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    Great American Wilderness: Touring the National Parks of California
    Great American Wilderness: Touring the National Parks of California
    Great American Wilderness: Touring the National Parks of California
    Ebook109 pages59 minutes

    Great American Wilderness: Touring the National Parks of California

    By Larry Ludmer

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    About this ebook

    Based on the 506-page full guide to the great American national parks, how to avoid the crowds, walking tours, facilities and how to get there, this edition focuses on the major parks of California: Death Valley, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Sequoia, Ki
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHunter Publishing
    Release dateJul 15, 2009
    ISBN9781588437570
    Great American Wilderness: Touring the National Parks of California

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      Book preview

      Great American Wilderness - Larry Ludmer

      The Great American Wilderness:

      Touring the National Parks of the West

      Larry H. Ludmer

      Introduction

      General Planning

      Using This Book

      Facts & Figures

      Special Activities

      Accommodations

      Hotels & Motels

      Camping

      Dining

      Where Do We Go From Here?

      The West

      Death Valley National Park

      Facts & Figures

      Auto Tour/Short Stops

      Getting Out/Longer Stops

      Accommodations

      Dining

      Where Do We Go From Here?

      Lassen Volcanic National Park

      Facts & Figures

      Auto Tour/Short Stops

      Getting Out/Longer Stops

      Accommodations

      Dining

      Where Do We Go From Here?

      Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

      Facts & Figures

      Auto Tour/Short Stops

      Getting Out/Longer Stops

      Special Activities

      Accommodations

      Dining

      Where Do We Go From Here?

      Yosemite National Park

      Facts & Figures

      Auto Tour/Short Stops

      Getting Out/Longer Stops

      Special Activities

      Accommodations

      Dining

      Where Do We Go From Here?

      Suggested Trips

      Suggested Trip 1

      High Sierra Adventure

      Suggested Trip 2

      Trail of the Volcanoes

      Suggested Trip 3

      Wonders of the Desert

      For More Information

      National Park Service

      State Tourism Offices

      Introduction

      One of America's greatest treasures is the diverse beauty that nature has bestowed upon the its landscape. While many parts of the world may contain majestic mountains, eye-popping geological phenomena, rushing waterfalls, and more, nowhere is there a greater variety or concentration of such wonders as in the United States. The very best of these have been set aside in parks, monuments, and other special areas administered by the National Park Service. They are truly the crown jewels of America. The national parks have been created to be seen, felt, touched and enjoyed by everyone.

      And that is precisely what this book is about: seeing and enjoying nature at its most inspiring, its most unusual, and its most powerful. Nearly 400 separate areas are administered by the National Park Service, a great many of which are dedicated to people, places, events or ideas that have played a significant role in the development of our nation. Since the theme of this book is the scenic treasures of America, we have selected those that seemed especially worthwhile, regardless of how popular they are. This eliminates, for example, many heavily visited areas whose primary attraction is miles of beachfront for frolicking in the ocean. However, a brief look at dozens of other scenic NPS sites is given in the Suggested Trips section at the end of the book.

      This book assumes you will be visiting the parks by car, which eliminates some highly inaccessible locations that are generally limited to adventure touring. While almost all of the places described in this book can satisfy the desires of the most ardent adventure traveler, they also appeal to a much broader public.

      Most of the existing books on our nation's scenic areas may describe park features in exquisite detail, but they don't really tell you how to see what has been described. It also seems that most books are aimed at people who will be spending a great deal of time hiking and camping in the back-country. Admittedly, this is the best way to see what the parks have to offer, but the reality is that many thousands of people have neither the time nor the inclination to rough it in the wilderness; or they may have physical limitations. The primary goal of this book is to show how to make the most out of your time in the park, detailing those highlights that should not be missed even if you can't spend days trekking through the back-country or hiding in a blind with binoculars waiting for a rare bird to appear.

      The National Park Service has designated the areas it administers as National Parks, National Monuments, Recreation Areas, and so forth. (Actually, Congress is the only body that can designate an area as a National Park.) Frequently, but not always, national parks are large, famous, and have the greatest attraction for visitors. But there are a number of non-park areas that are every bit as worthwhile. In this book, 53 different areas are described. Three have non-scenic aspects that were of primary importance in establishing the area, but there is enough natural beauty to be seen there to have included them in this book. Four areas aren't administered by the National Park Service at all, but their beauty is such that they had to be included. It's of little concern which agency of the government has jurisdiction when the scenery is so marvelous.

      General Planning

      Some people like to do things on an ad hoc basis, and there is definitely something to be said for spontaneity. But unless your time is unlimited, proper planning is essential. The longer the trip and the more you wish to accomplish during your vacation, the truer this axiom becomes.

      Some major decisions should be made in advance:

      What exactly do you want to see?

      How many miles are you willing to drive and how much time do you have to spend?

      What types of accommodations will suit you?             

      The first and most important step in the planning process is to write down your proposed itinerary. Block off each day's activities by how long they will take, allowing enough time for driving, rest stops and meal breaks. Once you have a basic outline, it's easy to make adjustments as you secure additional information and decide that

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