State Parks

[1995hoo]

(Trip around Ontario included Ottawa, North Bay, Cochrane/Greenwater Provincial Park, Moosonee and Moose Factory, Timmins, Sudbury, east side of Georgian Bay, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. For the drive home from Toronto, all in one day, my father decided on the long way around via Erie and I-79 down to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Don't need to go that way ever again!)

It's funny you mention the long way home, since that was the main route my family would take from eastern NC. Google Maps says it's currently 23 minutes faster to take I-99>US 219, but my parents probably preferred sticking to the interstate.

There was no I-99 at the time of our trip. My father often liked to get off the Interstate due to boredom, but I assume in that situation it was simply a desire to get home. I seem to recall getting home very late at night too, which no doubt factored into the routing.

[inkyatari]

The only Provincial park I've been to are

B.C.:

Manning.  Absolutely stunning place

Ontario:

Kakabeka Falls

[hbelkins]

I just saw a paper claiming NF was The Honeymoon place in 50s.

Indeed it was. Lots of people from this area went honeymooning there.

Not my parents. I think they went to Florida, but they made a trip to Niagara early in their marriage. I don't remember when, exactly, and both are dead now so I can't ask them about the trip, but I think it's possible I went along. However, I wasn't able to see anything because the trip may have been when my mom was pregnant with me.

Possible new thread: How many roads have you clinched in utero?

For me, one answer would be WV 2. My dad told me they went up WV 2 and came back OH 7. He said the road on the Ohio side of the river was in much better shape.

[cpzilliacus]

In Maine, Baxter State Park in rural Piscataquis County up north is really pretty, especially in the fall when the foliage is in full force. It's home to the state's highest point, Mount Katahdin, which is also the north end of the Appalachian Trail. Baxter is by far my favorite of Maine's state parks, but there are also a few others that I enjoy...

I was going to mention Baxter SP if you had not already. It is one of the biggest and wildest state parks east of the Mississippi River (might be the biggest in the East, not 100% certain).

[jwolfer]

Rocks State Park and Susquehanna State Park are the two where I live in Harford County, Maryland. They're both great for recreation almost year-round. I should mention that the Rocks doesn't have public camping, but does have multiple trails and picnic areas, and some amazing views of Deer Creek. Susquehanna is bigger and does have camping.

I will second Rocks State Park.  A few years ago we went there with family who lived in the area.  We went to two nice locations - Kilgore Falls and another section where we climbed up on (appropriately enough) very large....rocks.  Great view.  Also, for Maryland, I like Cunningham Falls near Thurmont.

New Jersey has some good state parks.  Locally, we go to the beach at Island Beach State Park.  A yearly state park pass gets your car in, with no need to worry about Jersey's ridiculous municipal beach tag system.  Can't beat it....unless the park hits capacity as it often does on summer weekends.

When i was a kid i had a lot of birthday parties at Allaire State Park. I loved the trails.

We could ride our bikes on a bike trail from Manasquan there and when i was 12 or 13 we even got to ride bikes on the completed but unopened i195. Talk about a roadgeek wet-dream

LGMS428

[Max Rockatansky]

For Florida some of the stuff down in the Keys like Bahia Honda, Indian Key, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef are pretty nice.  Bahia Honda has probably one of the nicer beaches in the Lower Keys and the obvious road attraction for the Old Bahia Bridge.  Indian Key is a neat ghost town site just south of US 1 that was from the Seminole Wars.  Coral Reef is like a smaller version of Biscayne National Park but more accessible for the casual visitor.  I used to like taking to take some of my family members up to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to see Manatees and they always seemed to enjoy that whole deal with the mermaid show down in Weeki Wachee.  I always liked places like Amelia Island near Jacksonville, the Skyway Pier just to see the old/new Skyway Bridge, and even Highlands Hammock. 

[triplemultiplex]

Devil's Lake is probably Wisconsin's most well-known state park. It's certainly the most visited.  It's hard to avoid the crowds on a nice weekend, no matter what time of year, but the view from one of the bluffs is like something you'd get up by Lake Superior.
Copper Falls State Park outside of Mellen, WI, is one I went to a lot in my youth.  The Bad River and Tyler Forks plunge over narrow cascades above their confluence.  The old growth hemlock forest along the short canyon adds to the ambience of roaring water.  Spring is the best time to go, when the water is high.
Wisconsin had a great legacy of public lands stewardship until just recently, so get out and enjoy WI's state parks this year before they go to shit and start costing an arm and a leg to get into.

Another shout out for The Porkies up there in the Western UP.  Love it.

Also, another shout out for the string of Minnesota state parks up the coast of Lake Superior.

Custer State Park in South Dakota is a real gem.  The free-range bison at Custer are what is missing from one's vacation to the rest of the Black Hills.

Not my state, but Utah's Dead Horse Point State Park has scenery worthy of a national park. Recommended.

Isn't there a uranium processing plant In the view?

It's a potash facility.
There are a deposits of potassium-rich salts in the area.  They pump water through the salt layers and let the resulting solution evaporate in large ponds.  Sort, package and deliver.

[DandyDan]

Another vote for Starved Rock in Illinois. Isn't Cahokia Mounds only a state park?  Lots of history there.

It's probably a family thing, but my personal favorite in Minnesota is Blue Mounds by Luverne.

I liked Pilot Knob in Iowa the time I went there.

All the years I lived in Nebraska and I never went to one I liked there, although my brother's family likes Ashfall.