Preserving some of America’s last remaining pristine night skies, many national parks offer amazing stargazing and Milky Way viewing opportunities. From Mesa Verde and Death Valley to Glacier and Voyageurs, these national parks have the most spectacular star-peppered night skies. “Half the park is after dark!”
Thanks to active wildlife, accessible trails and, especially, brilliant foliage, fall is arguably the best time to visit Mount Rainier National Park. On a fall trip to Mount Rainier, there are many different activities you can do to enjoy the fall colors, from picnicking and berry picking to hiking.
One of the world’s greatest road trips, the drive from Jackson Hole to Kalispell takes you to three spectacular national parks. See the majestic Teton Range, Yellowstone’s geysers and the glacial valleys of Glacier National Park on an unforgettable northern Rockies national parks road trip.
Home to a variety of habitats, from lakes and forests to alpine meadows, Glacier National Park is a haven for wild animals. Find out where you can see the park’s iconic mountain goats, which trails offer the best grizzly viewing opportunities, and how to find a moose in Glacier in this blog post. Plus, some essential wildlife safety tips!
There are dozens of named frontcountry and roadside waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park, and literally hundreds of unnamed and probably even undiscovered waterfalls. When driving the park’s Grand Loop Road, these waterfalls are wonderful stopping points. Don’t miss them!
The most abundant bear species in the world, black bears are found all across North America, from Alaska and Canada to the contiguous United States and northern Mexico. Your chances of seeing black bears in the wild are excellent in these national parks.
Grand Teton National Park encompasses both the Jackson Hole valley and the majestic Teton Range, together forming one of America’s most scenic national parks. Although relatively small in size, there’s lots to see and do in Grand Teton for everyone, from hiking and kayaking to photography and wildlife viewing.
One of the most spectacular U.S. national parks, Glacier National Park is a photographer’s paradise. From waterfalls, wildflowers and wildlife to sunrises, sunsets and star-peppered night skies, there are numerous subjects and spots to photograph in Glacier National Park.
One of the great joys of spending time in Grand Teton National Park is the amazing opportunity to see wild animals. From bison, elk and moose to black and grizzly bears, yellow-bellied marmots and countless birds, the wildlife watching in Grand Teton National Park is among the best in the national park system.
Almost everywhere in Jackson Hole, you can enjoy spectacular views of the towering Teton Range. However, there are a number of locations that are especially great for sunrise viewing, many also offering excellent wildlife watching opportunities. If you’d like to see the sunrise at Grand Teton, I recommend going to one of these places.
While wildlife encounters when hiking are absolutely unforgettable, sometimes it’s better—or best—to see animals from the safety of your car. Although I’m a huge advocate for leaving your vehicle and exploring a park on foot, more often than not, you simply have to drive to see a park properly. Luckily, there are several epic wildlife drives in the national parks.
If you’d like to put on your paleontology hat, learn about prehistoric fossils and dinosaurs, and maybe even look for them yourself, the national parks and monuments in this post can’t be beat. From Badlands and Petrified Forest to several Fossil Beds National Monuments, they’re the absolute best National Park Service sites for fossil hunting.
One of the largest animals in North America, the massive moose is an imposing sight, especially when you see one while hiking. Many of America’s northern national parks are home to moose; these parks offer the best chances to spot them in the wild.
The Pacific Northwest is home to roaring waterfalls, verdant wildflower-filled valleys and moss-covered rain forests, but also shimmering alpine lakes, enormous glaciers and massive volcanoes. Mount Rainier National Park combines all of that, making it a hiker’s dream destination.