Are you an outdoor enthusiast looking to explore the beauty of nature? National parks offer a plethora of opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, wildlife spotting, and photography. Whether you prefer the rugged mountains, serene lakes, dense forests, or vast deserts, there is a national park that will captivate your senses and leave you in awe. So grab your backpack, lace up your hiking boots(here’s a guide from Stride Wise to help you find the perfect boots), and get ready to discover the wonders of these must-see national parks.
1. Yellowstone National Park
If you’re looking for a classic park to explore in the heart of the United States, there are few better than Yellowstone National Park, the first park in the entire country and, to this day, one of the most popular, thanks to its plentiful features of national landscaping, trees, forests, and wildlife.
If you’re interested in exploring the beauty of nature in a safe way, being isolated from urban areas and the spread of human civilization while still making sure that there’s enough infrastructure for you to have a safe and enjoyable time with enough amenities, then this park is for you, and you may even find some like-minded friends along the way.
2. Banff National Park
Banff National Park is a park in Canada and one of the biggest and most popular in the country, thanks to its beautiful, picturesque nature scenes and the fact that you’ll find snow and glaciers here at any time of the year, thanks to the fact that it’s located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. This means that you’ll be able to camp and hunt here and feel one with nature, or, if you’re looking for something more exhilarating, you can even hike and ski here throughout most seasons, for which there is a vibrant community consisting of people from all over the world.
3. Zion Park
Zion National Park is perhaps one of the most popular parks in Utah, and you’ll be able to find people from all over the US who have visited just to be able to witness the park’s beautiful landscapes, especially the sandstone cliffs and the unique topography of the region.
Zion Park is perhaps the one thing that exemplifies Utah the best: beautiful, unique, and untouched by any kind of damage and littering, thanks to the amount of pride and care the locals have for this park. If you’re looking for a more isolated and personal outdoor journey, this park may be the perfect place to do it since you’ll be able to experience things for the first time in your life.
4. Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most famous and popular national parks in the entirety of the United States, and you’ll be able to find tourists from all over the world at any given time in the area. Visit the Grand Canyon National Park to be able to experience the beautiful natural rock formations, mountains, and massive canyons that the park is named after. Here, you’ll be able to witness how tiny people are compared to the massive features all around in nature. You can even get yourself souvenirs from an online national parks shop to commemorate your trip to the Grand Canyon National Park.
5. Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful, isolated, and untouched parks in the world, and has long possessed a sense of mystery and adventure around it for decades, thanks to its waterfalls, giant trees, and structures like the massive sheer cliff El Capitan.
It’s home to a vibrant mountain climbing community, many of whom learned and honed their craft by climbing El Capitan over and over, in some cases, without a rope, before moving this skill to other parks all over the world.
Conclusion
National parks are important because, besides sustaining life and giving animals a place to live in their natural habitat, they’re a great place for adventurers and lovers of nature to create new experiences and feel connected with the world.