My spot is on the Carriage Road of Moosilauke, at a view point called Middle Peak that’s just off trail with an amazing view of the summit and down towards the Ravine Lodge. Although I could come up with a dozen more all over the Whites.
I was going to post that too; it’s very beautiful, has neat wildlife, and is also pretty close to Mt. Rushmore and a bunch of cool little towns in the Black Hills (shout out to Skogen Kitchen in Custer, SD- stellar food!)
Also, the “Garden of the Gods” in Colorado Springs is very cool as well- it’s a city park, but it’s also got a neat visitors’ center, walking trails and some rock climbing as well.
went to Bryce and Zion in October but they were still pretty crowded in the off season , especially Zion. Guess you have to go in winter to avoid the crowds.
Many years ago we pulled into Canyon de Chelly late in the evening. There wasn’t really anything to do in the fading light but stare out into the abyss.
I saw what appeared to be a tiny section of a faint trail on the opposite wall. Slowly I discovered a bit more of it. The next day I inquired at the rangers station about the trail. They didn’t know anything about it - told me I probably just saw a fault in the geology.
So I started talking to one of the guides. He told me it was an old escape route that no one really knew about. So I hired him to take me down it. VERY dicey but amazing. Down in the canyon he took me to some old Anasazi ruins. There were pots in the ruins. Even what appeared to be a crutch leaning on one of stone walls. It was one of the most magical hikes of my life. The guide’s name was Junior, ftr.
If you go there check out the caves in the opposite wall. They appear be about 6-700 feet off the canyon floor. Not a clue how they were accessed.
Great place. Catch if you have a chance.
Ah, man, what a hard question to answer.
One of the peak experiences of my life was a National Outdoor Leadership School course in Jim Bridger National Forest, in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. I spent a month there, so that will always be special.
The first time I visited Rocky Mountain National Park, I looked up at the Never Summer Mountains, and understood why humans always put the gods on mountain tops.
But the place I’ve gone for years and years is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, in the North Carolina Outer Banks. Mrs. SMV gets cranky if we don’t spend at least a week there every year - we were actually married there, on the beach. Best beach in the country, IMHO.
Big Bend. Very limited facilities inside park for overnight stay, accommodations outside nearly an hour away. Huge area, largely untouched.