We're planning a vacation in late summer to Yellowstone, Glacier NP and the NPs in Utah. We're unable to hike much, but would like to see and take pictures from the locations along highways or roads. I'd appreciate any suggestions or recommendations. Thanks!
All of these parks are beautiful for different reasons. You shouldn't have any problems finding things to photograph even from the road or at the very least, very short walks. There are some things though you should be aware of.
1. The parks are going to be very crowded that time of year. Finding parking places will be a challenge so get up early to beat the sleep in crowds.
2. I don't know about the other parks but Arches NP in Utah is now requiring "Timed Reservations" to get in. You can make the reservations up to 3 months in Advance.
https://www.discovermoab.com/reservations/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=nationalparks&utm_content=archesreservation3. If you are staying inside the parks, you should already have your hotel/lodge reservations.
Don't miss Grand Teton NP.
DougS
Loc: Central Arkansas
You will possibly pass by Rocky Mountains NP; Vedauwoo, Wy may be along your way. The Snowy Mts, and Flaming Gorge, Wy, also.
Make a point to take the Beartooth Highway. northeast of Yellowstone. You will have to deliberately drive to this route, as it is 'out of the way'. The 68-mile drive is one of the most breathtaking routes near Yellowstone.
https://www.yellowstonepark.com › ... › Scenic Drives
Glacier: Glacier National Park Latest To Require Timed Entry In 2022
Explore BOTH sides of Glacier NP.
You may want to take your passports, and visit Waterton NP, on the Canadian side of the border.
I used my Sigma 10-20 on my D7200 in the Utah parks. Very happy with the results.
A suggestion would be to push your trip to September after the school year starts again. I suspect before Labor Day these parks will be unbearably crowded.
My wife and I were in YNP in September 2015 and the crowds were reasonable mid-month but even then sometimes in the afternoons space at some of the geysers was 'wait for a car to pull out' so we could park.
If you do go a bit later, also prepare for all types of weather. Over 9 days we had temperatures in the upper 80's, a few days of heavy rains and a couple of late afternoon/early morning snow flurries and then bach up to 80's as we were leaving.
Also, make sure you have lodging/camping spots reserved. YNP is an amazing park and you can see so much from the main roads, etc.
Yellowstone has it's well known attractions but Grand Teton is a jewel. We were there in August and the crowds were not all that bad even though it was during the full solar eclipse. All of the listed points of interest on the right side of the map up to the oxbow bend of the Snake river are worth visiting. Not much walking except for a short walk from Schwabacher landing up to the scenic beaver pond. Plenty of other small scenic spots to pull off on. These are all morning locations with the sun in the east. The Shane Cabin is the remains of a cabin used in the movie Shane. It's appearance in the movie is quite brief. The Moulton barns are probably the most photographed barns in the world.
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