These wheelchair access travel notes refer to Zion Canyon National Park, Utah and my experience visiting the park as a wheelchair user. Hopefully, they will be of some use to any other disabled traveler interested in visiting the park.
The US Parks service is generally pretty good at providing information about their parks and accessibility. Before visiting any national park I recommend checking out their web site (and gleaning as much information as you can).
Route 9 runs right through Zion National Park and there are two entrances - a South Entrance at Springdale and an East entrance. You can drive into the park ($25 charge per car) but traffic is controlled and during summer months only shuttle busses are allowed to take the Zion Canyon scenic drive. There is a lodge in the park with handicapped accessible rooms although I did not stay there myself, and there are accessible camping sites. There are also many accommodation options outside the park.
The visitor center is at the South Entrance and is fully accessible with accessible rest rooms. The shuttle busses run through peak season and are all fully accessible. Most of the trails are not wheelchair accessible. The Pa'rus trail runs from the Visitor Centre and is listed as accessible, although I did not try it myself. I was running low in energy having spent the previous day beating around Bryce Canyon Park! I did take the shuttle to the Riverside walk which is also listed as accessible. The Riverside walk takes you right into the canyon and is really beautiful. The path is fully paved but there are many inclines, some of them quite steep. A fit young wheeler could navigate the path without assistance, but I depended on the kindness of strangers to get me over the steepest gradients! It is no problem at all with a walkie for occasional assistance and is very worthwhile. It's about a 2mile (3.2km) round trip so give yourself plenty of time.
The restaurant in the lodge is fully accessible and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Definitely worth a day trip although once you have done the two trails there are really not many other options left to you as a wheelie.
Showing posts with label Parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parks. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Utah, USA - Bryce Canyon National Park
These wheelchair access travel notes refer to Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah and my experience visiting the park as a wheelchair user. Hopefully, they will be of some use to any other disabled traveler interested in visiting the park.
The US Parks service is generally pretty good at providing information about their parks and accessibility. Before visiting any national park I recommend checking out their web site (and gleaning as much information as you can).
For Bryce, you can drive into the park ($25 charge per car). I stayed in the park lodge accommodation run by Xanterra (see this review). There are also many accommodation options outside the park (for example, the Best Western Bryce Canyon, see review here).
The park is set on the edge of a plateau, and an 18-mile road stretches along the edge with many lookouts to see the incredible scenery. Most of the main action takes place in and around the park lodge location.
The visitors center (at the entrance gate) and the lodge are both handicapped accessible and have accessible restrooms. There are also accessible restrooms at Sunset Point lookout. There are accessible campsite locations also.
There are not a whole lot of options for hiking (wheeling). There is a paved path between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point lookouts by the lodge. Unfortunately, unlike the Grand Canyon rim trail, this rim trail is raised at both ends and drops in the middle so there is no way of avoiding a climb. (The Grand Canyon rim trail falls from East to West, so if you are in a chair, start at the Eastern end of the trail). Sunrise point has a very steep incline to tech viewing platform that cannot be managed in a chair without assistance. This includes coming down as the path surface is gravelly and very slippy!
The rest of the viewpoints are accessible to wheelchairs only by car or shuttle. All are accessible to some degree although Sunrise, Bryce and Inspiration all have steep inclines that may need assistance. If you have time, see them all as each gives a different perspective on the park. However, if you don't want to haul yourself in an out of a car at every point, then the "must see" lookouts that are fully accessible to a lone wheeler are Rainbow (at the very end of the road), Natural Bridge (don't miss this if you visit!) and Sunset. If you have time for only one, then do Sunset point - it will give you a sense of the magic of this place.
There is a short paved path at Paria point that is also worth looking at.
During the summer season a shuttle runs through the park. I am told this is fully accessible although it was not running when I visited. If so, this is a good option for getting around.
The restaurant in the lodge is fully accessible and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (reservations required for dinner).
AS an aside, contrary to what you might expect, Sunrise Point is not the best place to watch the sunrise, and Sunset Point is not the best place to watch the sun set! (Try Bryce point for sunrise, although Sunset Point would be pretty good too, and Inspiration point for sun set. The sun set isn't such a big deal in this Eastward facing park).
There are various ranger led activities. I had a geology talk at Sunset Point, a ranger led rim walk and a night sky presentation by the "Dark Rangers". (Bryce has very little light pollution so it's a good place for star gazing). All of these are accessible although some may have problems looking into the telescopes for the star gazing session if you are small, or unable to lift yourself in the chair. If you are interested in this I would recommend doing what I did not do, and talk to the rangers in advance about your needs.
