As settlers claimed the last of America’s frontier in the 1890s, dedicated private citizens fought to protect Western landscapes for posterity. Joining with conservationists seeking to establish national parks, Theodore Roosevelt added historic sites to the preservation vision. Finally, in 1916, Congress established and funded the National Park Service, charged with protecting both types of sites. Roosevelt Arch in Yellowstone proclaims the ideal “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

Visiting Yosemite in 1868, Scottish immigrant John Muir (1838-1914) was captivated by its magnificence. He lived in the valley for six years, studying its wildlife, botany, and geology and preaching his “gospel of the mountains” to visitors. The remainder of his life was devoted to Yosemite’s preservation as a national park and to the Sierra Club, which he founded in 1892. Muir later lived in this home, built by his father-in-law in 1882, and now a National Park Service National Historic Site.

Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) led the first US government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon in 1869, commemorated by this 6¢ stamp. He and his companions produced the first photographs, reports, and maps of the Grand Canyon and its native people, awakening public interest and spurring further exploration. In 1919 the Grand Canyon National Park was designated. The Powell Museum explores his achievements and the history of the area.

In 1872, long before the National Parks Act, Congress created Yellowstone National Park. The first national park anywhere in the world, it became a model for the rest of the globe. Today, national parks exist in more than 100 countries. Yellowstone is notable for its geothermal features, especially geysers such as Old Faithful, depicted here on a 5¢ stamp. Over half the world’s geysers are in Yellowstone. More than 4 million people visit the park each year.

Postal service at the Grand Canyon began in 1894, long before it became a national park. The only mule mail routes operating in the U.S. today serve the canyon. One, an official postal route operated by a star route contractor, supplies mail, food, medicine, and other goods to the Havasupai people, who live deep in the canyon. The second is an unofficial route operated for the convenience of visitors to Phantom Ranch, a tourist lodge near Bright Angel Creek.

Congress passed the Antiquities Act in 1906, enabling the president to protect historically and culturally significant sites from vandalism and looting by declaring them to be national monuments. Later that year, President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) used this power for the first time when he declared Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument. National monuments would eventually come under the care of the National Park Service.

Photographer Ansel Adams received his first camera on a family trip to Yosemite National Park in 1916. He later settled in the valley and became celebrated for his iconic photographs of western national parks such as Yosemite, Glacier, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon. His work reflects the influence of composition and framing techniques Adams first encountered as a young stamp collector. The Ansel Adams Gallery, in Yosemite Village, offers photography classes and boasts a collection of Adams’ photos.

The national parks idea gradually migrated to the more thickly-populated East. Acadia, on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, became the first national park east of the Mississippi River in 1919. Great Head Trail offers fantastic views of the rugged Maine coastline.

Congress intended the national parks to be open to everyone—unlike private hunting grounds and exclusive gardens for aristocrats found in Europe. At first, access was by foot, stagecoach and railroad, limiting tourism to the adventurous. The Roaring Twenties booming economy brought better roads, affordable cars, and middle-class tourists. You can step back in time to the heyday or rail travel at Steamtown National Historic Site, where you can still ride steam-powered trains.

English immigrant Frederick Henry Harvey (1835-1901) made millions operating a chain of hotels and restaurants that catered to tourists visiting the American Southwest and the national parks. Many tourists welcomed the relative elegance offered by the Fred Harvey Company’s restaurants and hotels. They preferred being served by a “Harvey Girl” on china dishes to more rustic aluminum dinnerware. Here, patrons pose at the Painted Desert Inn.

Thanks to the booming economy of the 1920s, affordable automobiles, and new roads, the national parks became an inexpensive alternative to European vacations during the Great Depression and WWII. To entice visitors, the government created an extensive visual culture around the parks, including posters and a natural architectural style known as “Parks Rustic.” The Longmire Service Station, in Mount Rainier NP, demonstrates this style. The park was the first to allow visits by automobile.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide work for artists and craftspeople. WPA artists designed fourteen different posters promoting various national parks. Although more than a thousand copies of these posters were printed, only about forty survive today. WPA artists created posters like this of Lassen Volcanic Park, but also designed signage to promote lectures, hikes, and other park services and amenities.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt reorganized the National Park Service in 1933, and his Civilian Conservation Corps made many park improvements that are still in use today. Here, Civilian Conservation Corps workers complete construction of a new Visitor Center at South Dakota’s Wind Cave National Park, circa 1936.

