Travel to the National Parks of America in 2023

The U.S. offers a variety of outdoor National Park spaces!

The United States has the good fortune of having an excellent national parks system, dating back over a hundred years. The National Park Service (NPS), with the help of volunteers and park partners, protects nearly 400 places for 331 million visitors every year.

Our National Parks Service does an outstanding job of administering the parks, and preserving our natural and historical heritage, especially considering the funding limitations paced on them by Congress.

Included on this website are venues designated as "national parks," plus national monuments, historical sites and other parks. Also featured are some Canadian parks such as Banff National Park.

We have included an assortment of photographs, maps, commentary, lodging suggestions, and reviews to help you plan your 2023 trip to a national park.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park features more than 10,000 hydrothermal features and 500 geysers. Old Faithful geyser erupts about every 74 minutes. One of the other main attractions in the park is its wildlife, including bears, fox, elk, bison, lynx, 285 species of birds and more.

Yellowstone Lake covers over 131 square miles of area, reaching a maximum depth of 138 feet. Visitors to the park marvel at a supervolcano's hidden power under the earth, rising up in colorful hot springs, mudpots, and geysers.

The park has thousands of acres of mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes, and endless species of wildlife to watch.

Hiking, camping, fishing, photography, bicycling, boating, horseback riding, snowmobiling, snowcoach tours, and ranger programs are available.

Read more about Yellowstone National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee

The Park spans over 800 square miles in Tennessee and North Carolina, and is one of the most pristine natural areas in the Eastern part of the United States. It offers visitors and endless variety of outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, climbing, bicycling, fishing, horse riding, historical sights, picnicking and involvement in ranger-led programs.

Read more about Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yosemite National Park in California

Located in central California, Yosemite National Park attracts five million annual visitors. Perhaps the most famous sight in the valley is the granite monolith of Half Dome, a mountain whose sheer face and rounded top looks like a giant stone dome that has been split in half.

The Valley is a 7 mile wide canyon with incredible rock formations, including El Capitan, the world's tallest granite monolith and one of the world's top rock climbing destinations. Equally famous for its waterfalls, Yosemite Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in the world.

Read more about Yosemite National Park in California

Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park is located in Arizona, and is centered on a Colorado River canyon that is 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep.

The Park is one of the world's most popular natural attractions, with attendance exceeding 6 million visitors a year. Popular activities include rafting, hiking, walking, skydiving, nature studies, geology exploration, jeep tours and helicopter rides.

The floor of the valley is accessible by foot, muleback, or by boat or raft from upriver. Hiking down to the river and back up to the rim in one day is discouraged by park officials. However, hundreds of experienced hikers complete the round-trip down and back every year.

Read more about Grand Canyon National Park

Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve is located in the interior area of the State of Alaska. The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres (9,446 sq mi). It was previously known as as Mount McKinley National Park.

The park is centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua.

Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations.

Glaciers cover one million acres of Denali -- that's one-sixth of the park. Glaciers flow away from mountains, and flow from as high as 19,000 feet above sea level. The Kahiltna glacier is the longest glacier not only in the park, but in the entire Alaska Range. It spans 44 miles down the southwestern side of Denali.

Read more about Denali National Park & Preserve

Glacier National Park in Montana

Glacier National Park covers 1,012,837 square miles and includes 131 named lakes. St. Mary Lake is located in the eastern side of the park, while Lake McDonald lies to the west.

Lake McDonald is the largest lake, 9.4 miles long; 1.5 miles wide and 464 feet deep. Elevation at Logan Pass is 6,646 feet, while the highest mountain, Mt. Cleveland, rises to a height of 10,448 ft The park includes 25 named glaciers.

Read more about Glacier National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Located in Colorado, and consists of 415 square miles of spectacular mountain environments. A highlight of the park is Trail Ridge Road which crests at over 12,000 feet. The park also features over 300 miles of hiking trails, lakes and a variety of wildlife.

The park is located adjacent to Estes Park, and about 70 miles northwest of Denver. The Continental Divide runs northwest to southeast through the center of the park atop the high peaks.

The Park offers five visitor centers, and is one of the world's most popular natural attractions, with attendance exceeding 4.5 million visitors a year.

Read more about Rocky Mountain National Park

Acadia National Park in Maine

Adjacent to popular Bar Harbor, the park features 50 square miles of mountains, lakes, hiking, biking, views and dramatic coastline vistas.

