The United States has fifty-nine National Parks and all of them with their own particular beauty. But out of the 59, which ten should be on your bucket list?

United States’ Yellowstone 

America’s top 10 National Parks

The United States has fifty-nine National Parks and all of them with their own particular beauty. But out of the 59, which ten should be on your bucket list?

Yellowstone National Park Travel Plan
Yellowstone NP - Image credits: Alex Ranaldi

Yellowstone Park is in the United States covering about 3,480 square miles of wilderness recreation area and volcanic hot spots in the  neighboring states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. This huge park has five entrances and five developed visitor areas. Yellowstone National Park is located in the northwest region of the United States .

The diversity of Yellowstone National Park is kind of incredible featuring dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers (including its most famous, Old Faithful). It’s also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope.

The swimming hole in Firehole Canyon is one of two swimming areas inside Yellowstone National Park. The other area you can swim in Yellowstone is at Boiling River near Mammoth. There’s a section of the Gardiner River where hot springs well up, and by adjusting the rocks you can mix the hot and cold water for a pleasant soak (this area has no facilities and is only open in late fall through winter because of water levels. … Swim at your own risk).

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon - Image credits: Jerry and Pat Donaho via Flickr

Amazing rock formations called hoodoos. The scenic drive, will take you in at least 3 hours to the 13 viewpoints. But this is not all. Really worthwhile is the ‘Dark Rangers’ program; Bryce Canyon is famous for it’s night sky. Due to the lack of artificial light, the nights are a fairytale.

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park
Acadia, Maine - Image credits: Lisa Donoghue via Flickr

Along the coast of Main, Acadia National Park is great for hiking, canoing, kayaking and biking. Explore the granite peaks, and the deep forests. The park has also two beaches where you can relax and swim!

Grand Canyon National Park Travel Plan
Grand Canyon, Arizona - Image credits: Bernard Spragg. NZ

Probably the best knows park in the world. Most travelers visit the South Rim, which is most-accessible and open all year round. The North Rim couldn’t differ more. Only 10 miles away, but much higher and remote. Because of heavy snows, the North Rim is inaccessible from October to May. A gorgeous hike from the South to the North Rim will take you 2 – 3 days.
Don’t forget to drink your sundowner; there are not many places in the world that can measure up to the sunset of the Grand Canyon!

Zion National Park (The Subway)
The Subway at Zion Park, Utah - Image credits: Clint Losee via Flickr

The unique sandstone cliffs are turning into a spectacle of colours during sunset and sunrise. Zion is a beautiful park for hiking. If you’re not claustrophobic a hike up the Virgin River is probably the best way to experience the beauty of this park; the cliffs press inward, and are towering up to the sky. Finally you’ll reach Wall Street where the canyon is not more than 30 feet / 9 meter wide.

Glacier National Park Montana
Glacier NP, Montana - Image credits: Mark Smith via Flickr

A hikers heaven! With stunningly beautiful glacial lakes and ceder forests. Drive one of the most spectacular roads of the US, the Going-to-the-Sun road, a daunting adventure with steep descents and breathtaking views.

Death Valley National Park
Death Valley, California - Image credits: Chao Yen via Flickr

Hot and dry and yet a spectacular park. Vast sand dunes and salt flats, high peaks with breathtaking views. In contrast to other parks, you can drive around without seeing a sole. The best time to visit is the spring, when the wildflowers bloom, or the winter when it’s much cooler and you can go hike around.

Yosemite, California - Image credits: Bernard Spragg. NZ via Flickr

Known for its waterfalls, this grand national park is truly worth visiting. The best time to see the falls is in the spring when the snow melts. With El Capitan and the Half Dome, Yosemite is on every rock climbers bucket list (hikers bikers love this park as well).

Yosemite National Park is in the California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. In Yosemite Village there’re shops, restaurants, lodging, the Yosemite Museum and the Ansel Adams Gallery.

Hoh Rain Forest Olympic National Park
Olympic, Washington - Image credits: Reddit user PKThundr7 [CC BY 4.0]

With an average rainfall of 12-14 ft / 4 meters per year, Hoh rain forest, Olympic National Park is one of the greenest places in North America. Moss-covered trees, grazing elks, green ferns, make your visit unforgettable.

With its incredible range of precipitation and elevation, diversity is the hallmark of Olympic National Park. Encompassing nearly a million acres, the park protects a vast wilderness, thousands of years of human history, and several distinctly different ecosystems, including glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rain forests, and over 70 miles of wild coastline.

Explore Olympic Rain forest!

Sequoia National Park
Columbine Lake at Sequoia National Park - Image credits: Jeff P via Flickr
The main attraction: big trees! The world’s biggest tree, General Sherman, can be found in the Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park. But there is more, the landscape is as impressive as the trees. canyons, scenic lakes, limestone caves, waterfalls and panoramic views from the high mountains. This dramatic landscape testifies to nature’s size, beauty, and diversity–huge mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns, and the world’s largest trees. These two parks lie side by side in the southern Sierra Nevada east of the San Joaquin Valley. Weather varies a lot by season and elevation, which ranges from 1,370′ to 14,494′. Visit Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks!
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