National Geographic Traveler Interactive - 10.11 2019

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

Stacking 220 separate

exposures created this

star trails image of Jasper

National Park in Canada.

Dogsledding

ALASKA

The northernmost national

park in the United States

is one of the wildest of the

planet’s remaining wild

places. No roads lead into

the Gates of the Arctic

National Park and Pre-

serve’s 8.4 million pristine

acres, all of which lie north

of the Arctic Circle. Most

visitors arrive in summer

by bush plane, so a winter

dogsled run across the

snow-encrusted expanses

is among the rarest of

national park experiences.

Beginning in March 2020,

Arctic Winter Adventures

will offer five three-day

dogsledding trips (one

person or couple per trip)

inside the park.

Subterranean Snorkel

QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

Hidden beneath the lush greenery of the Yucatán Peninsula

are more than 6,000 sinkholes, or cenotes, formed when

limestone collapses and groundwater seeps in. Revered by

the Maya as portals to the gods, the underwater caves now

draw divers eager to explore a watery window into the Earth.

But no special certifications are required to go snorkeling

among stalactites and stalagmites in the grottoes of

Aktun-Chen Natural Park, 15 miles north of Tulum.

Snowmobiling

WYOMING

See the winter wonders of

Yellowstone National Park

by snowmobile with Anvil

Hotel’s Explorers Club. On

a hundred-mile tour, spot

bison and elk en route to

Old Faithful or the Grand

Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Stargazing

ALBERTA, CANADA

At some 4,200 square

miles, Jasper National Park

ranks as one of the largest

dark-sky destinations. On

a clear, moonless night, be

mesmerized by billions of

twinkling stars and, just

maybe, the aurora borealis.

White-Water Rafting

IDAHO
Hold on tight for a six-day roller-coaster ride over Class III
and IV white-water rapids. The Middle Fork of the Salmon
River deepens and swells as it flows through the 2.3-million-
acre Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness (the
nation’s largest continuous wilderness area south of Alaska),
continually dialing up the exhilaration quotient. During rare
flat-water stretches, be sure to scan the shore for bighorn
sheep and bubbling hot springs.

Canyon Climb

UTAH

Bagging Angels Landing

peak in Zion National Park

earns you bragging rights

and breathtaking views.

The five-mile trail is a test

of courage with 21 steep

switchbacks leading to a

thousand-foot-high ridge.

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