If you are one of the lucky ones who can ride a horse then a horse ride into the park would be spectacular (I imagine). Personally, I have tried horse riding but with my dodgy balance and lack of sensation I found the experience nerve-racking. I would definitely not recommend trying horse riding for the first time in this park - experienced riders only need apply!
Check out the park web site here, and prepare for a lot of hauling yourself in and out of your car and up and down rough paved paths, and wear old clothes because you are going to get covered in dust! And have fun!
Strongly recommended.
The US Parks service is generally pretty good at providing information about their parks and accessibility. Before visiting any national park I recommend checking out their web site (and gleaning as much information as you can).
For Bryce, you can drive into the park ($25 charge per car). I stayed in the park lodge accommodation run by Xanterra (see this review). There are also many accommodation options outside the park (for example, the Best Western Bryce Canyon, see review here).
The park is set on the edge of a plateau, and an 18-mile road stretches along the edge with many lookouts to see the incredible scenery. Most of the main action takes place in and around the park lodge location.
The visitors center (at the entrance gate) and the lodge are both handicapped accessible and have accessible restrooms. There are also accessible restrooms at Sunset Point lookout. There are accessible campsite locations also.
There are not a whole lot of options for hiking (wheeling). There is a paved path between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point lookouts by the lodge. Unfortunately, unlike the Grand Canyon rim trail, this rim trail is raised at both ends and drops in the middle so there is no way of avoiding a climb. (The Grand Canyon rim trail falls from East to West, so if you are in a chair, start at the Eastern end of the trail). Sunrise point has a very steep incline to tech viewing platform that cannot be managed in a chair without assistance. This includes coming down as the path surface is gravelly and very slippy!
The rest of the viewpoints are accessible to wheelchairs only by car or shuttle. All are accessible to some degree although Sunrise, Bryce and Inspiration all have steep inclines that may need assistance. If you have time, see them all as each gives a different perspective on the park. However, if you don't want to haul yourself in an out of a car at every point, then the "must see" lookouts that are fully accessible to a lone wheeler are Rainbow (at the very end of the road), Natural Bridge (don't miss this if you visit!) and Sunset. If you have time for only one, then do Sunset point - it will give you a sense of the magic of this place.
There is a short paved path at Paria point that is also worth looking at.
During the summer season a shuttle runs through the park. I am told this is fully accessible although it was not running when I visited. If so, this is a good option for getting around.
The restaurant in the lodge is fully accessible and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (reservations required for dinner).
AS an aside, contrary to what you might expect, Sunrise Point is not the best place to watch the sunrise, and Sunset Point is not the best place to watch the sun set! (Try Bryce point for sunrise, although Sunset Point would be pretty good too, and Inspiration point for sun set. The sun set isn't such a big deal in this Eastward facing park).
There are various ranger led activities. I had a geology talk at Sunset Point, a ranger led rim walk and a night sky presentation by the "Dark Rangers". (Bryce has very little light pollution so it's a good place for star gazing). All of these are accessible although some may have problems looking into the telescopes for the star gazing session if you are small, or unable to lift yourself in the chair. If you are interested in this I would recommend doing what I did not do, and talk to the rangers in advance about your needs.
If you are one of the lucky ones who can ride a horse then a horse ride into the park would be spectacular (I imagine). Personally, I have tried horse riding but with my dodgy balance and lack of sensation I found the experience nerve-racking. I would definitely not recommend trying horse riding for the first time in this park - experienced riders only need apply!
Check out the park web site here, and prepare for a lot of hauling yourself in and out of your car and up and down rough paved paths, and wear old clothes because you are going to get covered in dust! And have fun!
Strongly recommended.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
These notes aim to provide guidance for handicapped, disabled or wheelchair users who travel to the southern outer banks, North Carolina. These informal notes are from a trip I took there with my wife.
Outer Banks
The outer banks are a thin strip of islands off the East Coast of North Carolina (Note: it would be kind of difficult to have islands off the West coast - since there isn't a West Coast!). The northern end is fairly developed with hundreds of condos for rent and a few hotels and restaurants. The southern end is primarily a National Seashore Reserve and development and residency is restricted to a handful of villages.
We stayed at the southern tip in Ocracoke, then drove up the banks to Kill Devil Hills.
