Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with parks

Canadian National Parks

netbros — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:06:54 -0800

This is for our Canuck MeFites (or those with knowledge or experience). Please tell me about the Canadian National Park System. For the past 25 years I have spent a great deal of my leisure time exploring the U.S. National Parks. I am interested in doing the same north of the border. I especially love hiking in the mountains, so I'm looking for national park recommendations in the Purcell Mountains or Canadian Rockies. If you have familiarity with specific trails or off-road exploring that would be great.

But I don't want to exclude the easterners. What would you recommend on your side of the country? My previous Canadian experiences have been limited to Montreal and Toronto. I'd like to get out of the cities and into the wild. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Grilling in DC sans permits?

garfy3 — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:24:10 -0800

Where can we grill outdoors, in a park-setting, in DC or Arlington -- without permits or law enforcement getting involved? We're dying to grill outside tomorrow, and live rather close to Rock Creek Park, but it appears one needs a permit in advance to do any grilling there. On further inspection, most parks in DC don't allow it, and it would take all the fun out of it to be looking over our shoulders while trying to enjoy the outdoors.

So where can we go that we *don't need a permit* and can just show up and tailgate / grill out?

We're even considering crashing some kids' soccer game if we can just join the sidelines and start grilling.

thanks!

Road trip USA for Aussie noob

b33j — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:09:17 -0800

International Travel novice: What do I need to know that I don't know that I don't know? I'm Australian (from warm Queensland), meeting a friend from the Netherlands in the USA (Florida) in February 2010 for a two month road trip that will go through Canada (via Texas, California, Washington and many other places - itinerary mostly not set in stone yet) with the aim to concentrate on mutual internet friends, natural beauty and historical places. Tourist attractions (like Disneyland), not so much.

I know that I need airline tickets (but when do I book?) and a passport (what about visas?). What else do I need to know? Tips on packing (buy my winter stuff there?), on flight luggage, changing currency, paying for things over there (travellers cheques? Will my debit card work? What about my Mastercard? Will I have to pay fees for exchange of currency?). How much will it cost? How much would you set aside per day for living expenses if you were doing it cheap? What about powering my battery charger for my camera - should I be the converter here or there? Storage for my photos?

What should I have asked in this question that I didn't think to ask? Books and websites much appreciated as well as personal anecdotes.

What kind of recreational sports can I play in LA?

YoungAmerican — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:27:12 -0800

What kind of recreational sports can I play in LA? I'm a dude in my late 20s. I'd like to be active to promote, you know, healthiness, but I generally don't care for the gym (snooze), and I'm not nuts about running or cycling or anything with a lot of "personal bests." I do really enjoy playing sports.

What kind of recreational sports can I participate in LA?

Here are the catches:
* I like sports, but I'm not especially good at any of them. I mean, I'm better than the kind of people who always hated sports, but I'm worse than... well... basically anyone else. I'd love to be somewhere where I can learn to be better at something and people won't mock me or resent that I'm not particularly good.
* I don't really want to play anything, uhm, bone-crunching (like rugby, for example).
* All my friends are nerds who hate sports, so it has to be something I can sign up for solo.
* I live in Koreatown, and would love something nearby (though I'm open to other possibilities).
* I could spend some money on it (like buying a tennis racket or whatever), but I can't spend a bunch of money on it (hundreds and hundreds of dollars).
* No frisbees.

I guess my concern is that most adult rec sport is played by people who have been jocks all their lives. What's the sport for public radio host types like me?

Parks & Lakes near Dallas, TX

4chrisd — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:08:20 -0800

Impress a girl in Dallas? This weekend I'm going to Dallas to pick up a girl at the airport and I need some ideas (locations) to impress her. She loves parks and water...so I was thinking of taking her there for a while. I would also like places in Dallas that have an awesome view (from up high)...even a roof top garden (if you knew of one). I'm open for ideas...Do you know of any cool parks near water that are beautiful?

