Our National Park System is one of the country’s greatest treasures, and it’s often been called “America’s Best Idea.” Currently, there are 63 national parks from the Pacific (American Samoa) to the ocean south of Florida (Dry Tortugas) and from the Arctic to the tropics.
Most people won’t get a chance to visit them all, so if you could only visit 20 and just one time each, which ones should they be? Here are our recommendations:
Denali (Alaska)
The park’s namesake peak is the highest in North America, and in terms of vertical rise, it’s the largest mountain in the world. Other highlights are vast numbers of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and caribou.
Glacier Bay (Alaska)
Here, you’ll see icebergs broken off from glaciers floating in the icy seawater. Many see the park from a cruise ship, but it’s better if you rent a sea kayak and get up close.
Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii)
Rocky coastlines and exotic flora and birds make this park worth visiting on their own merits. However, the true highlight is seeing active volcanism. At one location, you can watch molten lava flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
Mount Rainier (Washington)
Glacier-covered Mount Rainier has more ice than any other peak in the Lower 48. Summer offers the most days when the peak is “out,” and the alpine meadows bloom with wildflowers after the snow melts off.
Crater Lake (Oregon)
The deepest lake in the U.S., Crater Lake is a blue jewel filling a caldera– the hole left behind after a volcano blows its top. A road encircles the entire lake so that you can admire its beauty at any time of day and from any perspective.
Redwood (California)
Redwood is two major landscapes. Along the Pacific coast, you can explore tide pools and admire the amazing shapes of driftwood that wash ashore. Inland, you get to behold the park’s namesake trees, which are also the tallest in the world.
Yosemite (California)
Renowned for its rock formations, waterfalls, and alpine peaks and meadows, Yosemite is one of the crown jewels of the system. The centerpiece is Yosemite Valley, where you can behold the world-famous Half Dome and El Capitan, among the tallest sheer cliffs in the world.
Sequoia (California)
The main attractions here are the sequoia trees, relatives of the redwoods, and the world’s largest trees. There are also miles and miles of pristine Sierra Nevada wilderness, including Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48.
Death Valley (California)
California is a land of superlatives– tallest trees, largest trees, oldest living trees (bristlecone pines, found at the highest elevations in Death Valley, though the actual oldest tree is not in a national park), and the highest peak (in the Lower 48). It’s also home to North America’s lowest point and the world’s hottest recorded temperature at Badwater Basin in this park. Death Valley is also the country’s largest national park outside Alaska, and you can spend several days exploring the spectacular desert scenery and still only see a small portion of the park.
Glacier (Montana)
Sometimes called the Crown of the Continent, Glacier tops many people’s lists of the most spectacular national parks. Rugged, colorful peaks tower over lakes, waterfalls, and alpine meadows. It’s one of the few places in the country where a road takes you up above the treeline and into the alpine world.
Yellowstone/Grand Teton (Wyoming)
The world’s first national park, Yellowstone, is best known for geysers and other geothermal features, as well as the abundant wildlife that earns it the nickname the American Serengeti. Slivers of the park are in Idaho and Montana, but the vast majority is in Wyoming. Grand Teton is just south of Yellowstone, and many people visit both on the same trip. The Teton Range is famous for its dramatic rise above Jackson Hole with no intervening foothills.
Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
The best way to enjoy this park, the nation’s fourth-busiest after Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Zion, is to hike a trail deep into the wilderness. However, Trail Ridge Road winds its way from the valleys up into the world of alpine tundra, where the views seem to stretch forever.
Mesa Verde (Colorado)
Mesa Verde has a rugged beauty to it, but the scenery isn’t what makes it exceptional. Ancient cliff dwellings inhabited by the Anasazi people hundreds of years ago are what makes this site a standout, and you can tour some of them.
Arches (Utah)
Most of southern Utah is a massive and spectacular sandstone wilderness, but Arches is especially exceptional. Among the red sandstone towers and cliffs, there is the world’s largest concentration of natural arches, some of which you walk under or through.
Zion (Utah)
Often called the “Yosemite Valley of the Desert,” narrow Zion Canyon is flanked by towering red, yellow, and white sandstone cliffs. It’s also home to one of the best hikes in the system– the Virgin River Narrows. The “trail” is the river, and at its most spectacular part, the canyon narrows dramatically while sheer cliffs rise 1000’ on either side.
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
One of the 7 Wonders of the Natural World, the Grand Canyon never lacks magnificence. Most people only see the canyon from overlooks along the rims, but the best way to appreciate the grandeur of the canyon is to take the long, steep hike thousands of feet down to the author of this landscape, the Colorado River.
Big Bend (Texas)
In this desert park, the Rio Grande has cut three spectacular canyons, all of which you can hike into or paddle through. In an area called the Basin, you’ll find some of the highest mountains in Texas, and trails climb into them; one leads to the top of the highest peak in the park.
Acadia (Maine)
On the coast, the Atlantic Ocean pounds cliffs ceaselessly, but in quieter areas, there are tide pools to check out. Inland there are lakes and deep forests. It’s also the location of Cadillac Mountain, the first place in the mainland U.S. to receive the sun each day.
Shenandoah (Virginia)
Skyline Drive winds for over 100 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge here, yielding great views and providing access to dozens of trails. Those trails often lead to scenic waterfalls and rocky outcrops with 360-degree panoramas.
Everglades (Florida)
Technically, the Everglades are not a swamp but rather a massive, slow-moving river through acres and acres of tall grass and trees. It’s one of the best wildlife-viewing places in the country, especially for birds, though the alligators are probably the most famous residents.
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