Park rangers, seasonal workers, and backpackers living deep in national parks often rely on the Postal Service for books, movies, magazines, medicines, hardware, and small, hard to obtain items. Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone national parks have full-service post offices on par with any mid-sized American city. Kaweah Post Office in Sequoia National Park long served as an unofficial visitor center that sold tires, gasoline, snacks, and water to tourists in their Model T Fords.

Postcards offer an inexpensive means of communication, and were particularly popular before telephones. The postcard industry expanded right along with the growth of tourism and visits to national parks, where visitors mailed untold thousands of postcards. Printers saved ink by leaving a white border. Note the stagecoach in the foreground, and cars in the back.

Tourism to the active volcano at Kilauea on the island of Hawaii took off when it became a national park in 1916, just a few weeks before the National Park Service was created. A popular early tourist activity was walking out onto the hard crust of an active lava flow and using a stick to thrust their postcards into a fissure and scorch it before mailing. The back of one card, posted in 1913, reads, “...Dear Percy…Scorched my hands and feet as well as postal. Now say I’m not good. –Violet”

Through the preservation and interpretation of our postal and philatelic collections, the Smithsonian National Postal Museum educates, challenges, and inspires its audiences on the breadth of American experiences. Click Find Out More to visit us online, and subscribe to our e-newsletter, Postmark. Now that you know more about the history of national parks, and their symbiotic relationship with the United States Postal Service, let’s take a tour of all 63 current national parks!

Acadia protects the highest rocky headlands along the Atlantic coastline of the U.S., encompassing mountains, woodlands, lakes, and a rugged shoreline. The park preserves diverse habitats and a rich cultural heritage. With around 4 million visits per year, Acadia is among the most-visited national parks. Visitors enjoy 27 miles of historic roads, 158 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads

This South Pacific park spans parts of three islands (Tutuila, Ta‘ū, and Ofu) and invites visitors to discover vibrant Samoan culture amid stunning island landscapes. It protects coral reefs teeming with marine life, tropical rainforests draped over volcanic peaks, and pristine beaches. It’s the only U.S. national park south of the equator, offering a unique blend of natural beauty and Polynesian heritage.

Arches National Park is a red-rock wonderland in eastern Utah, boasting over 2,000 natural stone arches—the highest concentration on Earth. Highlights include Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch. The park’s landscape features fins, pinnacles, and balanced rocks carved by erosion. Visitors can drive the scenic road or hike trails to viewpoints. The contrasting colors and shapes, especially under blue skies and at sunset, are breathtaking.

Badlands NP features striking geologic deposits and eroded buttes that create a surreal “moonscape” on the Great Plains. These colorful badlands contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds (ancient horses, rhinos, etc.). The park’s 244,000 acres protect mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. Scenic loops and trails offer expansive views of this otherworldly terrain.

Big Bend in West Texas protects 800,000+ acres of Chihuahuan Desert, cut by the Rio Grande’s dramatic canyons. Known for rugged landscapes and dark skies, it’s a place where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. The park’s habitats range from river lowlands to the Chisos Mountains sky island. Visitors find hundreds of bird species, blooming cactus in spring, and solitude in vast desert vistas.

Biscayne protects a rare blend of aquamarine waters, coral reefs, and emerald islands just off Miami’s coast. ~95% of the park is underwater, sheltering vibrant marine life (colorful coral, fish, mangroves, manatees, sea turtles). Visitors can boat, snorkel, or dive to explore the reefs and visit the historic Stiltsville houses and shipwrecks. It’s a tropical paradise where the reef meets the city, highlighting the unique marine heritage of south Florida.

