Top 5 American National Parks
Many British visitors think of American as skyscraper-laden cities and theme parks, but the US also has massive expanses of outstanding natural beauty, all teeming with wildlife and nature.
Many British visitors think of American as skyscraper-laden cities and theme parks, but the US also has massive expanses of outstanding natural beauty, all teeming with wildlife and nature.
Since 1872, around 60 areas have been given special protection by designating them as National Parks. 27 States have National Parks, with 9 being in California and 8 in Alaska although many parks are so large they span more than one State. Fourteen of the National parks are also designated World Heritage Sites.
You’ve probably heard of many of them but here are the top 5 by visitor numbers.
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Location: Tennessee and North Carolina.
With more than 10 million visitors each year, this is easily the most popular of all the National Parks. Not surprising really as this brags the Appalachian Mountains and includes 70 miles of the famous Appalachian Trail as part of its 800+ miles of trails. Hike, horse ride or drive around and get a chance to see some of the 400 vertebrate species, 100 tree species and 5000 plant species.
2. Grand Canyon National Park
Location: Arizona
One of the most famous landmarks in the World, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to one mile deep and in places 15 miles wide. Carved by the Colorado River, it features millions of years of eroded rocks and plateaus. It’s a magnificent site seen from above or below, or maybe from the air in a plane or helicopter. Or maybe even from the Grand Canyon Skywalk, if you’re brave enough.
3. Yosemite National Park
Location: California
Yosemite (pronounced ‘yoh-SEM-it-ee’) features old forests, cliffs, waterfalls and giant sequoia. Yosemite Falls is North America’s tallest waterfall. If you are staying in Las Vegas and like to gamble, you can drive to Yosemite in the Summer months, as long as you fancy the trip through Death Valley and the Tioga Pass.
4. Yellowstone National Park
Location: Wyoming, Montana, Idaho
Yellowstone was the first ever Nation Park, created by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. It is more than 2.2 million acres in size. Famous for grizzly bears, wolves, bison and of course the often eruptions of hot geysers like Old Faithful. There are four mountain ranges and plenty of waterfalls. It is thought that Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years. Visited by more than 3.5 million people in 2014.
5. Rocky Mountain National Park
Location: Colorado
You can walk and camp here and see mountains, over 150 lakes, forests and wildlife. Some of the trails have an elevation over 12,000 feet. This is part of the Rockies and is bisected north to south by the Continental Divide. Popular visitor spots are Longs Peak (a Colorado ‘fourteener’ which means it’s peak is over 14,000 feet) and the scenic Bear Lake.
The National Parks are so big that they can accommodate your entire vacation, but if you’re not up for that but in the vicinity then take a day or so to have a drive around or go to one of the many visitor centres. You’ll probably be glad you did.
