Hiking/Camping Query: Where To Go Out West To See Big Trees And Bears
Yo, JQ and I are headed out west before the summer's over. We'll be doing some hiking in the Rockies, but also want to get farther out west. With the exception of last year's Grand Canyon hike, I've never done any hiking farther west than the Rockies (ridiculous, I know, but it's a fact).
What I really want to see is BIG TREES, and I wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of a grizzly. The first place that comes to mind is Yosemite...but that's probably the first place that comes to everyone's mind, and I'm wondering whether anyone knows of anyplace that might be less crowded. (Or perhaps Yosemite isn't crowded...I have no idea, really.)
Any info or suggestions would be great.
Yo, JQ and I are headed out west before the summer's over. We'll be doing some hiking in the Rockies, but also want to get farther out west. With the exception of last year's Grand Canyon hike, I've never done any hiking farther west than the Rockies (ridiculous, I know, but it's a fact).
What I really want to see is BIG TREES, and I wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of a grizzly. The first place that comes to mind is Yosemite...but that's probably the first place that comes to everyone's mind, and I'm wondering whether anyone knows of anyplace that might be less crowded. (Or perhaps Yosemite isn't crowded...I have no idea, really.)
Any info or suggestions would be great.
posted by Winston Smith at
8:49 AM
9 Comments:
Yosemite valley is extremely crowded, Tuolumne meadows is somewhat crowded, but there's a lot of good territory (like Little Yosemite Valley--you will see bears there.)
But there's any number of parks you can go to:
Olympic Peninsula.
Sequoia.
Kings Canyon
Cascade
...
Yosemite tends to be crowded in the summertime, and isn't where you'll find the biggest trees CA and this planet have to offer.
I would suggest Sequoia National Park, which isn't too far from where I live, or Big Basin on the coast by Santa Cruz, where you can see redwoods that aren't as big as those in Sequoia National but are pretty impressive of themselves.
Yo thanks guys will check these places out!
I agree with Pete about Sequoia - the redwood forests are amazing. One of my favorite places on the planet (despite my lack of a very wide frame of reference, I think it still carries some weight). If you've never been to a redwood forest, you must go.
I would also recommend Sequoia. I went there last year and the trees are worth the trip. I don't know how busy it is around this time though.
Winston,
Sounds like you're not really up for going that far, but Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies may be the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. In fact even more impressive and less crowded than its better known neighbor Banff Park.
Last summer we saw a huge grizzly just walking along the side of the road there, and it supposedly has one of the larger populations of them.
The trees are nowhere near as impressive as the NoCal ones (esp. Sequoia Nat'l Pk as others have pointed out, or Muir Woods), but the glaciers are amazing.
Just another idea...But enjoy wherever you go.
Ooh, if you do end up down near Santa Cruz, you owe it to yourself to drive little farther down and check out Big Sur, south of Monterey.
And, of course, if you end up in the SF Bay Area, and have a free evening, you and JQ are invited over for dinner.
---Myca
Thanks Jared, thanks LC.
Thanks Myca--that's super cool of you.
I'll let you know what the final decision turns out to be.
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