Nightmarish parking conditions might dissuade all but the most resolute from visiting Muir Woods National Monument, but it’s absolutely worth the hassle. Once you leave your rig behind you will disappear into the coolness of the tall trees. Meld with the moss; it’s a great way to spend a fall day. As for parking, help is on the way.

It’s a winding drive through Idaho fields of corn, grain, sugar beets and potatoes. Out into the middle of a vast plain of irrigated fertility. But just 74 years ago, it was a spreading plain of sagebrush squatting beside a large irrigation canal carrying Snake River water to farms further west. It was a desolate, nearly empty place. A perfect place for a prison camp.

Autumn is a spectacular time to visit Denali National Park. The alpine and subalpine tundra at higher elevations gleam with fall color by mid- to late-August. The taiga at lower elevations is aglow in reds by early September, a time when the aspen and balsam poplar near the park entrance turn brilliant yellow and gold.

At Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah you can stand at 10,000 feet elevation on the rim of a spectacular 2,000-foot deep amphitheater of eroded rock stretching a width of about three miles. You will marvel at the dramatic shapes of the columns and spires, and at the reds, yellows and oranges of the stone formations.