Spring into travel
This is a great time to see natural wonders.
Summer is considered prime time for vacations. But spring is the most spectacular season to see the natural wonders of the USA.
Springtime brings gushing waterfalls, animal migrations, blooming flowers and more.
The country comes alive again. There are natural wonders all around the world, but U.S. travelers don’t need to go far to see Mother Nature at her best.
“Spring is such a perfect system when everything is in season, everything is in bloom,” says Ford Cochran, director of expedition talent for National Geographic Expeditions. “It’s a time to find rebirth and renewal in all of these places.”
Here are five places natureloving travelers should consider this spring:
Sandhill cranes of Nebraska
Each year, sandhill cranes make a 5,000-mile round-trip journey between Mexico and Canada, stopping along the way in Kearney, Neb., along the Platte River to take a break and nourish themselves. The town and its visitors oblige them.
As many as 600,000 cranes will show up. That’s about 80% of the world’s sandhill crane population. You can’t miss them: They are tall, with long necks and legs and large wings.
The Crane Trust’s latest count is that about 326,000 sandhill cranes are roosting on the river or in adjacent fields. One whooping crane, a rare species, has even been spotted.
Once a week during crane season, a survey team from the Crane Trust flies over 80 miles of the river from Overton, Neb., to Chapman, Neb., to determine how many cranes are roosting.
“They help to remind all of us the seasons of our lives,” Cochran says. “They are very uplifting, the sheer number of birds. They are all in motion. They are all making bird calls.
“To me, it’s a real celebration of what it means to be on a planet that has so much life.”
This year’s Audubon Nebraska Crane Festival runs through Sunday in Kearney. The Crane Trust offers various viewing tours during peak season.
Colorado Plateau’s wildflowers
The Colorado Plateau straddles the region known as the Four Corners, where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet. But in spring, wildflowers bloom all around.
The alpine meadows and mountainsides surrounding Durango, Colo., are a great place to see the explosion of colors, especially in late spring. The peak viewing times of the wildflowers vary with altitude.
This spring, travelers can get loweraltitude blooms from late May through mid-June. Expect to find hundreds of varieties such as glacier lilies, Colorado columbine, orchids and elephant’s head.
The flowers are dependent on winter precipitation, so a rainy, snowy winter can produce the best wildflowers.
Yosemite National Park’s waterfalls
The highest waterfall in North America is at Yosemite National Park in central California. Yosemite Falls drops 2,425 feet.
“It’s one of the most iconic sites,” says Jim Sano, vice president of travel and tourism and a supporter of sustainable tourism at the World Wildlife Fund.
Yosemite Falls is made up of three separate falls: Upper Yosemite Fall, the middle cascades and Lower Yosemite Fall. Visitors can hike to the top of the fall, but it’s a day-long endeavor.
Bridalveil Fall trail is a half-mile hike that takes travelers to one of the most picturesque waterfalls in the USA. Dropping 620 feet, Bridalveil Fall thunders during the spring, with peak flow in May.
Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall also provide wondrous views. You can hike be- tween these two falls on a steep trail.
Cochran says snow packs from the Sierra Mountains surround the valley, and glaciers feed off the runoff. The snowmelt causes the robust waterfalls.
“You see wind taking the mist of all that water and carrying it off to one side,” Cochran says. “You can hear it thundering during this season. Seeing the waterfall at work is an incredible thing.”
Peak runoff occurs in May or June. The waterfalls become a trickle or are completely dry by August, according to the National Park Service.
The Park Service highlights 10 trails but says there are many more to observe in the park.
Big Bend National Park
Texas is not all about Austin and Dallas. It has natural sites to explore, and one of the most significant is Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande.
The park covers about 800,000 acres of west Texas on the border with Mexico.
Expect to find more than 1,200 species of plants, hundreds of species of birds making their migratory journey from south to north or vice versa and animals such as jackrabbits, coyote, white-tailed deer and foxes. And of course, you will spot cactus.
Big Bend is one of the largest yet least-visited national parks in the country, with just about 350,000 visitors a year.
“It is one of the most biodiverse places in the world and it straddles the U.S.-Mexico border,” Sano says. “It is really kind of off the grid.”
The park has a Fossil Discovery Exhibit where visitors can learn about the geology of the area and spans more than 130 million years.
The park also is popular for its hiking trails. There are more than 150 miles of them, the largest expanse of roadless public lands in Texas, according to the National Park Service.
Barataria Preserve in Louisiana
Get a taste of Louisiana’s wild wetlands at this preserve outside of Marrero, La. The preserve covers 23,000 acres of bayous, swamps, natural levee forests, and marshes.
Expect to see alligators, turtles, more than 200 species of birds, wildflowers and other plants.
Many of the hikes are on elevated boardwalks, so there’s no need to fear the alligators, which can be spotted swimming through waterways or lounging on logs and bayou banks.
Visitors also can canoe through the seven interconnected waterways.
“You hear about the national parks and you hear about the popular places folks go to, but we really enjoy finding the hidden gems that are not popular for tourists and destination spots,” says Jennifer Pharr Davis, who runs a hiking company in Asheville, N.C. “The South and Southeast are good spots in spring break because of temperate climates if you want to get away from the crowds.”
And, as Davis points out, New Orleans is only about 45 minutes away.
“It’s just a nice mix of being someplace natural and beautiful and having amenities that are enjoyable nearby if you want them.”
Big Bend National Park “is one of the most biodiverse places in the world and it straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. It is really kind of off the grid.”
Jim Sano World Wildlife Fund