INTO THE WOODS & DESERTS
This park in California is named after a spiky, twisted member of the yucca family that looked like the biblical figure Joshua stretching his arms to the sky.
Joshua Tree National Park
This massive, shaggy-furred animal is the official national mammal of the U.S. and can easily be seen blocking traffic in Yellowstone.
Bison (or Buffalo)
You'll need to travel out west to sunny Arizona to gaze into the massive, mile-deep colorful gorges of this world-famous park.
Grand Canyon National Park
This spectacular, predictable geothermal feature in Yellowstone draws massive crowds every day to watch it shoot boiling water high into the air.
Old Faithful Geyser
Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, this spectacular place holds the title of America's very first official National Park.
Yellowstone National Park
Holding the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, this low-lying California desert park features vast, crusty salt flats.
Death Valley National Park
If you visit the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains, you'll want to keep an eye out for this large, dark-furred, tree-climbing predator.
Black Bear
Located at the southern tip of Florida, this subtropical wilderness park is famous for its slow-moving sawgrass rivers and wild alligators.
The Everglades
Yosemite Valley is famous for its massive granite rock formations, including a sheer 3,000-foot vertical wall known by this Spanish name meaning "The Captain."
El Capitan
President Woodrow Wilson officially created this government agency in 1916 to protect and manage all of our beautiful public lands.
The National Park Service
Located in Arizona, this unique park is famous for its colorful, ancient tree logs that have completely turned into solid quartz crystal over millions of years.
Petrified Forest National Park
In 1995, wildlife biologists successfully reintroduced this predatory pack animal back into Yellowstone to restore the natural balance of the ecosystem.
Wolf (Wolves)
Head out to Utah to see the towering, cream-and-pink sandstone cliffs of this stunning canyon park, famous for a trail called "The Narrows."
Zion National Park
Located in Utah, this park looks like a landscape from another planet with over 2,000 natural, freestanding wind-sculpted sandstone windows.
Arches National Park
Located in California, this park was specifically established to protect its ancient, towering groves of giant sequoia trees.
Yosemite National Park
This Washington state park features the Hoh Rain Forest, one of the quietest and greenest places in America, covered in thick blankets of hanging moss.
Olympic National Park
Visitors flock to the icy waters of Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park to watch these magnificent, singing marine mammals breach out of the water.
Humpback Whales
Situated on the rugged Atlantic coastline of Maine, this beautiful park is the very first place in the U.S. to see the sunrise during the fall and winter.
Acadia National Park
Located in Alaska, this towering mountain is the highest peak in all of North America, measuring an incredible 20,310 feet tall.
Denali (formerly Mount McKinley)
If you want to visit every official National Park in the United States, you'll have to pack your bags for quite a few trips—there are currently this many parks in total.
63
Located in New Mexico, this spectacular underground park features a massive cave cavern known simply as "The Big Room," filled with thousands of bats.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
This small, large-eared desert animal is famous for its incredible ability to survive the blistering, extreme heat of Death Valley without ever needing to drink water.
The Kit Fox
This massive park located way up in Alaska is the single largest national park in the country—it is actually the same size as six Yellowstones put together.
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park
This famous dome-shaped granite rock stands proud at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley and looks as if a giant knife sliced it perfectly in half.
Half Dome
This beautiful park down in Florida holds the title of the first underwater national park system, protecting vibrant coral reefs and shipwreck trails.
Biscayne National Park