bit as compared to driving your car and coming and going on your own time.
The first seven pics below were taken on the drive from the entrance to the Visitor Center. We always like to take advantage and chat with the available expert Park Rangers and get park advice at every park Visitor Center. The drive was pretty spectacular and we made a handful of stops along the way to take it all in.
The entry Tunnel above cut through a mountain formation that had to be three or four football fields long. It was hard to fathom them cutting through all that rock. It was an impressive feat, we admired it as we drove through.
This park coming in at #8 was Kathy's struggle. You can see from the pics above why she struggled with Zion coming in at numero ocho. The last four pics above were from us at the Narrows which is a nine mile trail through the mountains along, and through, the Colorado River. We didn't know about the Narrows prior to getting there. People were wading through the water which we chose not to do. We didn't want to walk in wet shoes the rest of the day. Not knowing that people prepare for this hike by wearing special footwear. We missed it! Next time, but we did enjoy taking the Kenyatta Trail (pics above) to the Narrows. After that first day of also hitting the Temple of Sinawava, Big Bend, The Grotto, West Rim Trail, and Zion Lodge, When hiking the West Rim Trail we ran into some young adults who were admiring Brad's Phillies hat. A couple of them were from Philly so we chatted with the group who were heading down the decline from Angel's Landing.
Along with the Narrows, Angels Landing is the Piece de Resistance of Zion. To get there you have to hike your ass-off and then you also need to have a reservation. Since we didn't have either we took an alternate route. After talking with the kids from Philly we started our decent from the base of Angel's Landing.
This day we really took on the shuttle. Where as of yesterday, we hit like one shuttle stop cause the entrance to the park was stop after stop. The highlight of this day was our 4-5 mile hike to the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools Trails. They were fantastic! It was pay-0ff after pay-off the higher we ascended. Initially we didn't intend to do the entire hike but we couldn't stop. Its was too magnificent, and, Kathy rocked this hike. It wasn't easy and she killed it!
After the Emerald Pool Trail hike we headed back through the Riverside Walk back to the shuttle. This video was the climax of the Emerald Pool hike to the uppermost part of the adventure. You'll dig it!
Our day also consisted of the Zion Human History Museum, Court of the Patriarchs and 1/2 of Canyon Overlook were additional visits to mention.
#7 Arches-Utah Arches was a landscape cornucopia of wonder. Wow! It was a true wonder of rock formations that were absolutely breathtaking. There was quite a long line to get into the park but after entering it was all good. No more waiting in lines and plenty of additional parking with zero wait times to any of the sites.
Arches started off nicely with the first stop being the Park Avenue Viewpoint. Here's the pics so you can see why it's called what it is.
Next driving stops included La Sal Mountains View Point (VP for all Viewpoints after this), Courthouse Towers VP, Balanced Rock and the Ancient Sand Dunes,
For the next part of our visit, it was time to get out of the car and do some hiking. We went to a handful of breathtaking arches. They included Turret Arch, The North and South Windows and then the Double Arch to close off the day's view of these spectacular rock formations. Wait, it gets even better!
Day two in Arches was fantastic. After a picnic lunch at Panoramic Point we stopped at Salt Valley Overlook. Pretty, but believe it or not, not the highlight of the day...just the beginning.
Here come the highlights of our Arches adventures...first, below, is Sand Dune Arch..
This stop was unbelievable. The second pic above is the Sand Dune Arch about 200 feet away, behind Kathy. That'll give you a perspective of how huge these mountaininous fins are. Then, once in the fins, it's an all sand floor in between these massive formations. This stop was a ten on a 1-10.
Next, we took a 3 mile roundtrip hike to Broken Arch. Here are pics from start to finish.
It was a short hike to Skyline Arch. You can only hike to the base of this arch which was skyscraper high.
On a whim, our last stop of the day was Devil's Gardens which Kathy hiked in her flip flops. Yep, flip-flops in Devils Garden to Tunnel and Pine Tree Arches. It was a goof!
