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Dazzling Natural Beauty

Some of the most beautiful national parks in the US

By Rasma RaistersPublished about a year ago 6 min read
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Alaska

Kenai Fjords National Park was designated in 1980. It is a beautiful park with forests and over 40 glaciers that flow out of Harding Icefield. The landscape is breathtaking with over half of it covered in ice. A lot of wildlife makes their homes here among them bears, wolves, and lynx.

There is marine life as well like killer whales, humpback whales, and harbor seals. Bird lovers can enjoy spotting more than 191 bird species. This park offers activities like hiking and kayaking.

Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The park was formed in 1919 and has some geological formations that date back 1.8 billion years. It is located in northwestern Arizona and, is the 15th site in the US to have been named a national park. The park’s highlight is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River and looked upon as one of the Wonders of the World. Here you can find a diverse group of wildlife. The canyon is amazing and the landscape breathtaking. Visitors enjoy hiking or taking raft trips on the Colorado River.

California

Yosemite National Park just recently celebrated its 125th anniversary of being made a national park. It is known for its waterfalls, granite cliffs, valleys, meadows, and giant sequoias. There are many lakes and rivers to enjoy. Some of the resident wildlife includes black bears, mountain lions, pikas, and bats.

Half Dome

One of the most popular trails in the park is Half Dome. Half Dome is a difficult hiking trail featuring a waterfall and is meant for more adventurous hikers.

El Capitan

A highlight of the park is El Capitan, a vertical rock formation on the north side of Yosemite Valley. This granite monolith is 3,000 feet tall from base to summit and is popular with rock climbers. The most enjoyable activities in the park are hiking the trails and swimming in one of the many bodies of water.

The Joshua Tree National Park is located outside of Palm Springs, California. The park offers horseback riding, rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking on backcountry dirt roads. The park was named after the many unusual Joshua trees here that survive in the desert. These trees also provide shelter and food for birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. Here it is interesting to witness an ecosystem transition since the park crosses two deserts, the Mojave and Sonoran, each with its own distinctive natural characteristics.

Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 and has mountain, alpine, and subalpine ecosystems. In the spring, there is an abundance of wildflowers. You can enjoy the forests and lakes with their diverse plant and wildlife.

The Rocky Mountains are also home to big horn sheep, mountain lions, and moose. You can explore the park by hiking or taking scenic drives.

Hawaii

The Haleakala National Park is located on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It is home to the sleeping Haleakala Volcano. Visitors can go up to the volcano crater. The landscape all around is impressive with its rugged and rocky texture. The coastal section of the park has amazing waterfalls, lush vegetation, and river streams. There are many hiking trails to let you get up close to nature, and on clear days there are places from which you can see other Hawaiian islands. Activities here include hiking, horseback riding, and camping.

Maine

Acadia National Park was declared in 1919 under the name Lafayette but has been known by its present name since 1929. This was the first national park east of the Mississippi River. The park has forests, lakes, mountains, and much flora and fauna. The park protects the natural beauty of the highest rocky headlands along the Atlantic coastline of the US.

There are miles of hiking trails, carriage roads great for strolling and getting close to nature, and motor roadways. This park includes Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, Isle au Haut, and other outer islands.

Montana

Glacier National Park was declared in 1910 and is located in northwest Montana. Here you can enjoy majestic peaks, lakes, alpine meadows, and glacier-covered valleys with different types of trees and other vegetation. The park has plenty of hiking trails, and you can go biking. Along the way, you can see historic chalets and lodges.

There is a lot of wildlife like elks, grizzly bears, wolves, and mountain goats.

Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley National Park has beautiful landscapes with forests, rolling hills, and farmland. It was declared a national park in 2000. In the spring, there is the beauty of many wildflowers in bloom. The autumn brings colorful foliage.

You can see lovely waterfalls like Brandywine Falls. To explore the park, there are many hiking trails like the Towpath Trail.

Oregon

Crater Lake National Park is amazing at any time of the year. There are many scenic pullouts like Rim Drive, a roadway dating from the early 1930s. You can go hiking to explore nature, and there is a trolley that offers day tours along this historic road. The contours of this road were designed to complement the natural landscape, and you can stop at any of the thirty overlooks along the way. The road also provides access to five picnic areas and several waterfalls.

To get fantastic views, trek up to Watchman Observation Deck, and you can enjoy the beautiful lake along the Cleetwood Cove Trail. There are many other overlooks from which you can enjoy the beauty of nature.

Tennessee/North Carolina

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to some of the oldest mountains in the world and was declared in 1934. The park straddles two states – Tennessee and North Carolina and the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain Chain. There are dense forests and beautiful mountain scenery. This national park has some of the highest mountains in eastern North America.

Hiking is popular here, and you can watch out for wildlife like black bears and see some lovely waterfalls which are all throughout the park, with some of the larger falls being Grotto and Laurel, among others. The park also features the largest collections of historic log buildings in the country.

Utah

Arches National Park has a colorful desert landscape with natural red rock arches. It was declared in 1971 and offers hiking, biking, climbing, off-roading, or camping.

Devil's Garden

Among the highlights of the park are the Delicate Arch, Devil’s Garden, and Fiery Furnace, a labyrinth of narrow passages produced by sandstone fins. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River and has the highest density of natural arches in the world.

Washington

Olympic National Park is located in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington. The park has several distinct ecosystems like glacier-capped mountains, old-growth forests, and a rugged coastline.

The scenery is breathtaking. and the park is home to diverse wildlife. including marine animals like whales, dolphins, and sea otters. Visitors to this national park enjoy hiking, climbing, and camping.

Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park is located in northwestern Wyoming. The park has amazing scenery like majestic peaks, clear lakes, and lush forests. It was declared in 1950. It includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long Teton Range and most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. This national park is only ten miles south of Yellowstone National Park.

There is a great variety of wildlife like bison, elk, moose, and bald eagles. You can explore the park and see old homesteads and ranches. There are many miles of hiking trails, lots of water activity, and climbing spots.

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About the Creator

Rasma Raisters

My passions are writing and creating poetry. I write for several sites online and have four themed blogs on Wordpress. Please follow me on Twitter.

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