Camping, hiking, backpacking suggestions for a beginner in the Midwest?

lblair — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:07:58 -0800

Summer isn't THAT far off . . . already trying to come up with camping/hiking spots in the Midwest for once it gets warm. Help! Looking for specific recommendations for spots in the IL/IA/WI area, plus whatever other random camping and backpacking tips you want to throw my way. Bonus points for places I can bring my dog, although I don't mind leaving her with my parents for a week either. Having never gone camping as a kid, I only recently discovered how fun it is. I tried to expand my tent-camping experience in the the Illinois/Iowa area last summer but had a hard time figuring out the best places to go. Some of the places I went to were OK, some were kind of boring. Now summer is approaching again (ok, yes I know it's February but I'm desperate.) And I want to start planning for all the awesome places I'm going to go this summer.

I really like the idea of packing/traveling light, so I think I'd like to eventually pick up backpacking too, but I'm not sure I can afford to buy gear for that this year. I was thinking maybe if I found some good spots for tent camping, I could start building up my endurance/ experience on day-long hikes. (Up until now, my camping experience has mainly centered around being drunk around a campfire.) Don't get me wrong, that's also fun, but I want to get back into nature! I want to see some beautiful places but I'm feeling unsatisfied by what I've found through googling and National Park websites. I have a hard time getting a feel for what places are really like, so I'd like to have YOUR recommendations! I'm particularly looking in the Illinois/Wisconsin/Iowa area, but if there's something amazing a little further out, I'm game too. (Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri?) I have been searching some old AskMe's and found some cool stuff already such as the Dark Sky Finder and Pepsi Can Stove. Any other random helpful suggestions like this are more than welcome. I found this thread on backpacking really helpful. The pepsi can stove is a good example of something I can test-drive while tent camping, and then I'll be more confident once I start attempting actual backpacking trips.

Thanks in advance, Mefites. I'm so excited about this, I've literally been having recurring dreams about camping since about December.

Are parks/lawns/gardens highly valued in Australian cities and suburbs?

GIMG — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:23:39 -0800

Are parks and lawns highly valued in Australian cities and suburbs? Does drought threaten parks/lawns/gardens in a palpable way? I've heard parks/lawns/gardens are valued highly in Perth, but are also threatened by worsening drought problems. Does this translate to other areas of Australia as well? Is the threat of drought on parks/lawns/gardens an impactful one?

Lake sailing near San Diego?

mamessner — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:44:56 -0800

Anywhere to rent a sailboat on a lake near San Diego? I know all about the bay and ocean sailing rentals, but I'd like to go sailing like I did back home in Wisconsin - Go to a park, rent a little boat for cheap, have a picnic on shore, maybe BBQ a bit... Are there any county or state parks nearby where you can rent a sailboat on the cheap and go lake sailing?

Best book about Disney park design?

davebush — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:44:43 -0800

I want to read a book about Disney's parks, specifically, one that focuses on the parks' designs and their impact on the visitor's experience. I'm interested in knowing more about all of Disney's design techniques, - food service, architecture, lighting, guest services, Fast Pass...etc. I'd like some insight into all the details that make their parks feel so efficient and "happy." What book should I read?

Staying classy as a homeless in San Diego

hobbes — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:20:05 -0800

Staying ~~classy~~ cheap in San Diego.. where should I stay overnight? And any neighborhoods to avoid? Flying from SF down to San Diego to listen to a Robert Irwin lecture in La Jolla. Don't have any hotels/hostels booked, and I wanna minimize how much I spend.. what are some parks I can stay in overnight without being bothered by authorities? If this is actually too sketch, I'm open to staying in a hostel, but it seems like most of them only accept out-of-state, or international residents.

Thanks.

PS Anyone wanna climb on Friday, or Saturday? I'll bring my harness and shoes in that case.

Good items for an auction?

Shohn — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:39:36 -0800

I'm looking for ideas for items I can solicit as donations to an auction at a professional conference. I'll be attending a conference for Parks and Recreation professionals in February. I've been asked to help come up with items for the annual auction which supports several scholarship funds that the organization maintains. I've really been striking out with the vendors I use, because most of the stuff they sell is not really appropriate (i.e. playground equipment or bulk chain link fencing).

In the past, there have been various power tools and just miscellaneous stuff. Just to be clear, the attendees purchase these items from their personal funds, and for their personal use.

One thing I'm absolutely committed to bring is the "Tulsa Basket." Every participating city or town traditionally brings a basket of goods representing that city for the auction. I'm thinking about a BBQ theme for mine, but any ideas for different stuff for the basket would be appreciated as well.