Believe it or not, Arches only got a 4 out of 5 for landscape and on picturesque in the Kathy/Brad scorecard. Our next NP, number six, gets a 5 out of 5 in both categories so don't bail now. Check these next set of pictures. You'll be glad you did!
#6 Bryce Canyon-Utah Bryce Canyon NP was a half an hour drive from our remote but splendid Lutherwood Campground. We purposely chose this campground because it is in-between both Bryce and Zion.
Before you get to Bryce Canyon NP, you have to drive through Red Canyon National Forest which is a beautiful appetizer prior to the main course. We drove through it all six times when visiting and departing from the NP. We stopped in our car the last visit and got a closer look.
Our first adventure at this NP was us walking and touring the Bryce Amphitheater. It's an extended walkway with numerous, splendid stops, with magnificent viewpoints of the canyon. Truly breathtaking views. Our first stop was at Sunrise Point.
Our second stop at the Amphitheater was Sunset Point. The video below does the experience more justice than the still pics of Sunrise Point above.
If Brad didn't goof up the introduction of the Sunrise video below we would have posted it without the stills.
Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Fairyland Point and Paria View were the other four stops in our Amphitheater tour. Our initial intentions were to hike Navajo Loop but instead we took the shortcut and only did the short Wall St. walk.
Paria View below was the last stop for us in the Bryce Amphitheater adventure..
On our second day we took the 18 mile Southern Scenic Drive. We started at the highest point of the drive, and worked our way down. That first stop was at Yovimpa Point and the 9115 foot Rainbow Point.
The next two stops Ponderosa Point and Agua Canyon. The Natural Bridge pic is just a tease to the video of the same.
Fairview Point, Piracy Point and Swamp Canyon were the next three stops on our driving tour. The pics might look similar from picture to picture but in person they're different in many ways. Prettier than the Grand Canyon.
We ended up that part of the journey at Bryce Canyon Lodge above. Mossy Cave Trail was a 15-20 minute drive on RT 63 to RT 12. It was a glorious last stop on our Bryce Canyon visit. Check out this video and you'll see what we mean.
It was a wonderful hike to this little waterfall. We were criss-crossing the stream with stupendous views , bridges, and natural walking paths.
Well, that's five of our Axelrod "Top Ten" National Parks. When we started writing this blog we anticipated including all ten National Parks. We didn't know that six through ten were going to include over 250 pictures and 15 videos. Hence, why one through five is going to be a seperate blog. It wasn't a pre-conceived plan or marketing ploy, it just happened.
Here's the scorecard we promised to show you.
By the way, if you want more National Park videos click here for our Axelrod Travel Blog YouTube page witch has 167 of our NP clips.
Any shares and likes appreciated.
So, to make our top five more fun, we're going to have a contest. Guess what the Axelrod top five are and win! Try to guess them in order and if you get them right we'll fly you out to our next stop at our expense. We'll give up our king size bed and we'll sleep in our other room. All at our expense....HAHAHAHA...just kidding about the prize but we can still have fun at you guessing our top five National Parks and... put them in order for the goof!
Thanks for following our journey and thanks for reading down this far. Much love! Please say prayers and give blessings to Brad's 88 year old Mom while we are staying with her and our family here in St. Petersburg. On a much lesser note...Go Birds! Let's Fly...and Beat those 49ers!
More Love, Kathy and Brad
Ok I’m getting to this - I’ve kept the posts in my Inbox since I saw y’all here in CT!!! I’ve never been to any, or visited that area. But my sister just did it lastbyear and judging from what she said, I think she’d agree with you assessment. I definitely want to do those UT parks. So beautiful.
I recall my parents driving cross country and I swear one of the highlights of their tour was the. Badlands. that wide open view to eternity is breathtaking! I wanna see that too!
Love this guys. Well done! Also love that Brad represented Philly in all the NP’s! Looking forward to 1-5.