By Bailey Hemphill, Storage.com

Campers, hikers, spelunkers, families, nature photographers, and other outdoor enthusiasts—if you’re looking for a fun adventure or road trip, why not visit one of the best U.S. national parks? Whether it’s summer, spring, winter, or fall, there’s a park that can provide you with a great vacation and memories for years to come. Check out our list of the most popular, most beautiful, most visited, and all-around best national parks below!

Alaska – Denali National Park & Reserve

Denali National Park and Preserve
Photo by Maureen

Best For: Campers, hikers, wildlife watchers

Home to Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), the highest mountain peak in North America, Denali National Park & Reserve in Alaska has more than six million acres of land and hundreds of animal species, including golden eagles, moose, wolves, grizzly bears, and snowshoe hares. Most visitors stick to Denali Park Road (which parallels the Alaska Range), where you can take a bus tour, rent bicycles, go for a hike, and more. You can also go deeper into the park’s backcountry to stay at one of the lodges, canoe, ride ATVs, go flightseeing, etc.

Arizona – Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park
Photo by Grand Canyon National Park

Best For: Families, hikers, road trippers

One of the oldest parks in the U.S., Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona features one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon is a gorge carved by the Colorado River and is nearly 18 miles wide, 277 miles long, and more than 6,000 feet deep. Though the canyon itself is the main attraction of the park, most visitors head to the South Rim, where you can hike trails, take a three-hour or overnight mule ride, check out the Watchtower at Desert View Point, or raft down the Colorado River through the gorge.

California – Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park
Photo by Esther Lee

Best For: Campers, hikers, rock climbers

With beautiful waterfalls and giant sequoias, Yosemite National Park is a California gem. You can hike more than 800 trails, camp in the woods, view granite rock formations, and even climb epic cliffs like El Capitan and Half Dome—if you’re brave enough, that is. The nearly 1,200-square-mile park also offers fishing, skiing, snowshoeing, horseback and mule riding, biking, guided bus tours, overnight lodges, and more for visitors.

Colorado – Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park
Photo by Esther Lee

Best For: Campers, hikers, wildlife watchers

Spanning across the Continental Divide, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is unique among national parks. The eastern side of the park has glaciers and is typically drier, whereas the western side of the park is wetter with thick, green forests, offering diverse experiences for visitors. Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses 415 square miles with more than 300 miles of trails, overlooks, and wildlife. You can drive along Old Fall River Road or Trail Ridge Road to see mule deer, bighorn sheep, and more animal species from afar. Or you can hike, go camping, enjoy a fishing excursion, or take a horseback ride deeper in the woods.

Florida – Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park
Photo by Daniel Hartwig

Best For: Families, kayakers, road trippers

Known for its alligator habitats, Everglades National Park spans more than one million acres in the southern tip of Florida. Take a walk down the boardwalk, get an up-close look at the swamps with a boat tour, camp out in the backcountry, or enjoy a bike ride down one of Shark Valley’s trails. You can also explore the Everglades by canoeing or kayaking the 99-mile-long Wilderness Waterway over the course of a week, if you want a more immersive experience with Florida’s natural vegetation.

Kentucky – Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park
Photo by daveynin

Best For: Cavers, families, road trippers

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is home to longest known cave system in the world. More than 400 miles of caves run beneath the Green River valley. Visitors can take tours to see various areas and features of the caves, such as Fat Man’s Misery and Frozen Niagara. You can also go on a “wild” tour, which will take you away from well-lit, developed areas and have you climbing, squeezing, and crawling your way through the caves!

Maine – Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park
Photo by heipei

Best For: Hikers, road trippers, photographers

Regarded as the most beautiful national park in the country, Acadia National Park in Maine is home to Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain along the eastern coast of the U.S., as well as all kinds of animals and plants. A favorite spot for many park visitors is Bass Harbor Head Light, a lighthouse on the southern tip of Mount Desert Island, where the park is located. Though the lighthouse is occupied by a Coast Guard member and mostly private, there are trails around it that allow visitors to get good photos of the harbor and the lighthouse.

Michigan – Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale National Park
Photo by Joe Ross

Best For: Hikers, kayakers, scuba divers

Isle Royale National Park is an island northwest of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in Lake Superior. This remote wilderness can only be accessed by ferry, but it’s well worth the trip. You can hike 165 miles of trails, camp at one of 36 campgrounds, go fishing, and even take boat tours around the island’s coves and bays. For the more adventurous types, you can canoe or kayak out into the open waters of Lake Superior, or you can dive beneath the water and explore the National Park Service’s most intact shipwreck collection.

Montana – Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park
Photo by jankgo

Best For: Campers, hikers, road trippers

Montana’s Glacier National Park spans more than one million acres in the Rocky Mountains and includes more than 130 lakes, 700 miles of trails, hundreds of animal species, thousands of plant species, and, of course, glaciers. One spot visitors should definitely check out is Logan Pass, the highest elevation you can reach with a car. From there, you can hike popular trails like Highline or Hidden Lake, take photos of Clements Mountain and Reynolds Mountain, or spot deer among the valley’s wildflowers.