Getting There
You need to drive. The outer banks are joined to the mainland at the northern end by a causeway. Most of the islands are linked by bridges, the exception being Ocracoke Island on the southern end which is accessible only by ferry.
We took the ferry from Cedar Island, a two hour ride. Timetables and ferry information is available at www.ncferry.org. Tell the ferry staff that you use a wheelchair when you arrive, they will try to load you close to the door to the café area. You drive on-board. It is possible to stay in your vehicle, but the door to the café area is ramped and there is an accessible toilet on-board. There are vending machines, but apart from that facilities are pretty basic. The ferry deposits you in Ocracoke.
Coming from the north, you get a ferry from Hatteras. This is a short (30min) journey and you can stay in your vehicle.
Places to Stay and Eat
Ocracoke is a small community (pop. 750) with a lot of rental property available. Unfortunately, most of this is hopelessly inaccessible since the building technique here is to place all living area at least one floor above ground level (presumably because of flooding during storms).
The Ocracoke Harbor Inn (www.ocracokeharborinn.com ) has two accessible bedrooms. These are up a long ramp and have a very steep short ramp to get over the threshold (4” rise in 6”). The room is compact with a spacious bathroom. The breakfast room is beside the reception area across the road and is accessible via a steep ramp. My research turned up no other accessible accommodation in Ocracoke.
The Flying Melon in Ocracoke serves great food and is accessible, although the path leading to the restaurant is unpaved and very rough. They do not have accessible toilets.
Further north the only real option is one of the chain hotels. We stayed in a Comfort Inn in Kill Devil Hills and it was acceptable in terms of access.
Things to do
The National Seashore Park (www.nps.gov/caha) is the main attraction here. Miles of wonderful beach and plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting. There are several access points to the beach via boardwalks, but the beach itself is not wheelable. A beach chair is available (www.nps.gov/caha/pphtml/accessibility.html for details).
The nature trail on island is not officially accessible but I gave it a shot anyway. I think that it is doable with assistance from a strong walkie. I was on my own (in a street chair ill-suited to off-road travels) and managed to cover over half of it. The early stages are boardwalk which makes traveling easy. After that, I went anti-clockwise around the trail loop for a period before a steep sandy hill defeated me. In the clockwise direction I got further, although areas of the trail were under an inch of water and the mud threatened to bog me down. The effort was worth it for the birds, frogs and snakes that I encountered, but mosquito spray is an absolute must!
Further north is Hatteras Lighthouse. For obvious reasons the look-out post at the top is not accessible! The information centre is.
Further north again, the wildlife trail is partly accessible. It is a loop. The southern end has been paved and provides superb views over the banks and a breathtaking array of birds. There are various viewing platforms and each one has a wheelchair accessible magnifying viewer (Good for kids also!). The information centre is accessible. The Northern end is paved for a shorter stretch and I did not explore it.
Outer Banks
The outer banks are a thin strip of islands off the East Coast of North Carolina (Note: it would be kind of difficult to have islands off the West coast - since there isn't a West Coast!). The northern end is fairly developed with hundreds of condos for rent and a few hotels and restaurants. The southern end is primarily a National Seashore Reserve and development and residency is restricted to a handful of villages.
We stayed at the southern tip in Ocracoke, then drove up the banks to Kill Devil Hills.
Getting There
You need to drive. The outer banks are joined to the mainland at the northern end by a causeway. Most of the islands are linked by bridges, the exception being Ocracoke Island on the southern end which is accessible only by ferry.
We took the ferry from Cedar Island, a two hour ride. Timetables and ferry information is available at www.ncferry.org. Tell the ferry staff that you use a wheelchair when you arrive, they will try to load you close to the door to the café area. You drive on-board. It is possible to stay in your vehicle, but the door to the café area is ramped and there is an accessible toilet on-board. There are vending machines, but apart from that facilities are pretty basic. The ferry deposits you in Ocracoke.
Coming from the north, you get a ferry from Hatteras. This is a short (30min) journey and you can stay in your vehicle.
Places to Stay and Eat
Ocracoke is a small community (pop. 750) with a lot of rental property available. Unfortunately, most of this is hopelessly inaccessible since the building technique here is to place all living area at least one floor above ground level (presumably because of flooding during storms).
The Ocracoke Harbor Inn (www.ocracokeharborinn.com ) has two accessible bedrooms. These are up a long ramp and have a very steep short ramp to get over the threshold (4” rise in 6”). The room is compact with a spacious bathroom. The breakfast room is beside the reception area across the road and is accessible via a steep ramp. My research turned up no other accessible accommodation in Ocracoke.
