Home to giant glaciers, countless cascades, stunning lakes, jagged peaks and lots of wildlife, the North Cascades are a camper’s, hiker’s, backpacker’s and kayaker’s dream destination. These are the best things to do in this magnificent mountain wilderness in northern Washington State.
It’s impossible to exaggerate the magnificence and sheer vastness of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Situated in the heart of the Colorado Plateau and bisected by both the Colorado and Green Rivers, this wild park protects literally hundreds of canyons, and countless spires, mesas, buttes and arches.
Although it’s impossible to see all of the 2,000+ arches in Arches National Park, there are several that are pretty easy to see, visit, touch, walk through and explore. This post features the most beautiful Arches National Park arches, all of which are accessible or visible via hiking trails from the scenic Park Road.
Home to all four volcano types in the world, Lassen Volcanic National Park is a remote wilderness of volcanoes, cinder cones, hydrothermal areas, lakes, meadows and forests. This post highlights our favorite things to do in this underrated Northern California park.
Arches National Park is home to the world’s densest concentration of natural rock arches and one of the most photogenic national parks in America. The park encompasses more than 2,000 catalogued rock arches. They range in size from three feet, which is the minimum required length of an arch, to almost three hundred feet.
Located in the heart of Virginia, high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah National Park protects a historic mountain landscape characterized by endless mountain ranges, dense forests, large tracts of wilderness, beautiful waterfalls and lots of wildlife.
Honoring one of America’s greatest ever Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is home to thousands of wild animals. Spread out over three different units—the South and North Units and Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch—, it’s a superb place for scenic drives and up-and-close wildlife encounters.
Although it’s one of the smallest U.S. national parks, you’ll find lots of things to do in Pinnacles National Park. It’s both a worthwhile weekend trip destination from California’s largest cities and the perfect stopping point on longer road trips, a quiet park that offers beautiful scenery and fun outdoor activities.
Approaching through the San Luis Valley, you might at first think that the rolling sand dunes set against the towering Sangre de Cristo Mountains are some kind of fata morgana. The opposite, however, is true. This landscape, however surreal it may look, is actually real.
Capitol Reef is a great place to get away from the crowds that overrun other nearby parks like Zion, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon. It offers you the chance to enjoy wonderful desert scenery in solitude, go on hikes without running into hundreds of other hikers, and to explore both Native American and Mormon pioneering sites.
A UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park protects a huge collection of Ancestral Puebloan sites, including dozens of cliff houses and a few really impressive cliff-side ruins. Here’s how you can spend an active and educative day at Mesa Verde.
Featuring various lake activities, such as boating and fishing, as well as fantastic wildlife viewing, great hiking, breathtaking Quinault Rain Forest scenery, and some beautiful waterfalls, the many things to do in the Quinault Valley will keep you busy for a day or two. This is easily one of my favorite places in Olympic National Park.
The westernmost national park in the lower 48 states, Olympic National Park is a pristine wilderness unlike any other on earth. Often called “three parks in one”, its ecological variety is of such magnitude and importance that the park is both an International Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Piles and stacks of huge boulders dominate a landscaped dotted with iconic Joshua trees. Blue skies create a vibrant contrast with the yellows and browns of the Southern Californian deserts. A park filled with life and seemingly made for adventurers, there’s a myriad of Joshua Tree National Park highlights.