When hiking in Saguaro National Park, you get to see iconic saguaro cacti, the “sentinels of the desert”, from up close. You’ll walk among them, underneath them and past them, on the way admiring multi-armed saguaros, baby saguaros hiding in the shade of a nurse tree, and other regional desert flora.
Are you ready to swap out your dress shoes for hiking boots and add a backpack to your wedding day wardrobe? Elopements and small weddings in national parks have become increasingly popular recently. Check out the best national parks to elope to or get married at!
Those who aren’t interested in gambling or partying all night long will still find plenty of fun things to do around Las Vegas. It’s actually one of America’s best places to visit (and live) if you’re into hiking and rock climbing. The many state and national parks near Las Vegas make it a dream destination for lovers of the outdoors.
Heading deep into a park’s backcountry, setting up camp, exploring an unspoiled landscape, encountering wildlife,… Spending any number of nights backpacking in one of the national parks is something you’ll never forget.
I wholeheartedly believe that you can’t experience a national park to the fullest without spending the night there. As the saying goes, in many national parks “half the park is after dark.” So far, these are our all-time favorite national park campgrounds.
In spring, and in some parks early-summer, colorful wildflowers put up quite a spectacle in certain national parks, carpeting desert flats, covering mountain slopes and adding color to old-growth forests.
One of the best things about American national parks is their variety. From different landscapes to iconic wildlife to usually a historical aspect as well, there’s plenty to discover in these epitomes of nature conservation, especially if you have a car at your disposal.
When many parts of America are still dusted with snow and suffer from below-freezing temperatures, others begin waking up after a long winter’s rest. Spring brings with it pleasant temperatures, roaring waterfalls and unique wildlife sightings, often including baby animals frolicking in spectacular landscapes.
Have you always wanted to ascend an epic mountain pass? Or encircle a volcano rim? Maybe ride through a desert or along a historic trail? Perhaps even share the road with iconic wildlife? Luckily, you can find all that asphaltic amusement in the following best national parks for road cycling.
In its heyday, Historic Route 66 was the most popular road to the west, both for traveling families and migrants, and it still is to some extent. “America’s Main Street”, as it’s often called, still brings road trippers to many of the best national parks in the Midwest, Southwest and California.
More than 40 National Park Service sites allow mountain biking, an increasingly popular outdoor adventure sport. Along with many NPS units like national monuments and national recreation areas, those include these nine amazing national parks for mountain biking.
In the far south of Arizona lies Saguaro National Park, America’s first national park created primarily to protect a plant species. And rightly so—even though this is a desert area, it’s plants that run the show. Pretty much all the best things to do in Saguaro National Park have something to do with saguaros, the largest cactus species in America.
From backpacking trips into the rugged Painted Desert to seeing the remains of Old Route 66, hiking in multi-colored badlands and among enormous collections of petrified wood, Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park may be small, but it has a lot to offer.
With their mesmerizing natural beauty and abundant wildlife, America’s national parks aren’t exactly the dream destinations of architecture lovers. At least, that’s what they think. The truth is that you can find gorgeous and photogenic buildings in national parks all over the U.S.