The park preserves 48-miles of the Gunnison River’s rock chasm—Black Canyon, so sheer and deep that sunlight barely penetrates (parts get only 33 minutes of sun a day). Some cliff walls drop over 2,700 feet to the river. Visitors can peer into the narrow canyon from South Rim overlooks, hike short trails, or venture (with experience) into the inner canyon wilderness. The Gunnison’s wild rapids, dark schist walls, and high rim-rock make for one of the most vertigo-inducing sites in the NPS.

Bryce Canyon is famed for its hoodoos—thousands of colorful spire-shaped rock formations clustered in natural amphitheaters. The park’s high elevation (8,000–9,000 ft) means cool summers and snow-dusted hoodoos in winter. Trails like Navajo Loop let visitors walk through narrow slots among towering hoodoos, while viewpoints (Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration) provide sweeping panoramas. At night, Bryce’s remote location offers spectacular stargazing. It’s a geologic fairyland unlike any other.

Canyonlands protects a vast high-desert wilderness carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers into four districts. Island in the Sky offers easily accessible grand vistas from a mesa top; The Needles features red-rock spires and backcountry hikes; The Maze is remote and labyrinthine; and the rivers themselves cut through dramatic canyons. The park showcases rugged canyons, and arches formed over eons. Visitors can drive to overlooks, hike to rock formations, or float the river through deep canyons.

Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile warp in the Earth’s crust creating a treasure trove of cliffs, canyons, and domes in south-central Utah. Named for whitish Navajo sandstone domes and reef-like rocky ridges, the park features layered rock formations in hues of red, orange, and gold. Drive the Scenic Drive past sheer canyon walls or hike to hidden arches and pioneer relics. The Fruita Historic District has vintage orchards where travelers can pick fruit in season.

Hidden beneath New Mexico’s desert is a labyrinth of 100+ limestone caves – including Carlsbad Cavern, famous for its massive chambers and stunning formations. The park’s Big Room is one of North America’s largest cave chambers (14 acres) adorned with stalactites, stalagmites, and soda straws. Each summer evening, hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats emerge from the cave entrance in a spectacular bat flight. Above ground, the park protects jagged canyons and desert plants.

Channel Islands NP spans five offshore islands near the California coast: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara. Often called “America’s Galápagos,” the park protects unique wildlife (like the diminutive island fox) and rich marine ecosystems (kelp forests, whale migratory routes). The islands feature windswept cliffs, sea caves, wildflower-dotted plateaus, and ancient sites of Chumash culture. Accessible only by boat or plane, they remain relatively undeveloped.

Congaree preserves the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern US. This floodplain forest along the Congaree and Wateree Rivers features giant bald cypress and water tupelo trees that soar over a lush, swampy understory. Paddling trails and a 2.4-mile boardwalk loop allow visitors to explore the primeval landscape. Congaree is habitat for bobcats, deer, feral pigs, and barred owls, and is famed for its synchronous fireflies.

Crater Lake NP is home to the deepest lake in the US, formed ~7,700 years ago when a volcano (Mount Mazama) collapsed. The lake is renowned for its intense blue color and clarity, fed only by rain and snow. Sheer cliffs (up to 2,000 ft high) surround the water, and volcanic features like Wizard Island (a cinder cone) rise from its surface. A scenic Rim Drive circles the crater, offering views of the lake and Cascade Mountains. Heavy winter snowfall creates a paradise for snowshoeing and skiing.

Cuyahoga Valley NP is an oasis of greenery along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron. Once largely rural farmland, this park now showcases forested hills, wetlands, and waterfalls reclaimed by nature. The historic Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail runs through the valley, drawing hikers and cyclists to follow the route of 19th-century canal boats. Ride the scenic railroad, explore deciduous woodlands, spot wildlife, and even see remnants of old villages and canal locks.

Death Valley is a land of extremes: hottest (134°F record), driest (avg <2 inches rain/yr), and lowest point in North America—Badwater Basin at 282 ft below sea level. Yet within this vast desert are surprisingly varied features: salt flats, towering sand dunes, water-sculpted canyons, and volcanic craters. Spring can bring widespread wildflower blooms. Despite its foreboding name, Death Valley supports life, from desert bighorn sheep on the mountains to tiny pupfish in rare spring pools.

