The world is full of natural wonders and spectacular panoramas which have, since time began, inspired humanity. And while man has continually tried to capture the Earth’s beauty in written and spoken word or through art, photography and video, such attempts simply scratch the surface. These prized possessions should be experienced in person, surrounded by the very scenery which have won such acclaim. Luckily for visitors, many of these stunning environments are today protected and enjoyed as national parks–in the US and throughout the world.

National parks began as an idea back in the 1830s and were crystallized into history in 1872 when the American Congress established Yellowstone National Park “as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” From this momentous beginning, there are now almost 400 national parks across the USA. All of them are special but a rare few unarguably deserve the spotlight and the selections here are based on natural wonders, popularity, diversity of features and world heritage designation.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

	A Thermal Pool in Yellowstone National Park2

Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, is still one of the most visited despite its out-of-the-way position in the northern Rocky Mountains. And there is good reason for its continued popularity. With 2,222,080 acres (899,244 ha) of lakes, canyons, mountains and rivers, Yellowstone is the country’s largest park and also one of its most unique. Teeming with geological features, wildlife and spectacular vistas, Yellowstone is a sensory experience like no other.

Situated in the corners of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the park is home to half of the world’s geothermal features and two thirds of its geysers. This hydrothermal area, created by an enormous collapsed volcanic cone, is considered to hold the planet’s most diverse collection of brightly colored hot springs, steaming fumaroles, gurgling mud pots and spurting geysers–the most famous of which is Old Faithful. The geyser spurts water and steam from under the earth’s crust to over a hundred feet in the air and while it is not the park’s largest geyser, it is its most predictable and erupts almost hourly. Living between and around these bubbling hot spots are an abundance of bison, elk, mountain goats, bears and, more recently, re-introduced wolves. Visitors can experience Yellowstone simply by driving its many loop roads or can hike, camp, fish and cycle in summer or tour by snowmobile and snowcat in winter.

The Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park3

	Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park4

Given the reason for the creation of national parks, it is hardly surprising that an Alaskan park should be featured here. Denali, known for playing host to North America’s highest peak–Mount McKinley, at a dizzying 20,320 ft (6,194 m)–has vistas that draw the eye and mind to the heavens. It also happens to abound with wildlife and can transport visitors back to a time when designated parks were not necessary to protect nature and its inhabitants from man’s interaction and sprawl.

This wilderness haven is due in large part to Denali’s inaccessibility and the manner in which the park is managed. The entrance is over 200 mi (320 km) north of Anchorage, Alaska and 15 miles (24 km) into the park, all visitors must continue by foot, bicycle or shuttle bus for the remainder of the 91 mi (146 km) journey.

Hiking and camping are popular summer activities in Denali, along with cycling, mountaineering and fishing. Or, for snow enthusiasts and those who want to experience only a few hours of daylight, the park is open via cross-country skiing or dog sledding during winter months.

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK

The jewel of the Pacific Northwest, Olympic National Park is unlike many of the country’s great parks in that it is as accessible as it is notable. Located just 60 mi (96 km) west of Seattle, Washington and a ferry ride away from Vancouver, Canada, the park is understandably popular with outdoor enthusiasts. And with over 95 percent of the park designated as wilderness, it is easy for visitors to lose themselves in their terrain of choice. The area is sometimes referred to as “three in one” because it encompasses over 50 mi (80 km) of rugged Pacific coastline, white-topped glacial mountains dominated by Mount Olympus and an awe-inspiring temperate rainforest zone including the Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests. This area, the wettest in the continental US, gets a huge 140 to 167 in (356 to 424 cm) of rain every year.

Visitors to the park do not need to get out of their cars to appreciate the scenery but even the shortest half hour walk–through the rainforest, along the coast or in the mountains–brings nature up front and personal. For the more adventurous visitor, the park features many hikes into the interior along with areas for climbing, biking, camping and fishing and, after a day of activity, visitors can enjoy a relaxing natural hot spring soak in one of several pools on the peninsula.

