The National Park Service is offering its last fee-free day of 2010 on Veterans Day, November 11. Although there are almost 400 national parks that never charge an entrance fee, more than 100 do, so now’s the time to take advantage of the savings. The fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other costs such as camping, concessions, and fees collected by third parties are not waived.

Last year, more than 285 million people visited national parks and other units of the National Park System, marking 2009 as the fifth busiest year ever. The top most visited national parks in the West include the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion. In addition to free admission, now is a great time of year to enjoy the most popular national parks without the summer crowds and traffic. But since wind, rain and even early snow can affect park roads and campgrounds this time of year, call ahead to be certain of driving conditions and closures. If you’re looking for parks in the Pacific Northwest that are lesser-visited yet highly scenic, you can’t beat Crater Lake and Mount Rainier.

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Several hiking trails lead up close to the unique rock formation (maps available at the Visitor Center), but the 5,000 or so hard-core climbers who scale the Tower’s challenging walls each year are out to get a much loftier perspective. In 1893, William Rogers made the first recorded ascent of Devils Tower. Back then, Rogers used a ladder, and two years later his wife followed suit and became the first woman to climb to the summit. For decades, all successive climbers used that same ladder (remnants on the east side of the tower are still visible through binoculars), but in 1937, Fritz Weissner and three others from New York City used free climbing skills to reach the top. Those mountaineers made use of naturally occurring ledges, cracks, and outcroppings to inch their way to the top, just as many modern climbers do today. A typical climb usually takes 4-6 hours.

If you’d rather not get roped into anything yourself, just take binoculars along on the paved 1.3-mile loop Tower Trail and live a little vicariously. The mostly shaded peaceful trail encircles the base of the Tower and provides good views of climbers clinging precipitously to the rock face. Interpretive exhibits and benches along the way make this a very popular trail. Wondering what it’s like at the top?  I’m told the peak is covered in sagebrush and grass, and provides an incomparable bird’s-eye view.

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When you think of Devils Tower, you also probably think of the 1977 sci-fi film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hollywood was pretty convincing that the famous shape jutting into the northeastern Wyoming sky was actually a landing platform for extraterrestrials. But when you visit this national monument, you’ll find that the distinctive 867-foot monolith and surrounding scenic countryside easily capture your attention without the help of theatrics—as does the large resident prairie dog colony and numerous hiking and climbing options. If you’re short on time, that’s OK. The highlights of Devils Tower National Monument are found in a condensed area, so you’ll still get a full experience even if you have only a couple of hours.

Situated where the pine forests of the Black Hills meet the rolling prairie grasslands and meandering Belle Fourche River, the monument’s proper name is actually Devils Tower, not Devil’s Tower (a clerical error on early governmental paperwork mistakenly omitted the apostrophe). The name was derived from the Native Americans who referred to it as "the bad god's tower." US Army Colonel Richard Dodge, while escorting a scientific team into the Black Hills region in 1875, translated the Indian name as “the devil’s tower" in his journal and on official documents. The name stuck.

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The best place to learn about logging in the Pacific Northwest during its 1850-1950 heyday is at Camp 18. Part outdoor museum, part gigantic hand-hewn log cabin with a restaurant and gift shop inside, Camp 18 near Elsie, Oregon is a fun place to poke around. (And the huge parking lot makes it easy to park any size rig you're driving or towing). Whether you stop for a few minutes or stay for hours, there’s so much to see that you’ll never be “board.”

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You won’t want to miss anything that Custer State Park has to offer, so stop at the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center, named for an early conservationist and former South Dakota governor. Built from native wood and stone in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the structure is distinctive and houses exhibits and displays that interpret the region’s natural and cultural history. Also pick up a copy of the park guide, Tatanka, (means Bison in the Lakota Sioux language) for details on hiking, trout fishing, camping, geocaching, guided wildlife tours, and the park’s year-round events. The Wildlife Station Visitor Center on Wildlife Loop Road is the place to get your questions answered about the flora and fauna you encounter along the loop.

When it comes to camping in the park, choosing a specific site won’t be an easy decision. You can set up along a flowing stream or lake, in the midst of a forest, or in open meadows. With so many options, each in a different setting with a variety of amenities, you might want to stay a few days and try them all! Many of the larger campgrounds—Blue Bell, Center Lake, Game Lodge and Stockade Lake North—also offer interpretive programs during the summer. Naturalists educate campers on a variety of park topics, and costumed characters from the 1870s have even been known to make an entertaining appearance.