The park’s crowning feature is Denali (Mt. McKinley), the tallest peak in North America at 20,310 ft. A single 92-mile park road penetrates this subarctic landscape of taiga, alpine tundra, and snowy mountains. Private vehicles are restricted beyond mile 15; park shuttle buses allow wildlife viewing—often spotting grizzly bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep (the “Big 5”), and wolves. Visitors can hike off-trail in the trailless backcountry, encounter glacial rivers, or visit the sled dog kennels.

Accessible only by boat or seaplane, Dry Tortugas NP lies ~70 miles west of Key West and consists of seven small coral-and-sand islands surrounded by crystal-clear turquoise waters and coral reefs. Its centerpiece is the massive Fort Jefferson (19th c. coastal fort) occupying Garden Key. The park offers exceptional snorkeling and diving among vibrant reef fish and submerged wrecks, as well as bird-watching (sooty terns, brown noddies nest here). Primitive camping is allowed on Garden Key.

Everglades NP protects the largest subtropical wilderness in the US—a unique “River of Grass” flowing slowly through sawgrass marshes and mangrove swamps. This World Heritage Site is home to rare and endangered species like the Florida panther, American crocodile, West Indian manatee, and incredible bird life (herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills). You can take walking or airboat tours through vast sawgrass prairies, walk boardwalks to spot alligators, or canoe the mangrove tunnels.

Gates of the Arctic is America’s northernmost national park, entirely above the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s Brooks Range. It has no roads, no trails, and no facilities, preserving over 8 million acres of pure wilderness. The park features glacier-carved valleys, wild rivers, and alpine tundra. Twice a year, the caribou of the Western Arctic herd migrate through, pursued by wolves and watched by grizzlies. Access is typically by bush plane, and visitors must be self-sufficient.

Glacier NP covers over a million acres in Montana’s Rockies, part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (with Canada). Dubbed the “Crown of the Continent,” it boasts more than 130 named lakes and 25 active glaciers. The park’s star road, Going-to-the-Sun Road, twists over the Continental Divide, offering stunning alpine views. Wildlife abounds: grizzly and black bears, mountain goats (park symbol), bighorn sheep, elk, and wolverines roam its diverse habitats.

An urban park in St. Louis, Gateway Arch NP honors the pioneers and visionaries of U.S. westward expansion. Its centerpiece is the 630-ft Gateway Arch, the world’s tallest arch, completed in 1965 to symbolize the “Gateway to the West”. Visitors can ride a tram up the Arch for panoramic city and Mississippi River views. Beneath the Arch, the Museum at the Gateway Arch explores Lewis & Clark, Native American history, and St. Louis’s role in westward migration.

Glacier Bay NP preserves 3.3 million acres of southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage, including Glacier Bay—a 65-mile fjord lined with enormous tidewater glaciers. Since 1750, glaciers here have retreated, revealing a bay where visitors can witness glaciers calving icebergs into the sea.The park’s rich waters are prime habitat for humpback whales, orcas, sea otters, and puffins. The park is accessible mainly by cruise ship, tour boat, or kayak.

Grand Teton NP showcases the Teton Range of Wyoming—a 40-mile range of craggy granite peaks that rise abruptly ~7,000 feet above Jackson Hole valley, with no foothills. The highest, Grand Teton, is 13,775 ft. Below the mountains lie beautiful lakes like Jenny, Jackson, and Leigh, and winding Snake River. The park’s sagebrush flats and forests harbor elk, moose, bison, pronghorn, bears, and eagles. Visitors can float the Snake River, hike over 200 miles of trails, and visit historic ranch sites.

Great Basin NP in eastern Nevada features unique high-desert and alpine environments around 13,065-ft Wheeler Peak. Lehman Caves, a beautiful marble cave with ornate formations, is a major attraction. The park’s name refers to an area of internal drainage with no outlet to the ocean. Here you’ll find sagebrush deserts, stunning night skies, and ancient bristlecone pines on Wheeler Peak’s slopes—some trees are nearly 5,000 years old. Great Basin is remote and lightly visited.

