Maybe this should be in another thread…maybe not. It’ll be moved if it needs to be.
I’m looking to have a few weeks off this summer (2-3) about june/july, and am looking for a cool place to visit for some hiking/camping/communing with nature.
For background I have been to the boundary waters and enjoyed it immensely, though there were more people there than I would have liked. I have spent 2 separate weeks in the Little Missouri Grassland in N. Dakota and am looking for an experience similar to that. No people, no organized trails, just me moving around wherever I wanted to go with a map. The only drawback to N. Dakota was the million plus acres has been ravaged by cattle, and one is seldom a few feet from a cow pie.
I’m just looking to see what is out there that most people don’t know about and therefore don’t visit. Several people have suggested mountain parks, but I always suspect I’ll run into other people on a trail. I’m also less secure about my map and compass skills in a heavily forested area, which is typical of these parks.
Just checking. Is there a huge tract of land near you that is uninhabited?
P.S. I live in North-Central Ill. and would think an area two-three day (or less) drive would suit me.
If you like whitewater rafting, there’s a great place in PA that’s great. They have two day packages with a guide, rafting and rock climbing trips. The place is great for hiking, and camping as well.
If you are willing to change your transport from foot to canoe, just head north of the Boundary Waters into Canada. The further north, the fewer people. Try Woodland Caribou or Wabakini for solitude on sheltered inland lakes where map and compass work is very easy.
Once you get into wilderness canoeing, it is possible to do northern shield and tundra trips where you can go for many weeks without seeing a soul. The canoe solves the supply problem which ties most hikers to civilization.
If part of the point of your vacation is to get out into nature and avoid other people, think about rescheduling your vacation time. Everybody takes summer vacations, but if you can adjust yours even a few days outside of that places “season” you can have a lot more options for places to go without feeling like you’re in a nature theme park.
This thread is really better suited to IMHO. So despite the fact that you seem to have received some excellent answers already, I’ll shoot the thread over there to see what those folks have to say.