Avoid the summertime crowds and schedule tours to these landmarks off-season. Bonus: Many are drenched in fall colors.
By: Kristen J. Gough
National parks and memorials offer visitors the chance to venture into the outdoors—and take in a bit of history at the same time. While many visitors flock to these destinations in the spring and summer, fall may just be the ideal season to go as the crowds are waning. Plus, in tree-bedecked destinations, the leaves are beginning to transform into yellows, oranges and reds, offering picture-worthy adventures, whether your riders are checking out the sites from the motorcoach or getting out to explore. These destinations that bring together some of our nation’s greatest history lessons with amazing views, courtesy of Mother Nature.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Rapid City, South Dakota
Started in 1927 and finished 14 years later, the 60-foot sculpture of presidential faces etched in a sun-stretching piece of granite in Rapid City has become a worldwide draw. Each year more than two million visitors make their way along the winding stretch of SD-244 to see Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
For plentiful parking, plan on arriving earlier in the day (though maybe not right at the 5 a.m. opening). Encourage trip-goers to check out the visitors’ center on the way in for the daily schedule of events. Many like to find their own state’s flag on the walkway to the Grandview Terrace. That path also leads to some of the best views of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Tips for making the most of the visit: Parking and admission passes are good for the entire day. Many return to the Memorial near sunset to catch the sun illuminating the presidents’ granite faces. Beyond Mount Rushmore, there are roadways worth exploring to see scenic overlooks, cliffs, canyons, wildlife (yes, expect to eye some bison) and more, including the Wildlife Loop, Spearfish Canyon and Badlands Loop scenic byways.
Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Considered the turning point in the war between the North and the South, and its bloodiest conflict, the Battle of Gettysburg spread over three days in July of 1863 in a small Pennsylvania town. The North’s victory offered a much-needed morale boost, while the Confederate’s loss at a time when their army was at its strongest foreshadowed the war’s outcome. The events over those three days also helped inspire Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address delivered there later that year, on Nov. 19, 1863.
Begin your visit at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. Purchase the auto tour as a way to have a narrated guide or enlist a Licensed Battlefield Guide who can accompany you and your group on the motorcoach; know it’s best to reserve a guide at least three days before you plan on arriving (fees apply). The guide will accompany the group for a two-hour tour of significant points of interest throughout the 29 miles of roads along the battlefield.
Tips for making the most of the visit: Beyond the area’s historical significance, in the fall, it’s also known for apples. The National Apple Harvest Festival takes place over the first two weekends in October. At Hollabaugh Bros Fruit Farm and Market, your tour-goers can take an orchard tour, get a class on baking apple dumplings and shop for fruit.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Known as the “Shrine to Freedom,” the Thomas Jefferson Memorial holds a coveted spot along the banks of the Tidal Basin, which gets framed by the bronzing autumn leaves in the fall. The Memorial to the U.S.’s third president holds a 19-foot tall sculpture of Jefferson seemingly gazing over Washington, D.C. While the memorial is known for causing more than a few traffic headaches in the spring when the cherry blossoms start making their appearance, in the fall the area becomes a little more navigable – and the views just as stunning.
Parking anywhere near the National Mall and Memorial Parks presents a challenge, but there are private, paid parking structures north of the Mall. That said, visitors may enjoy snapping a few shots from the motorcoach and taking in the sites going around the Tidal Basin, where they’ll get to see not just Jefferson in his rotunda, but also the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and, of course, the Washington Monument and others along the National Mall.
Tips for making the most of the visit: Much of what the National Mall and Memorial Parks have to offer is free and open to the public, including the many memorials and the various world-class museums like the National Museum of Natural History, the National Air and Space Museum, and one of the newest additions, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. If your riders are spending the day going sightseeing, you might suggest they go by two wheels – there’s a bikeshare program for a quick, fun way to make it from one end of the Mall to the other, all while enjoying the milder, fall temps.
Minute Man National Historical Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Visitors to the Minute Man National Historical Park can stand in the spot where “the shot heard round the world” happened. That was how American author and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson characterized the pivotal moment when colonialists fired back on the British troops on April 19, 1775, ushering in the Revolutionary War. The park now takes in 970 acres, including statues and historic markers to help tell the story of the Revolution, along with other historic sites, like The Wayside, a historic home to noted authors such as Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
A multimedia program is offered at the Minute Man Visitor Center. Ranger-led programs are also available at various times throughout the day. It’s best to call ahead to make arrangements for larger groups, but one program includes a musket-firing demonstration.
Tips for making the most of the visit: In October, the park offers a Halloween Tales program on select dates and times from The Guild of Historic Interpreters. There’s a program designed for younger visitors (with fewer spooky tales) and another for those ready for some serious ghost tales.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Nageezi, New Mexico
In a remote northwest region of New Mexico lies evidence of ancient American cultures thousands of years in the making. Between 850 and 1250 A.D. the area emerged as an epicenter of activity and peoples, whose works you can still see on display through the structures they left behind that dot the park, along with artifacts and petroglyphs. Based on its cultural significance, the site garnered a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, helping the park become a draw for both national and international visitors.
Operators may want to consider including Chaco in an exploration of other ancient American sites within the Four Corners area like Mesa Verde National Park, the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and others.
Tips for making the most of the visit: There’s bus parking available throughout the nine-mile Canyon Loop Drive, including next to some of the most significant great houses, such as Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. Riders won’t need to walk far to see some of the best the park has to offer. Another option is to venture to the park at night, since it’s also distinguished as an International Dark Sky Park.
