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National Treasures
Escape the crowds at America’s national parks with these out-of-the-ordinary experiences. BY KEN MCALPINE
There was a time when I plunged into the wilds on my own, disappearing with a tent, a compass, and whatever I swept off the kitchen shelf. From those youthful days I still recall majestic vistas, howling storms, and quiet wildlife communings — the very elixirs that made John Muir glow — just as I also recall being constantly accompanied by the thought that I would trade my grandmother for a hot shower and a meal that didn’t come out of a bag.
These days, my wilderness checklist consists of two civilized questions: How far from the maddening throngs can I get, and how comfortable can I be? And today, even in America’s most popular parks there is opportunity for refined escape. You can have your wilderness and your peppercorn salmon with champagne, too.
 Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
The Appalachian Trail, as tackled by many, is a grueling slog in which there are no end of PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs), and nights are passed in smelly shelters or on the hard ground. Of late, however, refined outdoorsfolk have begun hiking the trail in civilized fashion, picking short sections of trail that happily pass somewhere near a cozy inn, so that you may enjoy a walk in the woods during the day, and then discuss that adventure, post hot tub soak, over a bottle of Pinot. New luxe lodges keep popping up along the Appalachian Trail, but you should find your way to old style luxury at the Smithfield Farm Bed and Breakfast, a nearly 200- year-old brick manor home tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Berryville, Virginia. Smithfield provides the redolent niceties, and access to the trail is only 10 minutes away. Another 10 minutes up the road and you are in Shenandoah National Park, where you can hike alone beneath dappled oaks, only around 70 miles from Washington, D.C. But be forewarned: The Pritchard family, eighth generation locals, know how to put out a spread. After their three-course breakfast, you may be lucky just to get up and walk through the gardens.
SMITHFIELD FARM B&B, (877) 955-4389, WWW.SMITHFIELDFARM.COM
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, (800) 999-4714, WWW.NPS.GOV/SHEN
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming’s Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa has earned AAA’s four diamond rating as well as awards from, well, many notable institutions. But frankly, who cares? Because the real memory maker here is the chance to see Yellowstone’s apex predators in the wild, via the Lodge’s “Grizzlies and Wolves Safari.” Yellowstone in summer can be a herd of RVs, but in spring — the trips are held in April and May — the park, and the quiet Lamar Valley where the gray wolves and grizzlies are often most easily found, is everything Teddy Roosevelt wanted to preserve: a wilderness where bison graze, dark-formed against a world of white (expect snow), where pine-draped mountains rise into clear sky, and geysers and hot springs blurp and fizzle, and when the sun flares through the clouds, the whole world sparkles. Three- and four-day packages combine plenty-of-diamonds lodging and dining with a biologist-led safari; the tours are offered in conjunction with the respected Teton Science School. Grizzlies and wolves aren’t all there are — expect baby elk and bison, bald eagles, and trumpeter swans, too — but there’s a reason why these predators earn the marquee. To see wolves creep through the pines will make your skin prickle and remind you of our place in the wild.
RUSTY PARROT LODGE & SPA, (888) 739-1749, WWW.RUSTYPARROT.COM
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, (307) 344-7381, WWW.NPS.GOV/YELL
 Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon consistently ranks at the top of every adventure list, and with good reason. Here is a place where sun and moon touch rocks 1.7 billion years old, rapids rage, and slot canyons enfold mirror-still turquoise pools. Given, this is the grandpappy of wilderness experiences, not just any escape here. Wilderness River Adventures’ 16-day “Grand Tradition” trip takes place in the fall, the river’s unsung season; it’s far emptier, cooler, and quieter, so that you may hear the wild beat of your heart in the final moment of silence before you hear the roar of famed rapids like Crystal and Lava Falls. The trip covers 225 river miles, but you see far more than river. Rafting through the Grand Canyon allows access to places otherwise reached only with great difficulty, Anasazi ruins, secluded hikes, and your own private waterfalls. At night you unwind at comfortable campsites beside the river, dining on shrimp cocktail, prime rib, and brownies fresh from the Dutch oven, while campfire sparks and river yarns spin up into the stars.
WILDERNESS RIVER ADVENTURES, (800) 992-8022, WWW.RIVERADVENTURES.COM
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, (928) 638-7888, WWW.NPS.GOV/GRCA
Acadia National Park, Maine
Acadia is Maine’s natural showcase, and everyone knows it; in summer it’s hard to tell who outnumbers whom, the tourists or the blackflies — precisely why you should come in fall, and then escape to the water. Few places are prettier than this stretch of Maine coast, and the best seat in the house is in a sea kayak. Sign on with Bar Harbor-based Coastal Kayaking Tours on Mount Desert Island. They’ve been offering kayaking trips — from sunset paddles to multi-day overnighters — longer than any outfitter in Maine. If you prefer the day paddles, spend your nights at the Inn at Bay Ledge in Bar Harbor. Perched atop an 80-foot cliff with a sweeping view of Frenchman’s Bay, their fall afternoon teas of hot cider and fresh-baked pumpkin bread are the perfect cap to a day on the water. But frankly, a camping kayak trip shouldn’t be missed. Here’s your chance to explore, with first-rate guides, uninhabited granite islands and small fishing communities. Sea lions and salmon dart in the blue-on-blue waters; arctic terns, bald eagles, puffins, and razor-billed auks glide through the sky; and few things meld more finely than a fall sunset accompanied by smoked trout and goat cheese.
