I am planning a 3-4 vacation with my parents, and we want to go see beautiful nature. What are the best places to go visit and what do you recommend doing there?

29 comments

  1. Smoky Mountains in late spring.

    Acadia.

    Yellowstone but you may not be able to see as much as you want in just 3-4 days.

  3. With just 3 or 4 days, somewhere that won’t burn most of a day getting there, first and foremost.

    Your second factor would be weather. This is a great time of year for the Southwest, less good for New England or for mountainous areas in general, since the spring melt out is still underway.

  5. The northeast in the fall foliage season. Drive through New England just as the leaves are turning. It may not be the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone…but there’s nothing like fall in New England anywhere else.

  8. It depends on if travel time matters and time of year.

    The Hoh Rain Forest, Maui, Vermont in the fall, Great Smoky Mountains in the spring.

  9. With only 3-4 days, we’d limit ourselves to places within driving range. So Acadia, Vermont, Adirondacks, Catskills, NY southern tier, Berkshires, Poconos. Possibly other parts of Maine. We’ve climbed Mount Washington and have see the Old Man of the Mountain, so NH is less interesting.

  11. Arkansas. It’s the Natural state for a reason. Two national forests, national rivers, state parks, mountains to climb, plenty of hiking trails and biking trails, anything you could ask for besides really tall mountains lol.

  12. Sleepy Bear Dunes in Michigan is beautiful. Also exhausting hiking while climbing the Dunes

  14. Zion National Park. It’s a seriously underrated park — it’s huge and gorgeous and full of beautiful hiking trails. It gets overshadowed by the Grand Canyon since they’re relatively close (still several hours’ drive — this is American West “close”) but in my opinion it’s the superior park hands-down.

  16. The next places I’d like to go for nature reasons are Olympic and Everglades National Parks but I think they’re too far away for 3-4 days. I’d probably go to Acadia in that case.

  17. 3-4 days not including travel?

    Because if it’s including travel then I’m staying nearby. Shenandoah or the Smokies, or maybe the beach.

  19. I live in the Las Vegas, and with 3 to 4 days I’d go somewhere within a half day drive. That leaves me with the Grand Canyon, the Utah red sandstone national parks, a few National Monuments, a few gorgeous state parks, a few national forests. Lots of options.

    I’d probably see if I could get a backpacking permit at the Grand Canyon, and if I couldn’t do that, climb Telescope Peak in Death Valley or stay near home and wander in the Spring Mountains outside my city.

  20. I’d see Yosemite again. Preferably not on Memorial Day like I did last time (soooo busy, rookie mistake).

  22. Really depends on what part of the country that you are in.

    What region will you be in?

  24. Smokey Mountains National Park is certainly a good option. Also, Grand Teton, Arches, Kings Canyon, and Glacier Voyageurs are all wonderful national parks too that show very different kinds of nature. Shawnee National Forrest and Shoshone National Forrest are also places I would highly recommend.

  25. Nowadays? I’d sit my ass at home and spend time with my son playing outside or something.

    Single days? In Utah, I would probably head to the southern part of the state and camp in either a State or National Park depending on the time of year. If it was cold and/or rainy, I’d just drive to Las Vegas.

    In Michigan, the answer is almost always “up north”, which is basically going to a cabin or finding a place to camp somewhere in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula or the UP.

  26. Do you have 3-4 days at your destination or 3-4 days including travel?

    If you have to include travel: Something local.

    If you don’t: Yellowstone.

  28. Come to Alaska! Anchorage has some amazing hikes and biking trails, and you can also make the trip up to Denali!

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