Great Sand Dunes NP & Preserve in southern Colorado contains North America’s tallest sand dunes, with Star Dune (~755 ft) and others set against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. These dunes cover 30 square miles and are formed from sand deposits of an ancient lake, blown by winds into a corner of the valley. Visitors can hike up the dunes (or sand-sled down)—a strenuous trek rewarded by sweeping views of the dunefield and surrounding mountains.

America’s most visited national park, Great Smoky Mountains straddles the NC/TN border and preserves a vast swath of Southern Appalachian Mountains. It’s renowned for its biodiversity—over 19,000 documented species—and smoky haze (water vapor) that gives the mountains their name. Lush forests (including old-growth groves) blanket its valleys and ridges; spring wildflowers and synchronous fireflies are famous natural events. The park features 800+ miles of trails.

Guadalupe Mountains NP protects a rugged section of the Permian fossil reef in West Texas and includes the four highest peaks in Texas. Guadalupe Peak (8,751 ft) is known as the “Top of Texas,” reachable via an 8½-mile round-trip hike. Cliffs and canyons showcase ancient reef geology; McKittrick Canyon harbors a surprising burst of fall colors each year with maples and oaks. With extensive hiking and backpacking trails, the park offers a quiet, off-the-beaten-path mountain wilderness experience.

Centered around the 10,023-ft dormant volcano Haleakalā, this park offers two distinct areas—the summit and the coastal Kīpahulu section. At the summit, visitors often rise early to watch a spectacular sunrise above a “sea of clouds” (permit required). The crater is a lunar-like depression with cinder cones and the rare silversword plant. Kīpahulu, on Maui’s lush southeast coast features the famous Seven Sacred Pools and waterfalls. The park protects sacred Hawaiian sites and endangered species.

See two of the world’s most active volcanoes: Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Witness the primal process of volcanic eruption and creation of new land. At times you can see glowing lava lakes or flows. Even when not erupting, the landscape is dramatic: steaming vents, sulfur banks, hardened lava fields, and lava tubes abound. The drive down Chain of Craters Road passes multiple craters and ends where lava covered the road in a past flow. At the coast, lava cliffs meet the ocean in steam explosions.

Centered around the natural thermal springs of the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs NP protects 47 hot springs flowing from Hot Springs Mountain. The park is intertwined with the city of Hot Springs; its Bathhouse Row features eight historic bathhouse buildings from the early 20th century. The park includes forested hills with 26 miles of hiking trails, scenic overlooks like Hot Springs Mountain Tower, and abundant wildlife (from raccoons to birds) in its woodlands.

Hugging 15 miles of southern Lake Michigan shore, the park features towering sand dunes (> 100 feet) formed by ancient glacial lakes, along with wetlands, prairies, and forests. This diverse patchwork makes the park one of the most biologically rich areas of its size—over 1,100 native plant species are found here. Visitors can swim in summer, climb dune trails, and wooded areas alive with birdlife, and see historic sites like the Century of Progress homes from the 1933 World’s Fair.

Isle Royale is a remote island in northwest Lake Superior, only accessible by ferry or seaplane from MI or MN. An isolated wilderness of dense boreal forests, rocky ridges, and over 400 smaller islands, it’s renowned for its 70+ year wolf–moose study. No cars or roads exist—visitors hike the Greenstone Ridge Trail, canoe/kayak across inland lakes, and scuba dive among cold-water shipwrecks. With short summers and harsh winters, Isle Royale is closed Nov–Apr.

Joshua Tree NP straddles the transition between the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in southern California. It’s named after the whimsical Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), which thrives in the higher Mojave sections and has a look that inspired early settlers to liken it to a biblical Joshua raising hands in prayer. The park is famous for its jumbo boulder piles and rock formations, making it a mecca for rock climbers. Spring brings wildflowers; summer brings intense heat but incredible stargazing.

Katmai NP in southwest Alaska is best known for the brown bears of Brooks Falls, where each summer dozens of massive bears gather to catch leaping salmon. The park also preserves the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a stark, ash-filled valley created by the 1912 Novarupta volcano eruption. Accessible typically by floatplane, Brooks Camp is the main visitor area where raised platforms allow for safe bear viewing at the falls (July and Sept are peak times).

