6 of America’s Best National Parks

The National Park Service uses over twenty different titles for the park units it manages, including National Monument, National Historic Site, National Battlefield Site, National Recreation Area, National Preserve and of course, the crème de la crème, National Park.

There are fifty-nine areas designated as National Parks, starting with Yellowstone in 1872 followed by California’s Yosemite and Sequoia in 1890. The most recent addition to the National Park System is Pinnacles, also located in California, which was added in January of this year.

On my recent “epic” cross-country road trip I was able to visit a few of the amazing national parks and monuments that help define America. Below are a few of my favorites:

Yosemite National Park, California

The sublime vistas of the Yosemite Valley are famous the world over, due in large part to photographers like Ansel Adams and conservationists like John Muir. Located in in central California, against the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Yosemite is internationally recognized for it’s awe-inspiring granite cliffs, Giant Sequoia groves, alpine meadows, and diverse wildlife. Some of the most amazing geological features include Half Dome and El Capitan, which loom high over the glacier-carved valley and can be seen from almost anywhere. There are several spectacular waterfalls in the park, including Bridalveil, Vernal, and Yosemite Falls, which is the highest in North America at 2,425-feet (739 meters). Everywhere you look is picture perfect. My recommendation is to drive up to Glacier Point on your way out of the park to see the most unbelievable panoramic views of the Yosemite Valley and surrounding mountain wilderness from high above.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Anyone who’s seen the Grand Canyon in person would agree that pictures simply can’t do it justice. As you approach the visitor center, step out of your car and walk to the overlook, you’ll finally be able to comprehend its enormity. 277 miles (446 km) long, between four and eight miles (6.4 to 29 km) wide and over one mile (1.83 km) deep, “grand” is definitely an understatement. It’s no wonder it’s considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The Grand Canyon attracts nearly five million visitors every year, most of whom explore the more accessible South Rim. Popular overlooks include Grand Canyon Village, Hermits Rest, and Desert View. The North Rim is harder to get to and is closed from late-October to mid-May due to snowy conditions.

There are countless ways to enjoy the great outdoors at Grand Canyon National Park, from hiking and camping to just gazing at the magnificent vistas. Visitors can take escorted mule rides down the steep trails or, for the more adventurous, there are multi-day whitewater rafting excursion on the Colorado River at the base of the canyon too. If you ever have the opportunity to visit—even if it’s just passing through on a cross-country drive—you really must do it!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

In an isolated corner of New Mexico, not too far from the border with Texas, is one of the world’s greatest natural wonders: Carlsbad Caverns National Park. A visit to the complex of underground caves is like embarking on The Journey to the Center of the Earth. Although not the largest caverns in the world, they are among the most famous because of their diversity and beauty of mineral formations.

One of the things that surprised me most was how deep the caverns are. From the visitor center, you take an elevator 750 feet (229 meters) down. That’s the equivalent of a seventy-five-story building! After you reach a vestibule at the bottom, you pass through set of doors into the caverns. The air is quite humid and it takes some time to adjust to the dim lighting. The largest chamber at Carlsbad Caverns is aptly named the Big Room. At almost 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) long, 625 feet (191 meters) wide, and 255 feet (78 meters) high at the tallest point, it’s the third largest chamber in North America and the seventh largest in the world.

A 1.25-mile (2 km) path follows a counter-clockwise route down one side of the chambers and back along the other. Visitors are greeted with countless stalactites (the formations that hang down) and stalagmites (the ones that point up). I learned a new term on my visit: speleothems, which is the all-encompassing term for the different types of these decorative rock forms. They take many shapes, depending on whether the water drips, seeps, condenses, flows, or pools. Rainwater trickles down through the soil and picks up carbon dioxide gas, creating carbonic acid. This acid slowly dissolves the limestone in the earth, and then re-deposits it in the cave as calcite decorations.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Pristine mounds of sparkling white sand rise like waves in the bleak desert landscape of southern New Mexico. But it’s not ordinary sand. It’s actually gypsum, or more specifically, crystallized gypsum called “selenite.” Gypsum is a mineral that’s commonly used in the making of drywall and plaster for casts, also known as “Plaster of Paris.” While many dune fields exist around the world, most are made up of brown quartz and other minerals; only a handful of gypsum dune fields are known. In order to protect and preserve the world’s largest gypsum dune field, White Sands National Monument was established in 1933 and has been drawing visitors ever since.

The entrance to White Sands National Monument is located off U.S. Highway 70, 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Alamogordo and 52 miles (84 km) east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. For a nominal fee, visitors can drive along an 8-mile (13 km) roadway leading into the dunes. The surrounding views are otherworldly. Along the road are several places to pull over and snap photos or just play in the sand. It’s even permitted to sled down the dunes on plastic saucers, the same kind used for snow play. You can park near the end of Dunes Drive to have a picnic too. With their curving, cocoon-like aluminum roofs, the picnic tables look like they belong in a science fiction film. There are four marked trails for exploring and, in the summer months, there are also Ranger-guided orientation and nature walks as well.

 

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

One of the greatest symbols of the American Southwest is the tall and stately saguaro cactus. Reaching heights of 60 feet (18 meters), the only place in the world where they grow natively is in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, southeastern California and northern Mexico. These mighty cacti can live upwards of 150 years and are an important part of the desert ecosystem. Thousands of them are protected in Saguaro National Park, which is located just outside Tucson, Arizona. The park is actually split into two separate areas, Saguaro East (the Rincon Mountain District) and Saguaro West (the Tucson Mountain District) with the sprawling city of Tucson in between.

For a $10 vehicle fee, visitors gain access to a scenic eight-mile (13 km) loop that snakes through the arid desert landscape. On the road, there are plenty of vista points to pull over to for taking photographs. Besides the saguaros, which stand tall like sentinels over the dusty terrain, the park features numerous other species of cactus and low-lying bushes as well. A great time to visit is in the spring or summer, when desert wildflowers in gold, orange, and purple fill the spaces in between. Coyotes, foxes, jackrabbits, desert tortoises, and javelinas (wild pigs) and birds such as hawks, owls, roadrunners, and woodpeckers call this desert environment home.

Saguaro National Park is a great place for hiking, although in the summer months temperatures can reach above 105ºF (41ºC). At night, the temperature hovers around a still balmy 75ºF (24ºC). During winter, the temperature ranges between 40ºF (5ºC) and 18 ºF (- 8ºC). Even with sudden and fierce thunderstorms in summer, the desert averages less than twelve inches (30.5 cm) of rain annually.

Everglades National Park, Florida

Although most U.S. national parks preserve unique geographic features, Florida’s Everglades National Park was the first created to protect a fragile ecosystem. Making up the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, the Everglades are a network of wetlands and forests fed by a river flowing only .25 miles (0.40 km) per day out of Lake Okeechobee southwest into the Florida Bay. The largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere, this marine estuary is home to thirty-six protected species, including the elusive Florida panther, American crocodile, and West Indian manatee. Countless other species of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles also call the Everglades home. Currently about 1.5 million acres, the Everglades is only a fraction of its original size. Encroaching cities have necessitated the preservation of this endangered ecosystem. Private airboat operators currently offer tours on the outskirts of the park’s wilderness. These operators are located off of U.S. Highway 41/Tamiami Trail between Naples and Miami.

Which are your favorite U.S. National Parks? Feel free to comment in the section below!