The park is open for activity year-round. In the winter the carriage roads are converted into trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and the Park Loop Road turns into a paradise for snowmobile use and fat-tire biking.

Read more about Acadia National Park

Zion National Park in Utah

Towering red cliffs and outdoor activities make this a popular vacation destination in southwestern Utah, attracting over four million visitors annually.

A prominent feature of the park of 229 square miles is Zion Canyon, 15 miles long and about half a mile in depth.

Many outdoor activities are popular, including hiking, climbing, bicycling, river trips and exploring the Narrows. Access to the main section of the park is via two points along State Route 9, the east entrance and the south entrance at Springdale. The Kolob Canyons entrance is on Interstate 15.

Read more about Zion National Park in Utah

Katmai National Park & Preserve in Alaska

Katmai National Park is located approximately 260 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, and is a true wilderness destination. It is notable for its volcanoes, lakes, Brooks River, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. The park and preserve encompass 4,093,077 acres (6,395 sq miles).

The park is named after Mount Katmai, its centerpiece stratovolcano. The park is located on the Alaska Peninsula, across from Kodiak Island, with headquarters in nearby King Salmon.

The area was first designated a national monument in 1918 to protect the area around the major 1912 volcanic eruption of Novarupta, which formed the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a 40-square-mile, 100-to-700-foot-deep pyroclastic flow. The park includes as many as 18 individual volcanoes, seven of which have been active since 1900.

Read more about Katmai National Park & Preserve

Arches National Park in Utah

The Park is located in eastern Utah, near the city of Moab. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks.

The park features the densest concentration of natural stone arches in the world, including the popular "Delicate Arch".

The park covers 76,518 acres and contains an astounding variety of geological formations. A paved scenic drive takes visitors to many of the major viewpoints within the park.

Hikers can choose from a wide variety of trails, from short twenty minute walks leading right up to many of the largest arches in the park, to more adventurous hikes into lesser seen areas.

Read more about Arches National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in the southwestern section of Utah, south of Utah Scenic Byway 12.

The park features the largest collection of hoodoos, odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion, in the world.

Every visitor to the park should spend at least some time marvelling at its four main viewpoints, all found within the first few miles of the park: Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point.

Other viewpoints are found all along the park's 18-mile main road which travels from park's only entrance in the north along the plateau rim to its highest elevations in the south (over 9,000 ft / 2,743 m).

Read more about Bryce Canyon National Park

Death Valley National Park in California

This is the largest U.S. National Park outside Alaska, spanning 3.4 million acres. The park includes low valley floors crusted with barren salt flats, rugged mountains rising as much as 11,000 feet, deep and winding canyons, rolling sand dunes, and spring-fed oases.

Badwater Basin, at 282 feet below sea level, is not only the lowest place in the park, it's the lowest in North America.

Read more about Death Valley National Park

Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the State of Virginia. The park is linear in nature, mostly in a north to south orientation. On the west side of the park is the Shenandoah River and Shenandoah Valley. The Virginia Piedmont lies to the east of the park.

The highest peak in the park is the 4,051 foot Hawksbill Mountain.

A premier destination in the park is Skyline Drive, running 105 miles along a dominant ridge in the mountains. The two-lane road begins in the north at Front Royal, and ends at the interchange with U.S. 250 near I-64, the starting point of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Skyline Drive features 75 overlooks, and offers access to campgrounds, visitor centers, resorts and trails, including the Appalachian Trail. It is designated a National Scenic Byway.

Read more about Shenandoah National Park

Everglades National Park in Florida

The Everglades is an expansive area of land in extreme southern Florida, southwest of Miami, and southeast of Naples. The ecosystem of the Everglades is not presently found anywhere else on earth.

Everglades National Park is the third largest park in the lower 48 states, covering 2,400 square miles!

The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast, shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles wide and over 100 miles long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of Florida.

Read more about Everglades National Park

Mount Rainier National Park in Washington

Located about 85 miles southeast of Seattle; magnificent vistas and lakes, camping and hiking.

This stratovolcano reaches a summit peak of 14,411 feet above sea level, and is the highest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range.

Most visitors to Mt. Rainier choose to stay in the largest nearby city, Yakima, which offers a variety of hotels and other lodging.

Lodging in the park includes the National Park Inn and Paradise Inn. Camping and wilderness camps are also available.

