September 10, 2004 -- Rolling hills dotted with wildflowers, plunging red rock canyons, vast snow-covered peaks -- the sheer majesty and diversity of America's national parks is hard to grasp without seeing them firsthand. They're a perfect antidote to strip malls and urban jungles. If you've never been, fall is a great time to visit.
The Black Hills of South Dakota with its mounds of dark dirt. Monument Valley in Utah with its massive hulks of red clay. Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina where if you sit quietly you can almost hear the crack of the shot heard round the world. All national parks designated by Congress, these locales are national treasures meant to preserve the beauty, strength, and environmental integrity of America's lands.
Many of the national parks have excellent resources to help you get started planning your trip, and this fall, many are also offering some great travel deals. Your search should begin at the official site pertaining to all 388 National Park areas, www.nps.gov. This comprehensive and well-designed site (even for the government) tells you everything you wanted to know about getting to any of the parks; provides extensive maps; and details the history, information centers, and don't miss sights inside the park. You can also get a pass for $50 that allows you entry into any of the 388 parks that require an entrance fee.
For detailed travel information including a wide variety of hotel packages and tour deals pertaining to the parks, go to www.seeamerica.org. A unit of the National Parks Service, this is one of the most comprehensive and richest resources for travel within the United States. In addition to providing links to every state tourism bureau, it also provides detailed maps of the country's byways and highways, as well as an extensive list of package deals and hotels near the park of your choice. It even offers two search engines by which you can choose your vacation package, by the individual park itself, or by the state that houses the park.
For example, if you want to check out Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, the cultural center of the Pueblo Indian Tribe between 850 A.D. and 1250 (yup, these places are treasures.), the site sends you to a traveling partner called Tracks and Trails (www.tracks-trails.com), which offers RV rental, an itinerary, and an RV Camp Guide. Prices vary, but a starter kit that gets you some trip planning and secures and RV rental costs $399.00.
If you're the independent type and want to visit one of the better-known national parks, like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, some excellent deals are available. This fall and winter, The Three Bear Lodge and Restaurant (www.threebearlodge.com) in Yellowstone offers a Freedom Package, which provides a snowmobile to tour the area, snowmobile clothing for your trek, a Prime Rib dinner at the lodge's rustic Old West restaurant, daily breakfast and if you choose, a guided tour of America's first national park. Total cost of the three-day, two-night package, excluding airfare, is $315 per person for double occupancy.
If you've never seen the Grand Canyon, trips to the Great Divide can be quite affordable. www.thecanyon.com provides a gamut of information on the surrounding area, including pretty Flagstaff, Arizona and Sedona's Red Rocks. Round-trip airfare from Minneapolis to Phoenix (a short and scenic drive to the Grand Canyon) runs $275 dollars roundtrip, including all taxes, on ATA.
Once there, weekend hotel deals through November 6, 2004 start at $99 per night. These deals are offered through Grand Canyon National Park Lodges. Reserve online at www.grandcanyonlodges.com and enter promotional code SAGC to check availability.
Most of the park's Websites (all of which are linked to at the main site, www.nps.gov) provide links to travel partners with air and land transportation information, as well as occasional details on flight information. See the park of your choice for specific travel information.