It’s been a while since I have written about my favorite places to make pictures.   The article below is a bit more inclusive than previous posts on this subject.   This is only about locations that I have personally visited and where I have made at least a few pictures.  I have been to many places but there are even more that I have never visited.   There are also many great places where I have made no pictures.  Some were visited as a child and others were locations that I stopped at while traveling with non-photographers.  I could never keep others waiting while I made pictures.  I having never been willing to make snapshots.  Some of the American south and much of the southeast and northeast fall into this category.   I have traveled extensively in Canada, and through much of northern Mexico, but my pictures are few so I will only write about the continental U.S.

National Parks/Monuments

This is an extensive and wonderful category and it deserves to be our first classification.

I had the best and most diverse photographic experience at Arches/Canyonlands in Utah.  These are two very different parks that reside close together.  Arches is a great location for translating via your camera, individual land forms.  Wonderful small and medium landscapes are to be had here.  There are more natural land arches here than anyplace in the world.  Some can be photographed near your car but be prepared to hike.  Arches can be a wonderful wilderness experience.  Canyonlands is sort of a smallish Grand Canyon.  There are even more subtle nuances of color here.  This is a wonderful grand landscape location.  I had a great adventure on an attempt to make a car trip from the top of the canyon to the bottom.  It is one I have never told before but that is for another day.   In many ways it is the ability to travel daily between these two parks that makes it so great.

A ways down the road to the Utah/Arizona border you will find Monument Valley.  MV is actually Navajo tribal lands but most of us lump it in with the national parks.  The photographic possibilities in a valley with gorgeous rock forms growing straight out of its valley are endless.  I could spend a month here.  If you travel here make sure that you take advantage of the opportunities to photograph the native people who live in the valley as they herd their sheep and goats.  I have forever cursed myself for passing on those opportunities.

I will never understand why some landscape photographers cannot see the beauty of our fantastic sand dune parks.  White Sands New Mexico is my favorite.  The graphics here are very, very special.   The beauty of those white gypsum sand dunes under a blue sky is spectacular.  If you are fortunate enough to work here make sure you stay  until the last rays of light appear.  The dunes will change color with the light.  Great Sand Dunes N.P. in Colorado is the most unusual dunes anywhere.  These 700 foot high golden dunes have high (often snow-capped) mountains as a backdrop.  There is scrub prairie and a river of snow melt surrounding the dunes.  Really there are four habitats here.  Magnificent is the word for GSDs! I have also visited (no pictures) Death Valley and it is a unique and diverse place.

If you love diversity, certainly Olympic N.P. in Washington State is a special place.  From east to west you will travel through the high mountains, the belly of the rainforest, and finally the only wilderness ocean front left in America’s lower 48 states.  Washington’s Mt. Ranier is (in my opinion) the prettiest N.P. in America.  It is just that simple.

I have been to Rocky Mountain N.P. in Colorado probably 20 times.  Most of that was because I lived in the region and I’ve even had to travel Trail Ridge Rd. for business purposes.  I have only made pictures here twice. This is a wonderful alpine park who’s valleys are worth the trip alone.  This is a park that is as good for its wildlife as it is landscapes.   Elk, moose, ptarmigan, Mule Deer, Beaver and marmots are all abundant.

The Badlands of South Dakota is my most productive N.P.  That is partially because I have worked here six times.  Please if you ever visit, take some time and study what  surrounds you.  So many photographers rush in and out of the Badlands and never see it for all of the possibilities that exist.  Rock forms of every color and texture.  Soft smooth edges and crisp ragged edges right next to each other.  The Buffalo Gap Grasslands also live here.  There are a million different images in the Badlands.

There are lesser known N.P.s that are amazing.  The top of my list in this category is without a doubt Theodore Roosevelt N.P. in North Dakota .  This place is 50/50 wildlife and landscapes.  I have been here twice and have had maybe 10 total hours, of photography and most of that was in the middle of the day.  Ten days around sunrise and sunset would have served me well.  Guadeloupe Mts. N.P. in Texas is a special little place that can be a great quick stop around sunrise.