Rock Climbers in Zion National Park5

The park’s primary feature is Zion Canyon, the 15 mi (24 km) long and half-mile deep gorge that is always overly beautiful but sometimes overly busy. So busy that from April through October, vehicle traffic is restricted to free shuttles, which stop along the scenic drive and minimize vehicle noise and pollution. For those wishing to experience the park beyond the canyon rim, Zion is a delight for hikers, climbers and canyoneering enthusiasts. Alternatively, horseback and jeep tours are also available to witness the many different kinds of flora and fauna in the park.

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Many of the country’s great national parks are located west of the Mississippi due to the West’s majestic mountains, wide-open spaces and lower population density. America’s most visited park, however, is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina. Encompassing over 800 sq mi (2,000 sq km), the park is one of the largest protected landmasses in the eastern United States and where western parks offer up jagged, snowy peaks and southwestern landscapes, the Great Smoky Mountains bestow visitors a subtle beauty of ancient mountains, warm autumnal colors and a diverse cross-section of plants and animals.

The mountains’ unique northeast to southwest orientation has allowed species to migrate along their slopes during dramatic climate changes in history and, relatively unaffected by the last Ice Age, the area’s species (anywhere from 10,000 to 90,000) have literally had ages to diversify. So much so that the United Nations has designated the park an International Biosphere Reserve. Many of the park’s almost 10 million visitors see the area by simply driving through it (particularly during leaf-peeping season) while others choose to hike, camp, cycle and fish its many trails and streams. Hikers can stay within the park itself on more than 800 mi (1,280 km) of trails or visit it while hiking the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia and passes through the Great Smoky Mountains.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

It can be said that man owes a debt of thanks to rivers. Whether of water or ice, they forge out and carve some dramatic scenery and perhaps none more so than in Glacier National Park. Located in northern Montana, Glacier borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and together with Waterton, in 1932, became the world’s first international peace park.

There are 27 glaciers or rivers of ice in Glacier National Park (as of 2005 data) but they are all receding and are predicted by some scientists to disappear by the year 2030. It is unlikely, however, that the park will lose its name as the work of its glaciers will remain behind. Water features heavily in Glacier with over 300 lakes–all at least five acres (2 ha) in size–and 750 mi (1,207 km) of walking trails make a good number of these accessible to hikers. Alternatively, visitors can simply witness the park’s breathtaking views from the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which traverses the park and crosses the Continental Divide.

A Flamingo in Everglades National Park6

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

Everglades National Park is a unique place in North America. Renowned for neither dramatic vistas nor unique rock formations, the national park did not come into being until 1947 and is to this day often misunderstood. The wonder of the place is in its make-up, that of sub-tropical marshland which is formed by slow moving rivers–so slow they only move a quarter of a mile per day. It encompasses the largest mangrove system in the western hemisphere and is home to 350 kinds of birds, 300 types of fresh and saltwater fish, 40 species of mammals and 50 different reptiles. It is also home to endangered species like the Florida panther, the American crocodile, and the West Indian manatee and provides a breeding ground for wading birds. The park, which encompasses only 25 percent of the whole Everglades region on the southwestern tip of the Floridian peninsula, was designed primarily to protect this delicate ecosystem and as a result has much to offer nature lovers.

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park offers visitors the unusual experience of witnessing nature creating itself. Spewing, spitting, thrusting, almost kicking and screaming, the active Kilauea Volcano and the periodically-active eruptions of Mauna Loa remind the onlooker that mother earth is majestic and humanity its onlooker.

With over 70 million years of this volcanism forcing land out of the ocean, the park offers both information about the development of the Hawaiian Islands and views of amazing volcanic landscapes. Stretching from the summit of Mauna Loa at 13,677 ft (4,168 m) to sea level, the park protects a wide diversity of ecosystems and habitats for numerous native Hawaiian species, and visitors can hike, bike, camp and drive through the park.

HONORABLE MENTION

Crater Lake National Park
No list of the country’s best national parks would be complete without at least mentioning Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The showpiece of the park is a stunning and symmetrical blue lake inside a caldera, or volcanic basin, surrounded by almost 2,000-ft (600-m) high cliffs and alpine vegetation, making it an awe-inspiring subject for both photography and science. With no inlets or outlets, the lake is filled only by precipitation yet is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world.