Which North American mountains do you believe are the most scenic? (rentals, vacation)

[mquest123]

There are so many mountains to see and I haven't seen nearly enough.

I like Yosemite, Glacier National Park, Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountain National Park, Independence pass in colorado, Tetons, Cascades in Washington state, The Coastal Mountains on the Canadian coast, The Mountains on vancouver island between Port Alberni and Tofino and then the stravona park on vancouver island.

I like mountains that have enough rain to keep them green. However; the desert and its mountains are awesome too. I like them in the winter when the weather is still nice in the desert or the valley but there is snow on the mountain peaks.

There are pretty mountains all over North America its hard to pick a favorite.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Big Horns, west of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Yep, Burgess Jct gets my vote for a nice place to lay in a (quiet) grassy meadow or fish a mtn stream. Ran onto it back in 1970's and tough to beat.
but for a great vista, I prefer Tetons (from a canoe) or Snowy Range Snowy Range Scenic Byway
Vedauwoo in WY is a treasure of it's own.

Originally Posted by mquest123

There are so many mountains to see and I ...
There are pretty mountains all over North America its hard to pick a favorite.

"green" mtns have a major problem if you want to see vistas. (unless above tree line). Granted there are some nice ones enroute, but now living in the Cascades, a kid visiting us from the Prairie said, "if you'd cut some of these trees down, you could see something!" (good point )

I lived in CO, WY, Canada, mtns, and currently live in WA but look to OR Cascades all day long, (and drive the Columbia Gorge daily). I really like the weather changes associated with the mtns, and the various ones in USA are very pretty in their own way. (tho I'm not too impressed w/ Organ Mtns in NM, but my mom enjoys them from her rooftop vista deck.).

For Alpine Mtns; Lassen NP in CA is pretty impressive for its size, but minor compared to Canadian Rockies, then there is Alaska (for the rare opportunity you get clear weather to see.) It is really quite spectacular via light / medium aircraft. Get yourself a friend in AK with a DeHavilland Beaver DeHavilland Beaver - Google Search

NH has the 3 'Notches' which would be a good place to be today! (early Oct)
The White Mountains of New Hampshire- Recreation

October sunsets seem to be the best!

[WyoNewk]

That's a tough one to answer. The Tetons are pretty impressive from the east side, but Alaska has all the glaciers that are hard to beat when they're calving. I haven't been to many of the Canadian Rockies. If I had to pick, I guess it would be Alaska's, but I don't know which chain.

It's cool to see a couple of you mention the Bighorns, as they're just down the road an hour from our home. We love them, but I don't rate them at the top of all North American mountains.

[stillkit]

Technically, mountains must have 2000 ft of local relief or they're not mountains at all. Their elevation above sea level means nothing.

Still, though, some of the smaller "mountain" ranges which may not meet that definition are pretty impressive in their own right.

Oklahoma has three of them: The Wichita's, the Arbuckles and the Kiamichi's. None of them meet the definition of a true range of mountains, but at least two of them are quite unique as some geologist's believe they were among the tallest mountains on earth at one time. Time and erosion have whittled the Wichita's down to bumps on the prairie and the Arbuckles to lumps of solid rock, with old upthrust's standing in silent rows like soldiers.

Out in New Mexico, the Sacramento Mountains rise up out of the blistering hot and dusty White Sand region to elevations above 9000 ft and the view back across the White Sands from Cloudcroft is spectacular and well worth the 19 mile grade getting up there. Don't be surprised, though, if it's over 100 degrees when you leave Alamagordo and near freezing by the time you get to the top.

Two more smaller ranges which come to mind are the Ozark and Boston Mountain's of northern and northwest Arkansas. They're really quite rugged and can offer a challenge driving, but the vistas are nice.

And, how can we not mention the Black Hills of South Dakota? Once you've seen them, you won't forget them.

[enigmadsm]

the Sierras, the Cascades (especially from plane, all those volcanos in a line are nuts!) and the Canadian Rockies

[CharleyMcGarley]

So many mountains, so little time!

IMO, some of the underrated areas I've been that really surprised me with their scenery are:

The Blue Wall on the SC/NC border - especially viewed from the SC side

Peekskills around West Point, NY

Olympic Range in Washington State

[lovesMountains]

Is there such thing as an UNscenic mountain?

All mountains awe me, fascinate me, soothe me, draw me in.

But I am most at home in the oldest mountains in North America - the Appalachians, in particular the Blue Ridge Mountain range

[slackjaw]

Sedona. It doesn't have the scale of the Grand Canyon but easily bests it in natural beauty IMO.

[crazy_bd]

The cascades are impressive, but in Washington they don't really feel like a "mountain range". On the other hand, the massive volcanos rising out of nowhere are really spectacular.

But the one place that really blew me away was Glacier National Park, MT. Wow...

I have yet to see Alaska and mountains in Canada, but on picture, they both have absolutely amazing scenery to offer.

[jtur88]

The Sand Hills of Nebraska are quite impressive. In spring and early summer, they are a rolling carpet of lush green, unbroken by any trees, or cultivation, the size of a New England state, which is quite a sight.