I have saved the most unusual (and famous) for last.  My first trip to Yellowstone N.P. in Wyoming was with my parents when I was a mere lad.  I have been back a few times since but only one trip was about photography.  Yellowstone is 1/3rd geological natural history, 1/3rd landscape beauty and 1/3rd wildlife.  I know that most photographers who travel there think it is 100% wildlife but trust me there is enough to go around for everyone’s interests.   This is the world’s first N.P. and it is easy to see why.  The downside is that it can be crowed.  Just the same every nature photographer should stop here once.  On all of my visits I have stayed in park cabins as to be up and in place by sunrise.  I must say that my first stay was in a cabin with my parents and they provided us with a bare minimum existence.  No electricity and a pot-bellied stove for heat.   I was a young boy and I had never before stayed anywhere that I loved so much.   Of course those cabins are much different today.

State Parks

I have been to my share of state parks and they are numerous and should not be ignored.

Custer S.P. in South Dakota gets my vote for the best.  This was a close call for me among several parks.   This Black Hills park is one of the better wild mammal parks outside of Yellowstone.  Mule deer, Whitetail Deer, Elk, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep, Wild Bison, Wild Burros, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and much, much more.   The rolling hills, forest and rock forms also make for some nice landscapes.

A very close second for me was Utah’s Valley of The Gods.  This remote wilderness park is a spectacular high desert landscape destination.  On the May morning that my pal Ron and I visited this location we saw one other car and that was on our way out.  My kind of state park.

Utah’s Deadhorse Point S.P., Goose Island on the Texas Gulf and Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake come next for me.  My own State of Wisconsin has several great state parks but none are in my top five.

Mt. Evans is technically not a state park but it is owned by Colorado, so I will list it last.  Mt. Evans has the highest vehicular road in North America at 14,255 feet.  There are amazing vistas along the way and the beautiful and delicate Summit Lake as well.  You can find both Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats on Mt. Evans.  The road is only open in summer and you can usually expect the goats to be near the top.  If you have a fear of heights this might not be the trip for you but just remind yourself how many people drive to the summit every year.

National Wildlife Refuges

I have been to over 30 different NWRs in 18 states.  Most are first and foremost about migratory birds and that means that timing is everything.  Please keep that in mind if you decide to visit these places.   There remains many great refuges that I have not visited.

After much, much agony I have settled on Horicon Marsh NWR, here in WI as my all time favorite.   I am sure this is partially because I have likely been here 100 times, but it is without a doubt the Everglades of the north.  This is a complicated refuge for a photographer.  You need to know how to transverse a series county and state roads.  In the early 2000s I finally really “got it”.  This is a perfect place for a wildlife photographer when do “get it”   It is not just about birds.  Mammals, herps, insects, flowers and landscapes are all great here.  You have to look carefully at Horicon.  Slow meticulous views will bring you much.

My second NWR is one of America’s most famous.  Bosque del Apache in New Mexico is best known for its winter population of Snow Geese.  I have done Bosque twice in the winter and it is great, but a May trip brought me more different species of shorebirds than I have ever seen in one place.  This is a good place for resident birds like The Greater Roadrunner, Gambel’s Quail and mammals too.   Its desert setting with the mountains for a backdrop set off Bosque with a wonderful western mood.  I have been here three times and would love to work Bosque every day for a year.

For a nice mountain valley refuge, Colorado’s Arapaho NWR is excellent.  Small but packed with a great sample of western birds and mammals, this place rarely has a crowd.  Cinnamon Teal, Western Kingbird, Golden Eagles, Moose, Pronghorn, White-tailed Jackrabbits, White-tailed Prairie Dogs, Swainson’s Hawks and more were commonly seen here.

Squaw Creek NWR in Missouri almost seems designed for a wildlife photographer.  Clear waters everywhere and an easy circular road.  My one (2 day) trip here was made in April and did not net me any new animals but I still loved the place.  Migratory White Pelicans, Snow Geese and a nesting Bald Eagle all added to the experience.  For you all of you Northlanders (like Me) S Creek is a little northeast of Kansas City.  If you feel like taking a trip there is Mingo NWR south of St. Louis.  You get a touch of the south here with both flora and fauna.  I found both Louisiana Herons and Little Blue Herons on my first trip to Mingo in 1994.  The Mingo River also allows for some nice landscapes.

Aransas NWR in Texas provided me with two wonderful mornings.  Although I missed making the picture with some subjects I did see or photograph, Wild Boar, Javelina, Armadillo, White, Glossy and White-faced Ibis, and much more.  Along the Rio Grande River you will find Santa Ana NWR.  This is America’s smallest NWR but in a 30 minute stop I photographed Green Jays, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers and Hooded Orioles.

