Travel Ideas

In the words of Wallace Stegner national parks were ‘America’s best idea’ as ‘they reflect us at our best, not at our worst’, hinting that the donation of beuatiful areas of the country as an unalienable right of the citizens was one of the few instances when democracy has proven itself worthy of the name.

First of all, forget the notion of a park. The areas covered are huge and you won’t have a ranger sitting on your shoulder to make sure you’re not skinning up a joint.
Furthermore, the nature in the US can be utterly spectacular and the word park just signifies that no one can build there. In fact, the national park system of the US completely belies the crass American culture now exported around the world.

Admittedly, some of the national parks have been turned into little more than amusement parks in nature with ‘fun for all the family’ and, predictably, these tend to be the ones closest to the larger cities. If you want to really get out into nature then you need to check out some of the lesser-known options such as Great Basin Natural Park in Nevada or the Haida Heritage Site in British Colombia.

The national parks do have entry fees which can vary wildly so you might want to check that out in advance. They’re huge enough though that you can disappear into them and forget that there are any other homo sapiens close by. Some national parks have chain motels but there are also camp sites where you can stay cheaply.

Go to nps.gov for a list and description of all US national parks

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