Kenai Fjords NP protects the deeply glaciated coastline of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, at the heart of which is the Harding Icefield—a 700 sq mi expanse feeding dozens of glaciers. Witness tidewater glaciers like Aialik and Holgate calving icebergs into icy fjords. Marine mammals include humpback and orca whales, Steller sea lions, puffins, and sea otters. The park’s one road accesses Exit Glacier. The rest of the park is reached by boat tours or kayak—exploring dramatic fjords and sea cliffs.

Adjoining Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon is characterized by two distinct areas: Grant Grove, home to giant sequoias like the General Grant Tree (the world’s second-largest tree); and the Kings Canyon itself, a glacial canyon. The canyon—often compared to a slightly shallower Yosemite Valley—is carved by the Kings River. At Cedar Grove on the canyon floor, elevations drop to ~4,000 ft, while peaks around soar to 10,000+ ft. Waterfalls punctuate the canyon. Much of the park is roadless wilderness.

Kobuk Valley NP in NW Alaska lies 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle and protects the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes—one of the largest Arctic dune fields. These dunes (up to 100 ft) cover 30 sq mi and can reach 100°F on summer days. The Kobuk River loops through the park, and half a million caribou migrate through the valley spring and fall. Inupiat people have hunted caribou at Onion Portage for thousands of years. With no facilities and access only by plane or boat, under 2000 visit per year.

Lake Clark NP, just west of Cook Inlet in Alaska, is a microcosm of Alaskan ecosystems – glaciers, volcanoes, salmon-filled rivers, tundra, and boreal forest all intersect here. The park’s namesake Lake Clark is a brilliant turquoise lake ringed by mountain peaks; two active volcanoes, Iliamna and Redoubt, stand guard over the landscape (Redoubt’s last major eruption was in 2009). The region is also homeland to the Dena’ina people. With no roads in, visitors arrive by small plane or boat.

In Lassen Volcanic NP, all four types of volcanoes are found: plug dome (Lassen Peak, which dramatically erupted in 1914–17, is the largest dome volcano in the world), shield, cinder cone, and composite. You can walk among steaming fumaroles, mud pots, and hot springs at Bumpass Hell, Little Hot Springs Valley, and Sulphur Works—similar to a mini Yellowstone. In winter, deep snows often close the park road, turning Lassen into a snowshoeing and skiing paradise.

Mammoth Cave NP is home to the world’s longest cave system, with more than 420 miles of explored passageways. The cave includes grand corridors and tight tunnels with formations like stalactites and gypsum “flower” crystals, though it’s known more for scale than decoration. The park covers 52,800 acres of rolling hills, sinkholes, and the Green and Nolin Rivers—a landscape typical of Kentucky karst country. Cave tours—run since 1816—range from easy walks to spelunking-style crawls.

Mesa Verde NP in southwest Colorado protects over 5,000 archaeological sites of Ancestral Puebloans, including 600 spectacular cliff dwellings built in alcoves of canyon walls. Cliff Palace (largest, ~150 rooms) and Balcony House can be visited via guided tours—involving climbing ladders and squeezing through passages—giving an intimate look at stone-masonry villages from the 12th–13th centuries. Visitors can also see earlier pueblo sites and pit houses, and view petroglyphs along trails.

Dominated by 14,411-ft Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano encased in 25+ glaciers, this park is an icon of Washington state. Rainier is visible for hundreds of miles on clear days. The park around it features old-growth temperate rainforests at low elevations, cascading rivers, and subalpine meadows like Paradise and Sunrise renowned for summer wildflower displays. Visitors can drive up to Sunrise (highest road in the park at 6,400 ft) or Paradise for close-up mountain views.

New River Gorge conserves over 70,000 acres of Appalachia in southern WV. The New River—one of the geologically oldest rivers in North America—cuts through extensive hardwood forests, forming a rugged 1,000-foot-deep gorge. The park is a hotspot for whitewater rafting and kayaking, with rapids ranging up to Class V. The New River Gorge Bridge, a steel arch spanning 3,030 ft, is an engineering marvel and the site of “Bridge Day” each October, when it’s opened to pedestrians and BASE jumpers.