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If you like your wildlife more on the wild side, you won’t be disappointed when you drive Custer State Park’s 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road. The two-lane paved road in the southern portion of the park traverses open prairie grasslands and over and around pretty rolling hills dotted with colorful wildflowers. Deer, elk, and antelope roam freely, as do enormous buffalo. Also watch for coyotes, mountain lions, many species of birds, and a colony of cute prairie dogs you can watch right from the road.

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Towering granite formations, rivers so rich they once started a Gold Rush, and pine forests so thick the hillsides look black from a distance, you won't want to be without a camera in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest. The wildlife is plentiful, too—thousands of free-roaming buffalo, spry pronghorns, shaggy bighorn sheep, and even shy prairie dogs. To experience it all, head to the second largest state park in the country— Custer State Park.

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The largest American island in Lake Erie is reachable by ferry from the city of Sandusky and the Marblehead Peninsula on Ohio’s mainland (and directly from South Bass Island if you go there first). Kelleys is a quaint nautical gem in many ways. For starters, 800 acres of Ohio State Park ensure endless camping, hiking, nature-watching (Monarch butterflies, birds, coyotes, and white-tailed deer to name a few), and even fossil hunting. Of course, with wide sandy beaches along much of the island’s shoreline, sunning and swimming are just right, too. And with over ten sunken schooners and steamships just offshore, the waters around Kelleys Island are especially appealing to divers.

Once again, bicycles and golf carts are best for navigating Kelleys’ winding two-lane paved roads. All four square miles of island charm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so the varied architecture might be what you notice first—from Italianate, Queen Anne, and Gothic Revival to late Victorian styles. The oldest house (located on Division Road) is a flat England saltbox style and was built in 1835. The Kelleys Island Historical Association offers excellent maps and details for history buffs wanting to learn more about the island’s past and the famous faces, including Grover Cleveland and William Howard Taft, who are said to have been frequent visitors back in their day.

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  Since the Victorian era, South Bass Island has been a famous resort destination. It remains more bustling than Kelleys Island, so if you’re seeking solitude, skip the weekends and instead visit during the week. No matter when you go, though, half the fun is simply arriving. Sailing to South Bass Island on the 100-year-old Miller Boat Line from Catawba Point on the Ohio mainland is particularly pretty. Get set to enjoy a scenic twenty-minute ferry ride where cool breezes blow and sea gulls swirl and dip between endless shades of blue sky and water. RVs as well as foot passengers are welcome.

The locals call South Bass Island “Put-In-Bay” which is really the name of the village. Put-In-Bay got its name from the original inhabitants, the Ottawa and Huron Indians, who “put in at the bay” during their many canoe journeys across Lake Erie. If you’re camping, South Bass Island State Park on the west side will be your home base. Leave the rig there and rent a bicycle or golf cart to get around the island—everyone does. Walking, bicycling, and carts are way more fun than larger vehicles for exploring the two-by-four-mile island.

South Bass is rich in naval history. Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, the third tallest memorial in the United States, towers above the downtown harbor. Don’t miss the bird’s eye view from high atop the 352-foot column! The memorial commemorates Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie—the same battle that made famous his saying, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Commodore Perry’s inferior fleet defeated the British and gave the Americans control of Lake Erie, which ultimately led to the defeat of the British during the War of 1812. Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial also celebrates lasting peace between the USA and Canada, which you’ll learn more about inside the Visitor Center.

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Looking for that million-miles-away-from-it-all feeling that only an island setting can provide? Prefer to get there in the comfort of your roomy RV instead of a tight airplane seat? You absolutely can do that when visiting Northeastern Ohio’s scenic Lake Erie Islands! The Buckeye State has islands?  You might be surprised, but actually more than a dozen small islands (not all inhabited) lay between mainland Ohio and its northern neighbor Canada.

Although no coconuts sway in the breezes here, you won’t miss the typical tropical setting that “island” usually brings to mind. The most popular and populated, close-in South Bass and Kelleys Islands, are as carefree and charming as any saltwater island retreat—minus the geckos and palm fronds. Each island has its own personality—South Bass is more lively, Kelleys more laid back—and large retailers and hotel chains are absent from both. Instead, you’ll find friendly folk and the small-town pleasures of ice cream stands, local festivals, nice campgrounds, and family-owned businesses surrounded by beautiful scenery.

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