State Wildlife Areas

State wildlife areas are usually preserved as hunting and fishing parks but can make good wildlife photography locations as well.   I have been in such places in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas and Wisconsin.  Among the places that I have visited Wisconsin’s Crex Meadows reigns supreme.  I have photographed much here including loons, Beavers, Bald Eagles and more.  Both Sharp-tailed Grouse and Roughed Grouse reside here.  There is a resident wolf pack and a healthy population of Black Bears at Crex.  Crex is just like any place and needs to be visited at the  proper time to find the animals you hope to see.  I personally have never been disappointed but I know many who have.   The only other State Wildlife Area that I frequent is the Sandhill State Wildlife Area also in Wisconsin.  This place has given me many special moments but it is usually not overflowing with wildlife.  I usually enjoy the ambiance of the place and find one or two great subjects each time I visit.

Favorite Getaways

My criteria for this category is they have to be within four or five hours from home and be somewhere that I just cannot stop myself from making photo trips.

Morgans Falls in Wisconsin has long been my favorite spot.  This special, intimate location has been drawing me back for well over 20 years.  Sometimes special places are a very personal thing and that is the case with MFs.   The entire run of the Mississippi River along the borders of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois is great for both landscape and wildlife photographers.   In addition to nature photography I find the story of human history and the Mississippi life style to be both charming and filled with mood and atmosphere.

When I lived in Colorado,  Garden of The Gods  just north of Colorado Springs was a favorite getaway.   You will find  beautiful small red rock formations here and the landscape lover in you will flourish.  I would imagine by this point in time,  “The Garden” has pretty much become an urban setting but that Sandstone will still be beautiful.

Big Places Near (my) Home

For this category I have looked only at places within 50 miles of home.

This is easy for me.  Bong State Recreation Area in Kenosha county, Wisconsin is tops for me.  I have made more pictures in this one park than anyplace in North America.   A place near home needs to be versatile to keep me coming back.  Landscapes including sunrise/sunset, mammals, herps, insects galore, flowers and birds, birds and more birds.  I have created images here in all four seasons and I once visited Bong on 14 consecutive days.

Illinois Beach State Parks, south and north units come after Bong.  These are versatile places as well and live along the shores of Lake Michigan.  This location adds one more habitat.  Excellent but not quite as large and versatile as Bong.

Small Places Near Home

I only considered locations within 30 miles of my home for the small spots.

Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary

Hawthorn has been a Godsend for me.  It has kept me alive in the natural world as bit by bit,  every other place has become too far.  I have taught dozens of workshops at Hawthorn since the late 1980s and I met my best friend there.  Hawthorn is exceptional for insects and flowers and is a fine park for songbirds as well.  The atmosphere here would keep me coming back no matter the nature subjects.  Hawthorn is closed to the public in January and February.

Right across the street from Hawthorn Hollow sits Petrifying Springs County Park.  This is a typical county park but is beautiful and still has a wild side to it.  This has been my local destination for autumn photography since 1984.  A perfect winter storm will also turn Pets into a breathtaking landscape.  It’s not Hawthorn but it is the next best thing.

Other Thoughts

I give every place that I make pictures the best chance possible to come through for me.   I always go looking for the good points.  I never go in search of what’s wrong with a place.  With the right attitude it is amazing how often they will produce an abundance for you.  If it turns out that I only find one interesting subject, then I am still happy.  I give thanks and either move on, or try again.

Any of you who know me personally, or have read this blog, realize how I feel about special places.  To me they are living organisms.  They live, breathe and change like any living thing.  They each have their own personality.  There is a mood and atmosphere to every place that I have ever visited.  When there is a long time-lapse between my visits, I miss them just the same as I do people.  I wonder how it is going with them.  I treat each location I find with the same kindness and respect that I would want to be treated.  They have returned that in kind, over and over again.  Friends help friends.

This post is undoubtably a perfect one to include images.  At least a hundred passed before my eyes while I was writing.  So many ideas came to mind that I decided to just write and forget the pictures.

I have always found that the more special that I view every place and every person that crosses my path to be, the more special my life is.   I can testify that living a special life is more fulfilling than a shallow or ordinary life.  Every place, person and experience has value.

God Bless