North Cascades NP is a paradise for mountaineers and solitude-seekers, boasting over 300 glaciers and a maze of sharp peaks draped in dense forests. Often called the “American Alps,” its high country is a labyrinth of snowy summits and deep valleys. A highway passes through neighboring recreation areas—offering views of blue-green Diablo and Ross Lakes—while the national park itself has no roads. Wildlife includes black bears, mountain goats, marmots, and elusive gray wolves and wolverines.

Olympic NP protects an incredible variety of ecosystems in one park: subalpine mountains, lush temperate rainforests, and 65 miles of wild Pacific coastline. Over 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Visitors can hike among huge moss-draped trees in the Hoh Rain Forest, spot Roosevelt elk in the Sol Duc valley, relax on ruby-colored beaches near Kalaloch, and take in panoramic views at Hurricane Ridge. The park is known for hot springs and beautiful alpine lakes like Crescent and Quinault.

Petrified Forest NP is named for extensive deposits of petrified wood—multicolored fossilized logs from 225M years ago—strewn across desert badlands. The most concentrated areas contain huge agatized logs up to 10 feet in diameter and 100+ feet long, brilliantly colored by quartz minerals. The park features part of the Painted Desert—badlands with stratified layers of reds, pinks, and lavender clays that glow in sunrise/sunset light. Petrified Forest has significant prehistoric petroglyphs.

Pinnacles preserves the eroded leftovers of a 23 million-year-old volcano along California’s San Andreas Fault zone. The park is split into east and west sides and is known for its jagged rock spires and monoliths (the “pinnacles”) and for talus caves that house bats. It’s a release site for the endangered California condor—sighting these giant condors soaring above the High Peaks is a highlight. Rock climbers are drawn to the pinnacles, while hikers enjoy trails like the High Peaks Loop.

Redwood NP protects the world’s tallest trees—the coast redwoods—which can reach heights over 370 feet. The park partners with three older state parks (Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith Redwoods) to preserve 45% of the remaining old-growth redwood forests. Walking among these ancient, skyscraper-tall trees (some over 2,000 years old) in groves like Jedediah Smith’s Stout Grove is a humbling experience.The park famously stood in for the Forest Moon of Endor in Star Wars.

Rocky Mountain NP spans the Colorado Front Range, showcasing a spectrum of mountain environments across elevations from ~7,800 ft to 14,259 ft at Longs Peak. Trail Ridge Road (the highest continuous paved road in the U.S.) crosses the park, cresting over 12,000 ft and offering accessible alpine tundra views. Lush valleys (like Moraine Park) are home to elk herds and wildflowers, while subalpine lakes (Dream Lake, Bear Lake) mirror snowy peaks. Over 350 miles of trails invite exploration.

Split into two districts on either side of Tucson, Saguaro NP protects the iconic saguaro cactus forests of the Sonoran Desert. These giant cacti (which can live over 150 years, reaching 40+ ft) stand as silent “sentinels”. The park’s lower elevations feature dense saguaro stands mixed with prickly pear, cholla, and ocotillo, while the eastern district also rises to pine-covered sky islands in the Rincon Mountains. Spring blooms (March–April) bring brilliant wildflowers and saguaro blossoms.

Established in 1890, Sequoia NP is famed for its giant sequoia groves—including the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume (275 ft tall, 36 ft diameter). The Giant Forest, home to Sherman and dozens of other massive sequoias, offers trails amid these ancient giants (many over 2,000–3,000 years old). The park also encompasses Mount Whitney (14,505 ft, highest point in the contiguous U.S.) on its eastern boundary and deep granite canyons on the west.