Thanks a million!

City community center: Free to them, fee for us

mikelly — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:43:33 -0800

Can a public community center charge a private daycare for space that is free to the public? I work for a privately owned summer school and daycare center. Each day, for the past several weeks, we have been taking our 30-40 students to an indoor gym at the local community center, which is free to all minors (adults pay $2). Initially, the staff at the community center were fine with our kids spending an hour a day there. Last week, however, they decided that since we are a for-profit organization, we must pay $1 a day per child. Understanding that we do take over most of the gym while we are there, I asked if we could bring a smaller number of kids to the gym to avoid charge, and they said no.

Do they have a right to charge our kids because they are under our supervision? The community center is government run by the parks and recreation department. Public parks and libraries don't charge us for free public space and services. I do realize that public centers charge private parties for reservations and room rentals, but would the community center be justified in charging us to bring in, say, 10 children for an hour a day to share the gym with everyone else?

Can I avoid crowds at Disneyland?

b_thinky — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:01:34 -0800

I want to take my kids/nieces/nephews to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and other SoCal theme parks. But I hate crowds. I'd like to go on the least crowded days. Given this is summer, is there a big difference in crowdedness if I go on a weekday vs weekend? Or will I just have to suck it up and deal with a huge crowd regardless of what day I go?

Newport Oregon Lodging

mctsonic — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:53:33 -0800

Newport Oregon lodging possibilities? My wife and I are travelling to Oregon for vacation for one week. While we will spend most of the time in the Portland area and a side trip to Columbia River Gorge area, we do plan to spend a couple of nights along the North/Central Oregon coast area. Can someone please suggest a good hotel/lodging/b&b stop in Newport, OR area, please? Also - feel free to chime in with any no miss spots/natural beauty/hiking, etc. in the Central/North Oregon area. Thanks a lot!

How can we get the most out of Six Flags, Atlanta and IKEA?

ZackTM — Tue, 30 May 2006 08:43:28 -0800

How can we best enjoy a trip to Atlanta & Six Flags? This coming weekend (June 9-11th) I'm taking a 6 hour road trip to Atlanta with my roommate, my best friend, and my new girlfriend. (Thats 3 completely different people by the way). My Best Friend and my Roommate are not romantically linked but they certainly enjoy each others company. We are going to drive to Alanta Friday evening and get there late, go to Six Flags Saturday, then dinner and possibly a bar or two that night. Sunday we'll spend the day at IKEA while the girls pick out furniture for my house and I eat meatballs.

What tips do you have for enjoying a 'double-date weekend'? How can we get the most out of Six Flags, Atlanta and IKEA?

Looking for any and all advice!

Notes:
We're all in our early 20s, the girls are pretty low-maintenance, and we're going for 'fun' not romantic.

Help us see the Southwest

josh — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:09:25 -0800

We're going to be in Tucson, AZ for a wedding the weekend of June 3rd. We'd really like to spend the week after the wedding seeing the Southwest (Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon, and so on). Where should we go and how should we get there? I have in mind, say, driving from Tucson to the Grand Canyon, then from the Grand Canyon to the Four Corners, spending two nights, say, at the Canyon and at Mesa Verde. (We'll have about a week.) But the truth is that I haven't spent any time out there, have no idea how far one place is from another, and don't really know how to efficiently organize things. For example, we'll be flying into Tucson--but can we fly out from somewhere in the Four Corners area without driving all the way to Salt Lake City?

Anyone have any advice? We're on a budget, and figure that as long as we're paying to fly all the way out to Tucson from Boston, we'd like to see some amazing places.

Hopefully that creepy dancing guy won't be there

emptybowl — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 13:49:54 -0800

Is there any way I can find attendance statistics for amusement parks? Planning a trip to Six Flags here in Maryland. My theory: July 5th would be a good day to go. It's my belief that people are more likely to take off Friday for a 4 day weekend, than a Tuesday, and other's would be lees likely to take a day off, since it's just after a holiday, so July 5th would be less crowded than normal. Everyone else seems to think I'm crazy and that any day near a holiday would be a mess. If no one knows where I can get statistics, I will certainly accept opinions on the validity/insanity of my theory.