[330xtrai]

Hey guys!!
I have my last day of masters classes today finished undergrad in 3 years masters in one and will be starting dental school in less than a month. the passed 4 years have been full of classes etc and wanna take a trip before starting Dental school aka 4 year hell you pay a fortune for it pays off in the end though and I'm pursuing what I love. Wanna plan a trip with a few of my friends. I plan on going to one of the closest national parks to me I live in NJ. Either Cuyahoga Valley, Shenandoah(closest to me) or Acadia, or one of the 3 in Florida or somewhere else if you guys have suggestions.
Wanna know if anyone has been to these and which is the best or specific sites in each that are must go to. I will be taking photos so scenery is a major part. I'll probably be camping or stopping half way or almost there(stopping in boston at my new apartment or in cleveland by some family or delaware at a friends apartment(depending what park I go to).
If you guys have suggestion for other places to go to instead I'm all ears. want something fun and exciting.

[Mr Tonka]

Acadia is pretty awesome. All the amenities of a coastal destination (food, lodging, etc...) with a fantastic park with great hiking, biking, sights, tours, drives, etc...

Mt. Desert Island is unique because when you're hiking you have a sense of ascending granite peaks of Colorado, but the trail heads are only a 7 min drive from (Bar Harbor) your hotel, 17 good restaurants and the coast. Very cool place.

[Flying Ace]

Cuyahoga Valley is relatively new park, I've never been there before, even living in Ohio.

I use to live in VA and I often visited Shenandoah. If you go there, you should enjoy skyline drive.

Out of all the ones you brought up though, Arcadia is the truly legit one based on pictures I've seen.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Cuyahoga Valley is relatively new park, I've never been there before, even living in Ohio.

I use to live in VA and I often visited Shenandoah. If you go there, you should enjoy skyline drive.

Out of all the ones you brought up though, Arcadia is the truly legit one based on pictures I've seen.

Looking down on Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain.




The channel running up the center of Mt. Desert Island.




Kayaking in the harbor.




Balanced Rock




Tide pools...




Light Houses...




Sunsets...




Lakes...




Love showing the scale of balanced rock. lol




We were there for 5 days and didn't get to do 1/3 of the things we would have liked to. There is a lot to do there!

[RickFLM4]

Nowhere near the locations you mentioned, but I really liked Yosemite. We've also been to the Grand Canyon but I thought Yosemite was more fun mainly because I thought there was a better variety of things to see and the climate was better for hiking.

[330xtrai]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Acadia is pretty awesome. All the amenities of a coastal destination (food, lodging, etc...) with a fantastic park with great hiking, biking, sights, tours, drives, etc...

Mt. Desert Island is unique because when you're hiking you have a sense of ascending granite peaks of Colorado, but the trail heads are only a 7 min drive from (Bar Harbor) your hotel, 17 good restaurants and the coast. Very cool place.

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Cuyahoga Valley is relatively new park, I've never been there before, even living in Ohio.

I use to live in VA and I often visited Shenandoah. If you go there, you should enjoy skyline drive.

Out of all the ones you brought up though, Arcadia is the truly legit one based on pictures I've seen.

oh ok Yeah Its hard to decide since they all seem nice. but I'm kinda leaning toward acadia now

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Looking down on Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain.




The channel running up the center of Mt. Desert Island.




Kayaking in the harbor.




Balanced Rock




Tide pools...




Light Houses...




Sunsets...




Lakes...




Love showing the scale of balanced rock. lol




We were there for 5 days and didn't get to do 1/3 of the things we would have liked to. There is a lot to do there!

Oh nice definitely seems interesting. The pictures are awesome making me want to go to Acadia even more now.

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Nowhere near the locations you mentioned, but I really liked Yosemite. We've also been to the Grand Canyon but I thought Yosemite was more fun mainly because I thought there was a better variety of things to see and the climate was better for hiking.

Was considering it but on such short notice plane tickets are probably going to be a lot. Maybe the next trip I go. It seems awesome had a couple of friends that went there.
Thanks guys

[Josh (PA)]

This time of year, I'd say:
1. Acadia
2. Shenandoah/Blue Ridge down to Smoky Mountains if you can make it that far
3. Florida
99. Cuyahoga Valley

If you're not set on a National Park, the Ny Finger Lakes region combines a lot of nice vacation options (lake activities, wine tasting, the Glen Hiking through waterfall gorges, etc)