COASTAL KAYAKING TOURS, (800) 526-8615, WWW.ACADIAFUN.COM
INN AT BAY LEDGE, (207) 288-4204, WWW.INNATBAYLEDGE.COM
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, (207) 288-3338, WWW.NPS.GOV/ACAD
 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska
With its vast impassable stretches, not to mention outdoor critters ranging from bugs to bears, Alaska has had to perfect the fly-in lodge, and there is no better lodge or location than the Ultima Thule Lodge in Wrangell -St . Elias Nat ional Park & Preserve. Wrangell-St. Elias, in southeastern Alaska, is justifiably intimidating. At 13.3 million acres, it is North America’s largest park, a mind-bending spread of mountain ranges, alpine lakes, tundra, and glacier, without hint nor hair of civilization. But remoteness takes on a sudden charm when it is conveniently accessed by bush plane from Ultima Thule, already in the park, allowing you to travel deeper still and throw yourself into everything from skiing, hiking, climbing, and rafting to world class fishing (lake trout, arctic char, and all five species of salmon, which means kings and silvers) and glacier trekking. The small lodge — five guest cabins and a main building for meals — is run by the Claus family, whose hospitality, cooking (freshly prepared Alaskan game), and imagination know no bounds. They’ve done whatever they can to bring the joy of the wild to their guests, including fly-in camping nights spent listening to nothing but the sound of 20,000-year-old ice cracking.
ULTIMA THULE LODGE, (907) 688-1200, WWW.ULTIMATHULELODGE.COM
WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE, (907) 822-5234, WWW.NPS.GOV/WRST
 Virgin Islands National Park, St. John
Roughly 60 percent of tiny St. John, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is national park, which is why it has served as an unspoiled tropical escape for luminaries ranging from Harrison Ford to Laurence Rockefeller, who donated the land that became the original national park. While many Caribbean beaches these days come with an attendant resort, plenty of beaches on St. John don’t even have a parking lot. If you can find beaches lovelier than the powdery white strips of Caneel, Hawksnest, and Trunk bays, you’ve moved beyond this earth. The offshore waters are blue-green glorious, and, being protected, fat with life. Snorkel at Leinster Bay’s Watermelon Cay, or scuba dive French Cap Cay. The park is etched with hiking trails that combine cerulean seascapes with aromatic tropical lushness; smart hikers carry their snorkeling gear with them since most trails end at the sea. Don’t miss the Reef Bay Trail, passing bay rum trees and ancient petroglyphs. Restore yourself in the evening at Caneel Bay, A Rosewood Resort, after 50-plus years still the USVI’s chicest destination. Located on 170 acres of park land, Caneel Bay has seven beaches and its own share of forested trails. Done exploring, you return home to plantation-style elegance, complete with gourmet dining at Equator. Come in the off season, from mid-May to November.
CANEEL BAY, A ROSEWOOD RESORT, (340) 776-6111, WWW.CANEELBAY.COM
VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, (340) 776-6201 EXT. 238, WWW.NPS.GOV/VIIS
Yosemite National Park, California
Ansel Adams described Yosemite as “a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space,” a poetic assessment obviously phrased by a man who never had to stand in line for a restroom any summer on the valley floor. But there is still plenty of room for escape in Yosemite’s backcountry, with alpine meadows and lakes, overseen by ragged peaks, and Yosemite Mountaineering School will take you there via day hikes or overnighters into the high country where the masses don’t go. One lovely option, a three-day trip from Tenaya Lake down to Yosemite Valley, takes you along the ridge of Clouds Rest and offers ethereal views of Half Dome and the (crowded) valley floor. The bookend seasons of spring and fall offer considerable charms; spring is peak waterfall season, and as early as late September the crowds have already diminished considerably. Make your base of operations the famed Ahwahnee Hotel. The grande dame of wilderness elegance looks upon Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Glacier Point, and a nearly equivalent scale of grandeur rests within: massive stone fireplaces, quiet parlors, soaring stained glass windows, and, of course, tea served each afternoon in the Great Lounge.
YOSEMITE MOUNTAINEERING SCHOOL AND GUIDE SERVICE, (209) 372-8344, WWW.YOSEMITEMOUNTAINEERING.COM
AHWAHNEE HOTEL, (801) 559-4884, WWW.YOSEMITEPARK.COM/ACCOMMODATIONS.ASPX
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, (209) 372-0200, WWW.NPS.GOV/YOSE
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