National parks that are spectacular in spring

Deserts ablaze with lupine, yarrow and paintbrush; rivers surging with snowmelt; high meadows lush with columbine and alpine sunflower; elk, moose, bear and deer venturing out of their winter hideaways, new babies in tow. These are just a few of the many reasons to make a springtime pilgrimage to one — or many — of America’s national parks.

Here we highlight eight national parks that are particularly special to visit in the spring.

Joshua Tree National Park

Few national parks strut their stuff as showily as Joshua Tree in spring, when the park’s namesake trees send their enormous blossoms reaching for the sky, their heady scent perfuming the desert landscape. Those aren’t the only blooms, of course — visitors pour into the park to see the desert sands awash with colors so bright you’ll have trouble putting away your camera to explore.

But explore you must, because Joshua Tree’s otherworldly rock formations must be seen to be believed; there’s a reason Hollywood directors have set everything from Westerns to sci-fi classics in these eerie landscapes.

You can come to the California park from two directions: the greater Palm Springs area to the south or the adjacent towns of Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree to the north.

You’ll find a great stay in every price range, from the friendly and affordable SureStay Plus by Best Western (rates from $129 per night) and other budget options in Twentynine Palms to expansive luxury resorts in the desert town near Palm Springs, such as the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa (from $232 or 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night) in Palm Desert and the midcentury-inspired Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa (from $172 or 52,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night) in the heart of the Coachella Valley.

Related: Best hotels in Palm Springs that are an oasis in the desert

Yellowstone National Park

The second-most-visited national park, Yellowstone needs no introduction, yet the park’s spring beauty remains far less well known.

To see all the park’s highlights, you’ll want to plan your visit for mid-April when the main entrances and park roads start to reopen; only the north entrance is open year-round. For those who want to go earlier, Mammoth Hot Springs and its historic hotel and cabins and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge remain open during the winter.

March is when grizzlies emerge from their dens, with sows and their ridiculously cute cubs appearing from April through May. Migrating birds bring the woods and meadows alive with their song. Love baby animals? May and June is calving season for bison, moose, elk and pronghorn.

Travelers wedded to loyalty programs will find a handful of budget brands in West Yellowstone, Montana, half an hour northwest of the park, with luxury properties like Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole (rates from $700 per night) a little more than an hour from the south entrance in Wyoming.

Glamping fans can stay in luxe safari-style tents at one of two Under Canvas outposts (rates from $299 per night) in North and West Yellowstone.

Considering the sheer number of sights strung along the 142-mile Yellowstone Loop, along with the need to catch an eruption of Old Faithful and sunset over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, it’s much more convenient to stay in the park itself.

The good news is that park concessionaire Xanterra offers a wide variety of in-park lodging options, from elegant columned Lake Yellowstone Hotel to woodsy Canyon Lodge & Cabins, popular for its central location and woodsy vibe.

Related: A beginners guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park: Everything you should see and do

Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado offers an unusual variety of national parks, from the Sahara-like landscape of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve to the craggy majesty of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but many would argue that Rocky Mountain National Park is the state’s crown jewel. Located in northern Colorado, the 265,807-acre park is a must-visit for nature enthusiasts.

If wildlife-watching is high on your list, you won’t be disappointed with Rocky Mountain. There are 67 diverse mammal species that you have an opportunity to spot inside the park, including grizzly bears, grey wolves, bison and bighorn sheep, which start lambing in the spring. Plus, you’re almost guaranteed a chance to watch herds of elk graze (and possibly play) in Beaver Meadows and moose chow down along the streams of Moraine Park.

Estes Park, which calls itself the Gateway to the Rockies, offers a few loyalty program hotels, including a Best Western and a Quality Inn. Also located here is the historic (and possibly haunted) Stanley Hotel (rates from $279 per night), a Colorado landmark since 1909 and inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining.” The hotel has lost none of its turn-of-the-century grandeur yet offers numerous surprisingly affordable room options.

Those who prefer quiet may choose to stay in the more rustic town of Grand Lake, just outside the park’s western gate, where Coyote Valley affords some of the park’s best elk viewing.

Related: Best times to visit Colorado

Arches National Park

Photographers know to visit Arches National Park in spring, when the ocher and vermillion formations of eroded sandstone are made even more vivid by the surrounding greenery. Temperature is another reason to visit now, as summer can be brutal in the southern Utah desert, with temperatures heading north of 100 degrees starting in mid-May.

At just 76,000 acres, Arches is one of the most manageable of the southwestern red-rock parks, with its most popular features such as Delicate Arch, Double Arch and the Windows Section accessible from the park’s main road. Temperatures in the spring are comfortable enough to make longer hikes like the 2-mile out-and-back to the rock towers of Park Avenue and the 7.2-mile Devils Garden Primitive Loop perfectly comfortable.

