BEST Winter National Parks | Warm Weather, Great Hiking, No Closures!

[@ervinslens]

Fantastic looking thumbnail my friend, this upload is just amazing! Love it! 🔥🔥

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Thanks!

[@papagen00]

Another reason to go to Joshua Tree NP in winter is soaking in a nearby hot spring pool afterwards.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Great idea 💡

[@terryrocks2j]

I was wondering how's about white sands in New Mexico? I am off at the end of the month around the 27th to Dec 5th. I met a traveler that told me about white sands. Anyhow, nice list. I might go back to Cali now if the place I mentioned aren't worth the winter visits.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

It's a good time to go to White Sands if you don't mind chillier temps. But usually during the day it's comfortable with sunny skies!

[@erinbroderick2819]

I just went to Death Valley. It was amazing to see the lake. It wasn't crowded.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

That's so great!

[@thegzak]

Great recommendations! Do you have any suggestions for September?

[@DirtInMyShoes]

You can sign up for my list of favorite parks by month here: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/month/

[@reneeg223]

We are heading there next week for 4 days! So excited! Thank you so much for all the info you share with us❣️ I love your podcasts❣️

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Thanks for your support! Have a great trip!

[@geezerpleasers_OG]

One other advantage to visiting Zion in the winter months is that you can drive the scenic road. During the ultra crowded peak season, it's closed to vehicular traffic. You need to take the shuttle bus, and there will be long lines to get back on the bus, at every stop along the way.(But it's an awesome bicycle ride!!) In winter, you can cruise right along in your own vehicle. Except that ,even in winter, they can close the road at the lodge, when there are too many vehicles. Still, there's a pretty decent chance that you'll be fine. Personally, whenever I visit Zion, or Bryce, or the Grand Canyon in the winter, I always pack my trusty Yaktrax. But as a woman in my late 70s, if it requires anything more than that, like serious spikes, I just skip that area and take landscape photos from a distance.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Great tips :)

[@geezerpleasers_OG]

It doesn't have the awesome rock climbing experience of Joshua Tree National Park, but for those in the Las Vegas area, there's a beautiful place to see Joshua trees, not too far away. It's the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area. "Wee Thump" means “ancient ones” in the Paiute language. The area is home to some of the oldest and tallest Joshua trees on the planet. To say that it's not crowded would be a huge understatement. In the times that I've been there, I've never seen anyone else. In fact, several years ago, a vandal removed the sign, and the NPS has never replaced it. When you get to the town of Searchlight, ask a local for directions and landmarks to watch for. It's a great place for a nice hike to enjoy the natural beauty.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Oooh cool! I've never been there, but it sounds awesome!

[@jnordman86]

Great video, are the Everglades good for driving a convertible? With the types of roads and winter temperatures....I did Death Valley last December and LOVED it. Camped and layered!

[@DirtInMyShoes]

Oh yeah, that would be awesome!

[@jnordman86]

@@DirtInMyShoes Awesome! Love a convertible and a long drive!

[@geezerpleasers_OG]

One tricky thing about Badwater Basin is that nobody really knows where the lowest point is from day to day, due to constant settling, or the effects or the rare rainstorms. What we do know, is that it isn't where the signs are. It's somewhere out a few miles from the signs. After all, it's a lake. When you go out from the shore of a lake, the land slopes downward. If it sloped upward, it would be a hill, not a lake. The NPS wisely didn't want a million people a year tromping all over the extremely delicate desert landscape on the dry lakebed. So, they chose the current spot because it was a good site for a parking lot and other facilities, and because it was "close enough".

[@DirtInMyShoes]

I think the NPS does that pretty often LOL