TRAVEL INSIDER : National Parks Serve the Handicapped, Too : Accessibility: L.A. woman’s travels, and new book, prove that wilderness isn’t reserved for the able-bodied.

In the past four years, Wendy Roth has traveled 32,000 miles and visited 45 of America’s national parklands, camping in many. Her unusual accomplishment is made more impressive by the fact that Roth is disabled by multiple sclerosis and uses a battery-powered wheelchair. She set out to demonstrate that people with disabilities, even severe ones, can enjoy at least some of the country’s rugged wilderness areas.

“There is nothing as exciting as being in the great open spaces,� says Roth, 39, a Los Angeles television producer and writer. A one-time hiking enthusiast, she has refused to allow the immobility of her legs and the growing weakness in her hands and upper body--the illness was diagnosed eight years ago--to keep her from outdoor recreational opportunities.

In addition to camping, she has gone white-water rafting at Big Bend National Park in Texas, motorboating at Everglades National Park in Florida, sailing in Acadia National Park in Maine and pueblo exploring in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.

She admits feeling fear on occasion as she ventured into a rugged site in a wheelchair. “But I would tell myself, ‘There’s got to be some way to get me there,’ � she says. Her advice to anyone tempted to follow in her path, which she encourages: “Don’t sit in the house and say, ‘That’s too difficult for me.’ Be careful but not afraid.�

Roth’s mission was to compile a guide to places in the national parklands that are accessible to travelers with physical disabilities, including those who have visual or hearing impairments. Just published by Sierra Club Books, it is called “Easy Access to National Parks� and sells in bookstores for $16. Her co-author is Michael Tompane, 40, a friend and partner who accompanied her throughout the long journey that took them to 41 states. The couple tested trails and visitor facilities themselves, but also often invited other disabled travelers to accompany them.

Tompane, a film and video editor and free-lance photographer, is physically fit and able-bodied, and he obviously was of major help in lifting Roth’s wheelchair up steps or over rocks and fallen logs. But Roth is convinced wheelchair users can visit the national parks on their own, and the guidebook notes boardwalks and other facilities that make a variety of the scenic and historical features of the parks accessible. You have to assess your individual abilities, she says. But if you find you need assistance, “people are so eager to help.�

Initially, the couple toured the national parks by car, sleeping in a tent. But because the journey was going to be long and somewhat arduous, they switched to a van that they used for sleeping quarters. They had the van fitted with a lift for Roth’s wheelchair; bought a camper’s commode, which Tompane altered for the vehicle, and found a high-tech, battery-powered wheelchair that could travel up hills and trails and across dirt and grass.

What did they discover?

The nation’s parklands provide wonderful vacation opportunities for people with physical disabilities, but much more accessibility is needed. Perhaps the most accessible of the large wilderness parks, say the authors, is Everglades in Florida. For one thing, it’s mostly flat, and for another, much of the preserve’s unique vegetation and its wildlife can be viewed from asphalt trails or boardwalks easily negotiated by wheelchairs.

Similarly, the spouting geysers, bubbling mud pots and other thermal high jinks at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming can be seen up close because of the miles of boardwalks that wander among them. The boardwalks were built to protect the fragile terrain and to keep visitors from stumbling into a hot pool. But they also make a smooth path for wheelchairs.

Spectacularly scenic Yosemite National Park is also an easy-to-visit park. In Yosemite Valley, the favorite destination of most visitors to the park, there are eight miles of fairly level bicycle trails that are paved and can be used by wheelchairs.

From their research, Roth and Tompane conclude that there may be as many as 44 million people in this country with some form of disability, “and this does not include the many with temporary disabilities.� It is a large segment of the population that should, they say, be able to share in a national park experience. Facilities that make a park accessible to wheelchair users can also be helpful to elderly travelers and parents pushing tots in a stroller.

The authors say that the National Park Service is very much aware of the need for accessible facilities, and many parks have access coordinators who are working to provide more of them.

“There should be at least one opportunity in every park,� says Roth. To aid in this goal, Roth and Tompane head a volunteer organization called Easy Access Park Challenge. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation and the Telephone Pioneers of America (a nationwide volunteer service organization headquartered in Denver), the group hopes to be able to provide a new access facility or opportunity in each of the nation’s 358 national park areas every year. Volunteer labor, where possible, is seen as a way to keep costs down.

Certainly not all the parks nor every feature within them can be made easily accessible. As Tompane notes, many parks incorporate designated wilderness areas where no roads or paved walkways are permitted. And it’s doubtful anyone would want to alter a famous historical home or other structure--often the focal point of a national monument--by tearing up the interior to add an elevator. But lots more can be accomplished, they say, without altering the parks’ scenic or historical integrity.

More wheelchair-accessible campsites are needed in many parks, for example. Typically, such a campsite should be reasonably level, and if there is a picnic table it should stand high enough so that wheelchair arms can fit beneath it. The path to the restroom should be easy to negotiate, and toilets, sinks and showers should accommodate people in wheelchairs.

Presumably, most wheelchair-users will not attempt to make their way into the remote back country on unpaved hiking trails (although it is done). But many features of America’s most famous parks can be viewed from vista points close to roads--that is, unless there is a high curb or steps blocking the way. National park visitor centers, restaurants, lodges and gift shops also should be barrier-free.

“Our aim,� says Tompane, “is that people can enjoy the essence of the park, although they may not be able to travel every foot of every trail.�

Some solutions require more ingenuity than money. An example the pair cites is the log cabin visitor center at Cades Cove, a lovely valley in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Roth could not enter the cabin because of a series of steps. But park officials have prepared a book of photos illustrating the exhibits, and she was able to examine a copy.

Along with their guidebook, Roth and Tompane have produced a 30-minute video, “Easy Access National Parks.� It presents a tour of nine major national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Everglades and Virginia’s Shenandoah. Like the book, it evaluates trails, viewpoints, campgrounds and other features for use by the disabled. The video sells for $19.95 and can be ordered by calling Questar Video, (800) 633-5633.

Roth’s and Tompane’s guide and video point the way to many special places in wilderness areas that are wheelchair-accessible. For travelers hesitant to explore on their own, some outdoor tour companies organize adventure vacations for the disabled in the national parks and wilderness areas. One of the largest is Wilderness Inquiry of Minneapolis, a nonprofit group that offers a year-round calendar of 150-200 outings.

Typically, a tour party of 10-12 people includes several able-bodied participants as well as a staff of two or three. One upcoming trip is a nine-day canoeing and camping program in Yellowstone National Park, with 24-foot canoes that carry six people--and whatever wheelchairs are needed. Departure is July 13, and the land cost is $695 per person. For information: Wilderness Inquiry, 1313 Fifth St. S.E., Box 84, Minneapolis, Minn. 55414, (800) 728-0719 or (612) 379-3858.

Travelers who expect to visit a number of national parks might consider buying the 1992-93 edition of “The Complete Guide to America’s National Parks,� published by the National Park Foundation, a park support organization. It details sightseeing, lodging and camping information for all 358 national park areas. It is available in bookstores for $12.95. Proceeds help finance park programs.