Stretching 105 miles along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, Shenandoah NP features the famed Skyline Drive with 75+ scenic overlooks peering out over the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the Piedmont to the east. The park’s forests (mostly deciduous) blaze with fall colors each October and harbor abundant wildlife—including deer, black bears, and bobcats. Over 500 miles of hiking trails crisscross the park, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Named for Teddy Roosevelt, who ranched in the area in the 1880s, this park showcases the colorful badlands of the Little Missouri River. It has three units: North Unit, South Unit, and the remote Elkhorn Ranch Site (location of Roosevelt’s ranch cabin remains). Eroded clay and sandstone formations, mixed with patches of prairie, define the landscape. Bison roam the badlands, wild horses gallop in the South Unit, pronghorn and elk graze the grasslands, and prairie dog towns thrive on the flats.

Occupying about 60% of St. John (plus surrounding waters) in the Caribbean, Virgin Islands NP is a tropical paradise of turquoise bays, white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and green hills. Famous beaches like Trunk Bay (with an underwater snorkeling trail) offer idyllic swimming and snorkeling among colorful reef fish, sea turtles, and even stingrays. Beyond the beaches, the park protects reef mangrove habitats, seagrass beds, and offshore cays, as well as historic sugar plantation ruins.

Voyageurs is a water-rich wonderland named after French-Canadian fur traders who paddled these waters in the 1700s. Over 40% of the park is water, encompassing large lakes interconnected by narrows—essentially a maze of lakes and waterways along the U.S.–Canada border. There are no roads to the interior; travel is by boat, canoe, or kayak in summer, and by snowmobile, ski, or ice roads in winter. The park’s boreal forests and wetlands are home to bald eagles, black bears, moose, and wolves.

White Sands is the world’s largest gypsum sand dune field, spanning 275 square miles of wave-like, snowy-white dunes. Unlike common silica sand, gypsum sand stays cool to the touch and creates a dazzling bright landscape under the sun. Visitors can drive an 8-mile scenic road into the heart of the dunes, then venture out on waymarked trails. Popular activities include sand sledding down the dunes, marveling at the patterns shaped by wind, and stargazing when the dunes take on an ethereal glow.

Wind Cave NP is home to Wind Cave, one of the world’s longest caves (~150 miles mapped) and known for its unique boxwork calcite formations found nowhere else at this scale. The cave also “breathes” with noticeable wind at its natural entrance, caused by pressure differences. The park protects 33,000 acres of rolling prairie and ponderosa pine forest, including one of America’s most successful mixed-grass prairie restorations, inhabited by bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, elk, and coyotes.

Wrangell–St. Elias is the largest U.S. national park, at 13.2 million acres—larger than Switzerland. It spans an area where four major mountain ranges converge, including 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the U.S. This is a land of towering volcanoes (some active), colossal glaciers (Malaspina Glacier is one of the world’s largest piedmont glaciers), and icefields that pour into the Gulf of Alaska. The historic Kennecott Mines operated here in the early 1900s and ghost town buildings still stand.

Yellowstone covers 2.2 million acres atop a volcanic hot spot. It’s renowned for its geothermal features: over 10,000 hydrothermal sites including geysers (like Old Faithful, which erupts ~17 times daily), hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles—about half of the world’s active geysers are here. Bison roam the valleys, wolves patrol the Lamar Valley, grizzly and black bears forage, elk and pronghorn graze by the thousands, and trumpeter swans and cutthroat trout thrive in its waters.

Yosemite NP is famed for Yosemite Valley—a glacier-carved valley with nearly vertical granite walls like El Capitan and Half Dome, and plunging waterfalls such as Yosemite Falls (2,425 ft, among the tallest in the world) and Bridalveil Fall. The park also encompasses vast wilderness areas of the Sierra Nevada, including giant sequoia groves, alpine meadows, and the High Sierra backcountry along the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail. Yosemite’s scenic icons are accessible by road.

Zion NP’s centerpiece is Zion Canyon, where red and tan Navajo sandstone cliffs rise 2,000+ feet above the canyon floor. This desert oasis is famed for trails like Angels Landing (a steep, narrow ridge climb with chains—permit required due to popularity) and The Narrows (hiking in the river itself between towering walls that close in just 20–30 feet apart in places). The canyon’s easy Riverside Walk and Emerald Pools trails offer more relaxed exploration of hanging gardens and pools.