The United States boasts an extraordinary system of national parks covering more than 34 million hectares touching almost all states and territories. In addition to the expressly declared national park areas, the National Park Service operates a marvelous collection of monuments, memorials, sites of historical interest, battlefields, recreational areas, nature reserves, rivers, trails, lakes, and spectacular coastlines.
National parks offer unique opportunities to observe many animal species in their natural habitat, to go hiking and have fun outdoors. If you plan to visit several parks, the annual pass will be cheaper. Information on the entire network of parks can be found on the National Park System website: www.nps.gov. Here is a taste of the pearls that await you.
Geyser jets, fumarole vapors, bubbling mud pools, and hot springs: half of all hydrothermal phenomena in the entire planet are found in Yellowstone, the first American national park, which occupies a large area of northwestern Wyoming and part of Idaho and Montana.
Towering over the icy landscape of Denali National Park, Alaska, is Mount McKinley, which at 6.159 meters is the highest peak on the continent. A panoramic helicopter ride will take you through the snowy peaks and land on the wide expanse of a glacier.
Breathtaking waterfalls and impressive granite peaks are the hallmarks of Yosemite in central California. Here as well as the nearby Californian Sequoia and Kings Cayon National Parks, you can admire giant sequoia trees, the largest living organisms on Earth.
The magnificent landscapes carved into the rocky highlands of Arizona make the Grand Canyon one of the most spectacular natural wonders in the world. Extraordinary views await you a few steps from the street. Give in to the call of paths that allow you to descend, on foot or by mule, for about a mile and a half inside this gorge carved into the stratified rock. Helicopters and small touring planes offer the chance to admire from all points of view what is perhaps the greatest masterpiece of mother nature.
Bright red arches, natural bridges, hoodoo pinnacles, and sculpted stone walls: Utah houses an extraordinary variety of rock formations visible in Arches National Parks, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Canyonlands.
Two of the most active volcanoes in the world are the undisputed protagonists of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Big Island. In this fascinating context, you will see cones of steaming ash, lava ducts and the glowing red of molten magma.
Four national parks and monuments in the Pacific Northwest of the United States – Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mount Rainier National Parks and the North Cascades in Washington State – boast vast pristine expanses, alpine lakes, and volcanic peaks. Also in the state of Washington, the waves of the Pacific Ocean almost collide with the dense forests that cover the irregular coast of the Olympic National Park. The landscape so incredibly varied in this area has mountains with snow-capped peaks and jagged profile, rain forests and a harsh coast, all enclosed in less than 60 kilometers.
North and South Dakota have both national parks in the Badlands where you can see the result of millions of years of water, wind, and erosion on layers of mineral-rich soil. Less than an hour’s drive from the Bad Dawnlands of South Dakota are the Black Hills, spectacular reliefs on whose walls were depicted depictions of the four American presidents who made Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial famous. Crazy Horse). See this park list in USA
