It’s common advice that to enjoy our ever more-crowded national parks, you should wait until the summer travel season ends following Labor Day, which occurred just a week ago this year.
While this is often true, it’s not always so, and some national parks can deliver a worse visitor experience following the peak travel season. Here are some of them and an explanation why.
Gates of the Arctic, Alaska
Gates of the Arctic lies entirely north of the Arctic Circle. As such, winter arrives early and in full force. Access is only by charter plane, and unstable weather makes getting there later in the year unreliable and sometimes dangerous.
Kobuk Valley, Alaska
Kobuk Valley is also in the Arctic, and access is also only by charter plane. Therefore, it comes with the same concerns about weather and travel conditions when summer ends. Sometimes, winter arrives for all intents and purposes before calendar summer actually ends.
Lake Clark, Alaska
Lake Clark is in the southern reaches of the state, and its coastal location provides a further moderating influence when it comes to the arrival of winter. Still, winter comes pretty early, and it’s a long, brutal one. Since the park is reachable only by boat or plane, travel there outside summer can be treacherous.
Katmai, Alaska
Katmai is also in the southern part of the state, so you might get a longer reprieve from winter’s arrival there. There are no roads there, though, so travel to and from the park comes with the same early-fall concerns that apply to the other remote parks not accessible by car.
North Cascades, Washington
A look at the huge glaciers and permanent snowfields in this range along the Canadian border should tell you that winters here are long and severe. They also typically come early, with major snowstorms not unheard of even in the summer. Since this is almost entirely a hikers’ park, access to the interior can get difficult or dangerous really quickly.
Mount Rainier, Washington
September usually has some nice days for viewing the famous mountain here. However, September is also often when the long rainy season of the Pacific Northwest begins. Waiting until summer ends to visit this park drastically reduces your chances of seeing the namesake and premier attraction of the park.
Kings Canyon, California
While paved roads on the western side of this Sierra Nevada park provide year-round access to sequoia groves, the mountainous interior of the park is only accessible by foot. September can feature many warm, sunny days, but it can also see major snowstorms that can block entry or strand people within.
Sequoia, California
Sequoia and Kings Canyon are contiguous, with Sequoia to the south. Although it’s named for the world’s largest trees, it’s mostly mountain wilderness and thus susceptible to the same weather concerns that its neighbor is. You get beautiful views of the range all year from the east, but access to them outside the summer is difficult.
Grand Teton, Wyoming
The main highway through this park is open all year, and the mountains are stunning in winter when covered by snow from their peaks to their bases. Winter snows start in early fall, though, turning this into a driving park rather than a hiking one for most people.
Theodore Roosevelt, North Dakota
This remote North Dakota park not far from Canada is out on the Great Plains, where winter comes fast and hard. You can get nice weather when summer ends, but you’re also taking chances with the not-insignificant likelihood of major winter storms sweeping down from the north.
Isle Royale, Michigan
You can only get to this island park in Lake Superior by boat or seaplane. That explains some of the park’s charm and its light visitation, but it also makes it a summer park since the Superior winters are infamously severe. A fall visit comes with the risk of weather disrupting your ability to get to or leave the park.
Acadia, Maine
There will be some pushback on this; some will say post-Labor Day is a great time to visit since the summer crowds have left, and they have a point. However, fall is also Maine’s wettest season, and that could put a damper on your weekend getaway. At least you can still see the beautiful fall colors when it’s raining.
Read More:
- 13 Most Stunning Mountain Ranges in the World You Need To Hike
- The 13 Most Beautiful Lakes in the U.S. You Won’t Want To Miss
- The 15 Most Gorgeous U.S. Mountains You Need to See Before You Die
Leave a Reply