The Flying Melon in Ocracoke serves great food and is accessible, although the path leading to the restaurant is unpaved and very rough. They do not have accessible toilets.
Further north the only real option is one of the chain hotels. We stayed in a Comfort Inn in Kill Devil Hills and it was acceptable in terms of access.
Things to do
The National Seashore Park (www.nps.gov/caha) is the main attraction here. Miles of wonderful beach and plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting. There are several access points to the beach via boardwalks, but the beach itself is not wheelable. A beach chair is available (www.nps.gov/caha/pphtml/accessibility.html for details).
The
Further north is Hatteras Lighthouse. For obvious reasons the look-out post at the top is not accessible! The information centre is.
Further north again, the
Monday, May 23, 2005
The Everglades National Park
These notes aim to provide guidance for handicapped, disabled or wheelchair users who travel to the Everglades National Park, Florida. These informal notes are from a trip I took there with my wife.
Getting There
The Everglades National Park is located in southern Florida. There are two entrances – east and west. The East entrance is about an hour’s drive from Miami (at Homestead/Florida City), the West entrance is accessible from Tampa (via Everglades City). Note that there are no roads through the park from one gate to the other. You choose whichever one you want.
Getting Around
The Everglades is a very big park, and only a small fraction is accessible to humans – and an even smaller fraction to wheeling humans. Nevertheless, we found it an immensely satisfying experience and a great place to get away from it all.
The National Park Service provide good information on all aspects of the park, including accessibility, try www.nps.gov/ever.
We stayed on the east side of the park. There is one good paved road and few roads that might be okay for 4WD. The best way to get around is by car – drive to one of the accessible walks and get out and experience the park.
Things to do
By far the most satisfying trail is the Anhinga trail at the Royal Palm Visitor Centre. This is just a mile or two from the East gate entrance, so you can make it a day trip from Miami if you want.
The trail itself is a combination of boardwalk and pavement with no significant slopes. Although you could wheel it in 30 minutes, there is so much wildlife to see that I took several hours to complete the circuit.
The visitor center has an excellent accessible toilet and a small and pokey shop.
Other accessible trails are listed on the NPS web-site, The ones I tried were less exciting in terms of wildlife but a pleasant way to get into nature. The Gumbo-Limbo trail is rougher than the Anhinga, but gives you the feeling of being deep in the woods – a nice feeling for those of us who are normally confined to pavements and “civilization”. The Payahokee Overlook trail gives views over the sawgrass plains. It is important to enter it from the opening at the end of the car-park (with the big wheelchair sign – so that you go around the trail clockwise) as the viewing platform is not accessible from the other direction.
Heat and mosquitoes prevented me from trying the others. Speaking of which, winter is the best time to visit. We visited in May and the mosquitoes were pretty bad – although the guides told us that they hadn’t really got up for the summer yet!
The boat rides from Flamingo Lodge are accessible and well-worth it. The boats are large flat, barge-like designs. Wheeling on was no problem with just a step of an inch or so between the dock and the boat. Once on board you don’t have to move – just enjoy the wildlife! The toilets (or heads) are not accessible.
The shop and toilets at Flamingo visitor centre are accessible.
Places to Stay
Some campsites are accessible, details are provided on the National Park Services website. However, we stayed in a cottage at Flamingo. The cottages and lodge are managed by Xanterra (www.beautiful-places-on-earth.com). They have two accessible cottages and advance reservation is strongly recommended.
Our cottage had a large living room (with a sofa-bed) and a bedroom with a queen sized bed. There was a small step (1” – 25mm) into the living room from outside. Everywhere else had level access. The bathroom was roomy, but it had a very strange shower with a molded plastic seat in one corner and a 4” lip that was difficult to get a wheelchair over. Due to the awkward positioning of the grab rails, it is not possible to sit on the seat comfortably if you have balance problems. Nor is it possible to reach the controls for the shower from the seat once you are there. The shower head is fixed. Between grabbing onto the handrails that are trying to push you out of the seat, and trying to balance, only a dexterous octopus could succeed in showering himself without aid. Luckily my wife stepped in to ensure that I smelled presentable for the duration of our stay.
