With all that overwhelming natural splendor, it’s easy to forget that the National Park System also preserves a wealth of other things and places. In fact, there are literally thousands of Native American heritage and cultural sites in America’s national parks, preserving archaeological sites, battlefields and cultural landmarks.
Few natural phenomena are as magical and captivating as the Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights. This is Mother Nature’s greatest show, a dazzling display of dancing lights in the sky. In the U.S., there are various places to see this amazing show, including these national parks.
National Park Service sites in the Upper Midwest may be relatively few and far between, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put together a great national parks road trip from …
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!”
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.
Wolves have always been a source of both fascination and fear among people. Once revered and respected… then hated and hunted… now both, wolves are a symbol of wildness arguably unlike any other animal in the world. In America, you can see gray wolves in the wild in these amazing national parks.
The definition of a thru-hike is the end-to-end completion of a long-distance hike in one hiking season. For most people, it will be impossible to thru-hike any of the three major long-distance hikes in the US. What is possible, however, —with some willpower, planning and cooperative employers—is hiking these nine awesome thru-hikes under 1,000 miles.
When thinking about America’s national parks, the same five or six names always come to mind first. There are, however, numerous other parks that are basically just as spectacular, but receive only a fraction of the visitors.