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Nevada – Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park
Photo by Frank Kovalchek

Best For: Campers, fishers, hikers

Near the Utah border in Nevada, you can experience a diverse landscape of deserts, pine-covered mountain terrains, and deep caves at Great Basin National Park. Hike around Wheeler Peak, the second tallest mountain in the state, along trails like the Island Forest Trail, Bristlecone Pine Trail, or the Baker/Johnson Lake Loop Trail. Go fishing in the nearby Lehman Creek or Baker Creek. And you can’t miss out on Lehman Caves beneath the mountains, where you can see more than 300 rare formations of limestone rock.

New Mexico – Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Photo by daveynin

Best For: Cavers, families, road trippers

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico’s Guadalupe Mountains has more than 119 known caves, including the “Big Room,” a nearly 4,000-foot-long limestone chamber. Visitors can take guided or self-guided tours through the caverns to explore the treasures below ground. The park also has bat programs and night sky events during the late spring, summer, and early fall, where visitors can watch hundreds of bats leave and return from the caverns or spot distant stars through high-powered telescopes.

North Dakota – Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Photo by steve_h

Best For: Campers, fishers, hikers

Named after President Teddy Roosevelt, who’s typically regarded as the founder of America’s national parks, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota spans across the rugged badlands. The park is divided into three sections—the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit—with the Little Missouri River and Maah Daah Hey Trail stretching through each unit. You can camp, hike, canoe or kayak, fish, go horseback riding, or watch bison roam the land throughout the park.

Oregon – Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park
Photo by Jonathan Miske

Best For: Campers, hikers, photographers

Crater Lake National Park in Oregon is the fifth oldest national park in the U.S. and has the deepest lake in the country. The 4,000-foot-deep caldera formed thousands of years ago after the collapse of volcano Mount Mazama. Today, Crater Lake is a beautiful sight to behold with deep, pure waters surrounded by mountains and wildlife. Park visitors can hike to overlook spots to get the full view of the caldera or take a boat tour to get an up-close look at the former volcano. There are also opportunities for fishing, camping, and cross-country skiing.

South Dakota – Badlands National Park

Badlands National Park
Photo by Thomas

Best For: Families, hikers, rock climbers

Once a home to prehistoric creatures like the saber-toothed cat, South Dakota’s Badlands National Park is now home to bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep. The park stretches across more than 240,000 acres and is known for its rich fossil beds. You can hike one of the eight trails through the prairie or rock formations, sleep under the stars at one of the park’s campsites, or visit the paleontology lab where you can check out fossils of prehistoric animals discovered in the badlands.

Tennessee – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Photo by Ken Lund

Best For: Campers, road trippers, wildlife watchers

Straddling the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is renowned for its beautiful Appalachian scenery and wildlife. With 800 miles of hiking trails, historic log buildings, scenic drives, and opportunities for fishing, boating, horseback riding, and biking, it’s no wonder why “The Smokies” is the #1 most visited U.S. national park. Be sure to stop by Cades Cove, the park’s most popular destination. There, you can see black bears and coyotes, drive or bike the 11-mile loop, and visit 19th century structures.

Texas – Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park
Photo by Keith Yahl

Best For: Campers, kayakers, wildlife watchers

Big Bend National Park in Texas takes up nearly 800,000 acres and is divided from Mexico’s Parque Nacional Cañon de Santa Elena by the Rio Grande along the U.S. border. The park’s mountains are home to than 450 bird species, which makes Big Bend National Park a great place for bird-watching. There’s also 200 miles of trails and 150 miles of dirt roads, which means visitors can backpack, mountain bike, ride horses, drive, or hike the park. Of course, since the Rio Grande is nearby, visitors can also do half-day floats or canoe or kayak excursions.

Utah – Zion National Park

Zion National Park
Photo by faungg’s photos

Best For: Campers, kayakers, rock climbers

Zion National Park in Utah has four unique ecosystems within its 229 square miles—coniferous forests, woodlands, desert, and wetlands—and features mesas, natural arches, mountains, buttes, and more rock formations. Visitors can camp at Watchman Campground or Lava Point Campground, hike or backpack one of the seven available trails, kayak the Virgin River, or go “canyoneering” (which encompasses climbing, hiking, rappelling, and swimming) among The Narrows, The Subway, and other sandstone cliffs.

Washington – Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park
Photo by Nick Mealey

Best For: Campers, hikers, wildlife watchers

Known for its lush, temperate rainforests and rugged alpine areas, Olympic National Park in Washington is a must-visit among national parks. Visit the crystal waters of Lake Ozette along the Pacific Coast, where you can boat, canoe, or kayak. Hike and camp in the remote Queets Valley rainforest, where you can spot bears and other wildlife. Or make your way up Hurricane Ridge, where you can find great spots to take photos, snowshoe or cross-country ski, and climb up steep mountain trails.

Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park
Photo by Always Shooting

Best For: Families, road trippers, wildlife watchers

Yellowstone National Park is widely believed to be the first national park in the world. Established in 1872, this park spans two million acres and is home to more than 10,000 geothermal features, including Old Faithful Geyser and Mammoth Hot Springs. There are plenty of camping, fishing, and hiking spots around Lake Yellowstone, but if you’re looking for the best wildlife areas, check out Hayden Valley and Pelican Valley near Fishing Bridge. These spots are perfect for viewing grizzly bears, elk, wolves, bison, and more. Just don’t get too close!

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Are you an outdoor enthusiast? What are your favorite national parks to visit?

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Park information via National Park Service.

All images have either been provided by a listed organization or are licensed under Creative Commons.