Read more about Mount Rainier National Park

Badlands National Park in South Dakota

Badlands National Park is located in southwestern South Dakota, near Rapid City and Mount Rushmore Memorial Park, and features sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires surrounded by a mixed-grass prairie ecosystem.

Situated in the the Northern Great Plains and named Mako Sica by the Lakota people, Badlands National Park has spectacular landscapes, native mixed grass prairie, a large variety of native wildlife, amazing fossils, wonderful skyscapes, and compelling human history.

Read more about Badlands National Park

Saguaro National Park in Arizona

Saguaro National Park protects some of the most impressive forests of these sub-tropical giants, on the edge of the modern City of Tucson.

Tucson is located in the southern part of Arizona, and the county seat of Pima County. It is the second largest city in Arizona.

The park is located in two different sections: Tucson Mountain District (west), and the Rincon Mountain District (east).

Tucson is situated on an alluvial plain in the Sonoran desert, surrounded by five ranges of mountains: the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Mountains to the north, the Santa Rita Mountains to the south, the Rincon Mountains to the east, and the Tucson Mountains to the west.

Read more about Saguaro National Park

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota

Located in the southwestern corner of South Dakota is the iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial, featuring massive 60-foot (18-m) sculptures of four former United States presidents.

While not a national park, it has large numbers of visitors and is well known nationwide.

We highly recommend including a visit to nearby Custer State Park, with its granite peaks and rolling plains. The park is home to abundant wildlife, including bison, wild burros, mountain goats and many other animals. Also located nearby is the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is continuing to be carved and sculpted.

Read more about Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Utah

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is located in extreme southeastern Utah, on the northern border of Arizona. It is operated by the Navajo Nation, not the National Park Service.

The valley is host to towering sandstone rock formations that have been sculpted over time and soar 400 to 1,000 feet above the valley floor. Over the years, Monument Valley has been the locale for the filming of numerous movies starring such film legends as John Wayne.

Read more about Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

 

List of All National Parks in the United States

We've visited many of the following national parks, and are working on posting reviews of these facilities ...

State or Territory	National Park
Alaska	Denali National Park and Preserve
Alaska	Gates of the Artic National Park and Preserve
Alaska	Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Alaska	Katmai National Park and Preserve
Alaska	Kenai Fjords National Park
Alaska	Kobuk Valley National Park
Alaska	Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Alaska	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
American Samoa	American Samoa National Park
Arizona	Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona	Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona	Saguaro National Park
Arkansas	Hot Springs National Park
California	Channel Islands National Park
California	Death Valley National Park
California	Joshua Tree National Park
California	Kings Canyon National Park
California	Lassen Volcanic National Park
California	Pinnacles National Park
California	Redwood National Park
California	Sequoia National Park
California	Yosemite National Park
Colorado	Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Colorado	Great Sand Dunes National Park
Colorado	Mesa Verde National Park
Colorado	Rocky Mountain National Park
Florida	Biscayne National Park
Florida	Dry Tortugas National Park
Florida	Everglades National Park
Hawaii	Haleakala National Park
Hawaii	Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Indiana	Indiana Dunes National Park
Kentucky	Mammoth Cave National Park
Maine	Acadia National Park
Michigan	Isle Royale National Park
Minnesota	Voyageurs National Park
Missouri	Gateway Arch National Park
Montana	Glacier National Park
Nevada	Great Basin National Park
New Mexico	Carlsbad Caverns National Park
New Mexico	White Sands National Park
North Carolina & Tennessee	Great Smoky Mountains National Park
North Dakota	Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Ohio	Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Oregon	Crater Lake National Park
South Carolina	Congaree National Park
South Dakota	Badlands National Park
South Dakota	Mount Rushmore National Memorial
South Dakota	Wind Cave National Park
Texas	Big Bend National Park
Texas	Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Utah	Arches National Park
Utah	Bryce Canyon National Park
Utah	Canyonlands National Park
Utah	Capitol Reef National Park
Utah	Zion National Park in Utah
Virginia	Shenandoah National Park
Virgin Islands	Virgin Islands National Park
Washington	Mount Rainier National Park
Washington	North Cascades National Park
Washington	Olympic National Park
West Virginia	New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
Wyoming	Grand Teton National Park
Wyoming, Montana & Idaho	Yellowstone National Park

 

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