Related: Explore Utah’s national parks with TPG’s guide to the ‘Mighty Five’

The extreme-sport hub of Moab is known for its cute cabins and lively restaurant scene, but it also offers numerous affordable points hotels, including Hyatt Place Moab (rates from $191 or 23,000 World of Hyatt points per night) and Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn (from $166 per night). For those who can’t get enough of red-rock country, Canyonlands National Park, Arches’ larger but less-visited sister, is just 40 minutes south of Moab.

Shenandoah National Park

In Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, the spring bloom is not limited to the slopes and meadows but paints the forests with watercolors as well, with azaleas, trilliums and wild geraniums blanketing the forest floor. In fact, wildflower spotting is such a draw that in a typical year, the park hosts its own Wildflower Weekend, held this year May 11-12.

The earliest blooms tend to be along the lower-elevation valleys of the Rose, South and Hughes rivers and along Mill Prong, while May is peak time for pink azaleas and June sees the arrival of mountain laurel. Farther south, head for Linville Falls or hike the Linville Gorge Trail to fully immerse yourself in nature’s rhododendron garden.

The spring bird migration brings its fans, too, who come looking for scarlet tanagers, cerulean warblers and other colorful transients along Pocosin Trail. The Passamaquoddy Trail and Lewis Mountain are other popular spots for flowers, birds and wildlife.

There are no fewer than 75 scenic overlooks along the 105 miles of the Skyline Drive Scenic Byway, offering every possible angle from which to view the spectacle.

Spanning 6,000 acres in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, Massanutten Resort (two-bedroom villas from $279 per night) is in the town of McGaheysville, Virginia. The all-season resort allows visitors to take part in an active retreat along the 30 miles of mountain biking trails, hiking trails, a mega zip line and inner tubing lanes.

Related: Use points to stay near national parks

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

America’s most popular national park doesn’t just draw the most annual visitors, it’s also home to the largest number of flowering plants — more than 1,500 different species. So don’t forget your wildflower guide when you visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park — from March through June, you’ll find spectacular displays moving from lower elevations to the mountaintops. Among the highlights are the dogwoods, their huge white and yellow blooms showering the ground with petals and filling the air with a heady fragrance. More delicate but even more dramatic are the redbuds, which spray their blooms of neon pink and lavender through the park’s verdant valleys.

Some of the best wildflower walks are along the Porters Creek, Little River, Schoolhouse Gap and Kanata Fork trails and on the Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail. Greenery is another highlight of spring here — almost all of the park’s more than 100 species of trees are deciduous, so it’s a dramatic sight to see them leafing out in delicate clouds of lime and emerald green.

Like Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is proud enough of its wildflowers to celebrate them with a special event, the five-day Wildflower Pilgrimage, held May 1-4.

For an outdoor lovers glamping experience, The Ridge Outdoor Resort in Sevierville, Tennessee, has luxury tents and tiny-home cabins (from $199 per night) available to rent, along with RV sites. The custom canvas glamping tents feature full bedrooms, kitchens, private bathrooms, a charcoal grill and a deck for watching the stars at night.

Related: A beginners guide to visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Zion National Park

Spring is waterfall season in Zion, when the Virgin River roars through the canyon and seasonal tributaries tumble down the canyon walls. The famed Emerald Pools are a wonder at any time of year, but in spring the misty 110-foot cascade widens into a curtain of water that catches the light in a halo of rainbows.

More waterfalls plunge from the 1,000-foot walls of Parunuweap Canyon. Hiking is ideal this time of year, when temperatures are in the 70s and the ocher and crimson cliffs are particularly photogenic against the bright green foliage of freshly budded cottonwoods.

Zion’s gateway town of Springdale, Utah, has plenty of lodging options, including the SpringHill Suites (from $294 or 63,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night), while the larger town of St. George, centrally located to all area parks, is packed with name-brand hotels as well as the design-forward and luxurious Advenire ($264 or 48,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night), an Autograph Collection property.

Just north of St. George, don’t miss the lava flows and Snow Canyon State Park, where you’ll see the desert painted with wildflowers like desert chickweed, buttercups and sand verbena.

Related: A beginners guide to visiting Zion National Park: Everything you need to know, see and do

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Yellowstone isn’t the only national park where you can watch baby bison wobble along on their spindly new legs. Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is bison central, charged with the mission to protect one of America’s most beloved — and most hunted — species from going extinct.

In addition to offering bison and other wildlife sightings, the park celebrates all aspects of prairie life, including the prairie crocus, abundant across these high plains just after snowmelt. And don’t forget the prairie dog — these highly social animals have their own gigantic “town” sprawling across acres of the park where they pop from their burrows to look curiously at visitors and call to their neighbors with doglike barks. Late May and early June is when prairie dog babies first come out to play in the springtime sun.

If you’re a U.S. history buff, then the Rough Riders Hotel (rates from $99 per night) is where you should stay. The hotel is named after Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer cavalry unit and boasts an expansive library both written by and about the 26th president. Some of the rooms are even replicas of historic 1880s accommodations.

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