I want to take my 65 year-old mom to a western national park, which one?

[weirdichi]

Another vote for Glacier. Drive up through Flathead lake and pick cherries on the way up there, then hand east a bit to the plains and you can see where artists get their inspiration for landscape paintings.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Well, 2 ways to go about this imo.

1) Grand Canyon -> Zion + Cedar Breaks Ntl Monument -> (Bryce) -> Capitol Reef / Arches

Not sure that Bryce is appropriately accessible. You can cut out Capitol Reef / Arches and add in a day or two in Vegas if she's into that sort of thing. Even hit up Red Rock for an in-city diversion. Stay 2 days in maybe Williams, AZ for Grand Canyon, 3 days in Vegas with a day trip to Death Valley and 2-3 days in Cedar City for Zion, Cedar Breaks and Bryce.

2) Sequoia -> Kings Canyon -> Yosemite, + assorted Sierra points of interest, monuments and state parks

I'm not convinced you can appreciate Sequoia *that* much without seriously walking around a lot, but Kings is just plain interesting to drive through and will have lots of nice vistas and Yosemite is obvious.

 

[EagleKeeper]

true then go on a 10 hour drive south to Rocky mountain national park.. but these are summer trips, RMNP is closed during the winter. driving over trail ridge road when its open is a beautiful drive and if you have never driven higher than the tree line its a interesting experience.

After seeing this; if you wish then drive a day up to the Tetons and then spend 2-4 days at Yellowstone.

No need to fight the crowds over in CA

2 1/2 day drive to Colorado from Orlando.
You might be better flying in and getting a rental for a week.

While in CO, take her to the USAF chapel in the Springs and see the 7 Falls.
I took my mother to see those a couple of years ago - she was in her 80s and enjoyed it.

You are also within a half day of Zion park in UTah

 

[NuclearNed]

Well, 2 ways to go about this imo.

1) Grand Canyon -> Zion + Cedar Breaks Ntl Monument -> (Bryce) -> Capitol Reef / Arches

Not sure that Bryce is appropriately accessible. You can cut out Capitol Reef / Arches and add in a day or two in Vegas if she's into that sort of thing. Even hit up Red Rock for an in-city diversion. Stay 2 days in maybe Williams, AZ for Grand Canyon, 3 days in Vegas with a day trip to Death Valley and 2-3 days in Cedar City for Zion, Cedar Breaks and Bryce.

2) Sequoia -> Kings Canyon -> Yosemite, + assorted Sierra points of interest, monuments and state parks

I'm not convinced you can appreciate Sequoia *that* much without seriously walking around a lot, but Kings is just plain interesting to drive through and will have lots of nice vistas and Yosemite is obvious.

<edit> nevermind, I misread the post I quoted. If it's a choice, I would go with option #1 (Grand Canyon, Zion, etc.)

 

[NuclearNed]

The wife and I have been to nearly every national park, including a whole bunch of the national monuments. If I had to pick one and only one national park to see, it would be Yellowstone. It isn't my favorite park (that would be Zion), but it has a little of everything - mountains, canyons, geothermal features, wildlife, historic hotels, etc.

 

[OCNewbie]

We will be flying to whichever general area we decide on, from Orlando, and then get a rental car for the park hopping, etc.

 

[skyking]

here's a tip: Try to travel in late May if you are going to the big parks. June and the fleets of motor homes arrive, and don't leave till August. We've been to Yellowstone in May, September, and finally in August just recently. On the last trip we departed to the south through the Grand Tetons.
In May, all the babies are out baby buffalo sleeping on the blacktop, baby moose in the distance. It was great.
If altitude is a concern, Yellowstone is all above 4500 feet. There are still plenty of scenic overlooks with short walks though.

 

[OCNewbie]

I think I'm leaning towards doing the Tetons, Yellowstone, and possibly (if time permits) driving up to Glacier as well. I'd love to do them all of course, but I think we'd both enjoy seeing all the animals in Yellowstone, as well as the Tetons and Glacier. I know "Going to the Sun Road" is supposed to be an amazing drive, so I'm sure that would end up being a highlight of our trip, and it certainly would be older-mom friendly.

 

[RabidMongoose]

If you have 7-8 days, then I would do the Southern Utah/Grand Canyon route as others have mentioned above. Zion is amazing, stop by Bryce, do Arches, and then the Grand Canyon. Even Canyonlands if you want to. You can do a lot on these without doing strenuous hikes. And there are other national parks that aren't very popular if you have some more time.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Save money and just drive yourself up to the smoky mountain national park.

 

[OCNewbie]

Save money and just drive yourself up to the smoky mountain national park.

We've both been there, multiple times. Lovely place, but I want to expose my mom to some of the awesomeness the west has to offer.

 

[BoomerD]

OK, so what are you looking for in a national park? They're all a bit different. MOST of the western parks are in the mountains...but not all. The NP's in Utah are deserty...Yellowstone is mountainous, but has the biggest diversity in animals...plus the geothermal features. Yosemite's biggest attractions are Half Dome and El Capitan, plus some big fucking trees. (not the biggest, but still impressive) Sequoia/King's Canyon has the "General Sherman" tree...the world's largest tree by volume. (There are taller trees...some of the coast redwoods are considerably taller, but they don't have the girth to go with them)

The national parks are diverse. Let us know what kinds of things you want to see. That makes the recommendations a bit easier.

 

[OCNewbie]

OK, so what are you looking for in a national park? They're all a bit different. MOST of the western parks are in the mountains...but not all. The NP's in Utah are deserty...Yellowstone is mountainous, but has the biggest diversity in animals...plus the geothermal features. Yosemite's biggest attractions are Half Dome and El Capitan, plus some big fucking trees. (not the biggest, but still impressive) Sequoia/King's Canyon has the "General Sherman" tree...the world's largest tree by volume. (There are taller trees...some of the coast redwoods are considerably taller, but they don't have the girth to go with them)

The national parks are diverse. Let us know what kinds of things you want to see. That makes the recommendations a bit easier.

My mom has only been west of Florida one time, and that was last year to Colorado, mostly seeing things that fall between Durango (where their flew into) and Pagosa Springs (where the people they stayed with lived). So she hasn't seen much of the west at all. The only western national park I've been to is Joshua Tree. I think my main goal is just for her to get to see as many representations of western landscapes as we can see in that ~8 day trip. I'm sure we'd both love Zion, but I'm not sure if that's going to be too desert heavy. I'd like to see the Tetons and Yellowstone, but that sorta leaves out any desert areas. I'd also love to see Yosemite and the big Sequoias.

I'm just looking for general suggestions, mostly taking into account that the hiking will need to be relatively mild, as my mom is getting older and we'll be somewhat limited by that.

This may be our last big trip we take together, so I just want it to be really special.

 

[skyking]

We helped my brother in law around many of the features at Yellowstone in his wheelchair. They do a pretty good job of making the overlooks and loop trails accessible.

 

[Patranus]

Yosemite.