It should be noted that this is the Everglades, and there is a profusion of wildlife attempting to occupy the same place as the cottages. Our cottage had an infestation of carpenter ants when we arrived. These were dealt with quickly by the staff once we mentioned it to them. However, you should be prepared to share your living space with various creatures. Apart from the carpenter ants, we had a lizard that lived under the bed, and an enormous spider that lived over the bed. (I chose not to point out the latter to my wife – she had enough to deal with between the ants and the lizard!). On the plus side you get the same profusion of wildlife outside, and rabbits, egrets and ospreys were common sights through the window over breakfast.
Places to eat
There is a restaurant at the Flamingo centre. Although I believe it is accessible, we did not eat there, preferring to cook our own food in the cottage.
Getting There
The Everglades National Park is located in southern Florida. There are two entrances – east and west. The East entrance is about an hour’s drive from Miami (at Homestead/Florida City), the West entrance is accessible from Tampa (via Everglades City). Note that there are no roads through the park from one gate to the other. You choose whichever one you want.
Getting Around
The Everglades is a very big park, and only a small fraction is accessible to humans – and an even smaller fraction to wheeling humans. Nevertheless, we found it an immensely satisfying experience and a great place to get away from it all.
The National Park Service provide good information on all aspects of the park, including accessibility, try www.nps.gov/ever.
We stayed on the east side of the park. There is one good paved road and few roads that might be okay for 4WD. The best way to get around is by car – drive to one of the accessible walks and get out and experience the park.
Things to do
By far the most satisfying trail is the Anhinga trail at the Royal Palm Visitor Centre. This is just a mile or two from the East gate entrance, so you can make it a day trip from Miami if you want.
The trail itself is a combination of boardwalk and pavement with no significant slopes. Although you could wheel it in 30 minutes, there is so much wildlife to see that I took several hours to complete the circuit.
The visitor center has an excellent accessible toilet and a small and pokey shop.
Other accessible trails are listed on the NPS web-site, The ones I tried were less exciting in terms of wildlife but a pleasant way to get into nature. The Gumbo-Limbo trail is rougher than the Anhinga, but gives you the feeling of being deep in the woods – a nice feeling for those of us who are normally confined to pavements and “civilization”. The Payahokee Overlook trail gives views over the sawgrass plains. It is important to enter it from the opening at the end of the car-park (with the big wheelchair sign – so that you go around the trail clockwise) as the viewing platform is not accessible from the other direction.
Heat and mosquitoes prevented me from trying the others. Speaking of which, winter is the best time to visit. We visited in May and the mosquitoes were pretty bad – although the guides told us that they hadn’t really got up for the summer yet!
The boat rides from Flamingo Lodge are accessible and well-worth it. The boats are large flat, barge-like designs. Wheeling on was no problem with just a step of an inch or so between the dock and the boat. Once on board you don’t have to move – just enjoy the wildlife! The toilets (or heads) are not accessible.
The shop and toilets at Flamingo visitor centre are accessible.
Places to Stay
Some campsites are accessible, details are provided on the National Park Services website. However, we stayed in a cottage at Flamingo. The cottages and lodge are managed by Xanterra (www.beautiful-places-on-earth.com). They have two accessible cottages and advance reservation is strongly recommended.
Our cottage had a large living room (with a sofa-bed) and a bedroom with a queen sized bed. There was a small step (1” – 25mm) into the living room from outside. Everywhere else had level access. The bathroom was roomy, but it had a very strange shower with a molded plastic seat in one corner and a 4” lip that was difficult to get a wheelchair over. Due to the awkward positioning of the grab rails, it is not possible to sit on the seat comfortably if you have balance problems. Nor is it possible to reach the controls for the shower from the seat once you are there. The shower head is fixed. Between grabbing onto the handrails that are trying to push you out of the seat, and trying to balance, only a dexterous octopus could succeed in showering himself without aid. Luckily my wife stepped in to ensure that I smelled presentable for the duration of our stay.
It should be noted that this is the Everglades, and there is a profusion of wildlife attempting to occupy the same place as the cottages. Our cottage had an infestation of carpenter ants when we arrived. These were dealt with quickly by the staff once we mentioned it to them. However, you should be prepared to share your living space with various creatures. Apart from the carpenter ants, we had a lizard that lived under the bed, and an enormous spider that lived over the bed. (I chose not to point out the latter to my wife – she had enough to deal with between the ants and the lizard!). On the plus side you get the same profusion of wildlife outside, and rabbits, egrets and ospreys were common sights through the window over breakfast.
Places to eat
There is a restaurant at the Flamingo centre. Although I believe it is accessible, we did not eat there, preferring to cook our own food in the cottage.
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