From Sea to Shining Sea

Visiting all 57 U.S. National Parks is on my Life List. So far I have eight under my belt, and I’ll add another (Bryce Canyon) next week. The ones at the top of my list to visit next are Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier. Below are the parks I’ve visited so far, from least to most favorite.

Shenandoah - Virginia
Shenandoah lies astride the Blue Ridge, which forms the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains between Pennsylvania and Georgia. We have a season pass to this park as it’s the best place within a few hours’ drive of us to hike and camp, and it’s also great for wildlife viewing. But when you come right down to it, it’s just some mountains and trees with views of suburbs and smog.

Acadia - Maine
Acadia preserves 40,000 acres of Atlantic Coast shoreline, mixed hardwood and spruce/fir forest, mountains, lakes, and several offshore islands. I’ve been to Acadia a couple times as a youngster so I don’t remember much. I do remember the scenic beaches and good bike riding but as National Parks go, it’s pretty small.

Great Smoky Mountains – North Carolina/Tennessee
Smoky Mountains is renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life and the depth of the wilderness sanctuary within its boundaries. It is one of the largest protected areas in the east, encompassing 800 square miles. We stopped here for a few hours on our way through Tennessee on a road trip a few years ago. I would like to spend more time here, as the mountain views were spectacular. However, it is the most visited National Park, and even in April it was packed.

Death Valley - California
Death Valley encompasses more than 3.3 million acres of breathtaking desert scenery, rare desert wildlife, complex geology, and undisturbed wilderness, where spectacular spring wildflower displays, snow-covered peaks, and beautiful sand dunes grace the hottest spot in North America. As you can see, I do enjoy the western parks more than those in the east, I guess the scenery is just so different than what I’m used to. Death Valley is amazing in its vastness and weather – it was 126 degrees the day we visited.

Virgin Islands - USVI
Virgin Islands National Park encompasses three-fifths of the Caribbean island of St. John. Within its 9,620 acres of land and 5,600 acres of protected waters lie sheltered bays of crystalline waters teeming with coral reef life, white sand beaches shaded by coconut palms, and tropical forests with more than 800 species of plants. St. John really is a beautiful island - deserted beaches, picturesque bays, and the best snorkeling on the planet.

Zion - Utah
This spectacular cliff-and-canyon landscape is full of the unexpected, encompassing 229 square miles of beautiful southwest Utah. Zion is unique for a Utah park, as it has a lot of greenery fed by the Virgin River. Bonus points for not allowing cars on the park roads here, you have to take a shuttle bus.

Canyonlands - Utah
Within the vast and remote reaches of this magnificent park lie two great rivers, wooded buttes and mesas, a maze of serpentine canyons, extensive grasslands, more than 100 square miles of rainbow-hued slickrock, and desert wildlife species. The hiking trails in this park are really spectacular, right along the rim of the canyon. Bonus points for solitude, we only saw a few other people while we were there.

Arches - Utah
The forces of nature have created a wondrous landscape at Arches. Graceful sandstone spans arc against the sky, enormous rocks balance on thin spires, standing rock fins, and cliff walls hundreds of feet high. Arches is my favorite park so far. It’s got views to die for at every turn and amazing hiking trails. Not to mention we saw a big horn sheep here, a thrill for me.