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Celebrating America’s National Parks in Photos

We love our National Parks! I wanted to highlight and share some of our favorite pictures from some of the National Parks we’ve explored with the kids over the years. We still have a long way to go. There are 401 stunning parks, monuments, shorelines and historical sites around America waiting to be discovered. Most of them have minimal entrance fees and have free admission several times a year including this week.

national park Week collage

One of our family’s favorite is Yellowstone National Park straddling Wyoming and Montana. America’s oldest National Park offers many unique natural attractions and the highest concentration of geothermal activity. These natural wonders range from thermal pools, geysers, lakes, waterfalls and canyons to amazing wildlife roaming freely. It’s a spectacular park that needs to be experienced in person.

yellowstone national park white dome geyser image

Yosemite National Park in central California was the first National Park I visited and one we’ve visited the most. Seeing Yosemite’s beauty ignited my desire to explore America’s National Parks. Yosemite has majestic waterfalls, alpine lakes, meadows, granite cliffs and the famous Half Dome. Don’t miss the Tioga Pass area during the summer for a different viewpoint of the park.

Yosemite National Park

We visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve during an Alaska cruise a few years ago. There are no roads that lead directly to Glacier Bay. This is one of the most stunning areas of Alaska with plenty of snow-capped mountains, tidewater glaciers, fjords and whale watching opportunities. We stopped in front of Margerie Glacier and saw ice pieces breaking off known as calving.

Margerie Glacier Alaska

Considered one of the wonders of the natural world, the Grand Canyon, is beauty beyond words. It was hard to believe that this stunning scenery was carved from the Colorado River that still runs through it. There aren’t many things that have left me speechless at first sight but seeing the Grand Canyon was one of them.

Grand Canyon

Volcanoes National Park in the big island of Hawaii is on top of our list for a do-over. We visited during an 11-day Hawaiian cruise with limited time and two active toddlers a few years ago. The Crater Rim Drive was an unforgettable trip around the Kilauea Volcano Caldera, numerous steam vents and volcanic landscapes.

Volcanoes National Park

The drive up to Haleakala National Park in Maui may be a little daunting with its twists and curves but it’s all worth it. The highlight here is the volcanic mountaintop and crater. This otherworldly landscape high above the clouds was one of the best views we’ve ever seen.

Maui Haleakala summit image

Arches National Park in Utah has the highest concentration of arches in the world with over 2,0000 sandstone arches defying gravity. There were also a variety of red rock formations throughout the park which made for a wonderful place to see through viewpoints and numerous trails. The Delicate Arch trail was worth doing for a glorious close-up of the park’s most famous arch.

delicate arch pose

Canyonlands National Park was another pleasant surprise for us. Utah’s largest park was uncrowded and filled with many unique rock formations and some of the best scenic overlooks.

Canyonlands Mesa Arch

The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado is one of my kids’ favorite park. Not because they have the tallest sand dunes in North America but because of what the giant sandbox offered for them – the chance for some sand boarding and sand sledding. There are also plenty of forest, grasslands and wetlands for various outdoor activities beyond the dunes.

Great Sand Dunes shadows

Don’t let its morbid name fool you. Death Valley National Park is one of the best parks we’ve visited and probably the most surprising. There are sand dunes, colorful rock formations, greenery, canyons and even a castle here. But, our favorite part is the Badwater Basin which is the nation’s lowest elevation at 282 feet below sea level. The miles of blinding salt flats make for an unforgettable walk. Located about two hours from Las Vegas, it’s certainly very accessible too.

Badwater Basin Salt Flats

Bryce Canyon National Park‘s hoodoos are its main attractions. These mostly red and orange limestone rock formations need to be seen in person to fully appreciate their beauty and uniqueness. We were here a couple of months ago when some parts were covered with snow and made for an even better overall vista.

Bryce Canyon Ampitheater

Winter may not be the ideal time to visit some parks but we’ve actually enjoyed visiting some of them covered in snow. The contrast of snow with the red rocks in many of the southwest Utah parks makes for some dramatic scenery. This was how we remembered our winter trip to Zion National Park in Utah.

Temple of Sinawava with Altar and Pulpit
Temple of Sinawava with “Altar & Pulpit” rocks

Luckily, we made a return trip to see Zion National Park during Spring to see it in its full glory. The park was a bit crowded so we didn’t get to do some hikes. It looks like we may need to do a return trip again.

Zion National Park court of the Patriarchs

Joshua Tree is the closest National Park to our house. This desert landscape offers more than the thousand of Seuss-like trees reaching out to the sky. This is a popular mecca for rock climbers with its giant boulders that is also a fun place for kids to crawl through the crevices.

Joshua Tree National park boulder

Who wouldn’t want to see the largest trees in the world at California’s Sequoia National Park? It’s hard to put into perspective the massive size of these trees until you’re standing at its base looking up and feeling infinitely tiny. This land of giants features fallen trees for walking through and even a tunnel log for driving through.

General Sherman tree

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico was an underground marvel unlike any park we’ve visited. The size and quantity of the formations and cave decorations easily made this the best cave we’ve seen so far. We hope to return soon to witness the thousands of bats leaving the cave at sunset from May to October.

carlsbad Caverns stalagmite

We’ve also visited some National Parks and Monuments that are not usually on many people’s travel bucket list but very much worth visiting. Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction, CO is a testament to one man’s vision and dedication to turn this area into a national monument for future generations. Sheer sandstone cliffs, monoliths, dramatic rock formations and scenic turnouts along one of America’s best scenic roads are its main attractions.

Colorado national Monument Grand View

Devil’s Postpile National Monument in central California is usually only open from May to September. The main attraction here was the geologic wonder of tall, vertical volcanic columns that fomed a massive wall. It also offers hiking trails and the beautiful Rainbow Falls.

Devils Postpile National Monument

King’s Canyon National Park is adjacent to Sequoia National Park but usually gets bypassed by many visitors. The pleasant drive along the King’s River is one of the most beautiful drives we’ve done. The park also has caves, waterfalls, giant sequoia trees and the continent’s deepest canyon.

King's Canyon National Park View

The last park we visited was Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas near Carlsbad Caverns. I admit this wasn’t even on our radar but we stopped since it was on the way. The park features over 80 trails through canyons and wilderness. It almost looks like a desert park with the giant El Capitan towering over the park. We were only able to do one short hike but would love to return to explore this hidden gem.

Guadalupe mountains national park

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument near Santa Fe, New Mexico is an otherworldly yet whimsical landscape of different kinds of hoodoos and rock formations. This is a special place for the Native Americans nearby and it was easy to see why with its amazing scenery.

kasha-Katuwe Tent rocks

Sometimes, the drives to the parks itself can be quite interesting. One of my kids’ favorite pastime is spotting wildlife. Our most memorable encounter was seeing this huge bison in the middle of the road and passing right next to our car as we entered Yellowstone. What a great welcome party!

Yellowstone bison

We also found these elk grazing on the side of the road and a herd of Big Horn sheep stopping traffic on our way to Hermit’s Nest at Grand Canyon National Park.

Grand Canyon animals

You can usually tell there’s something special along the side of the road by the number of cars that have pulled over. There was a mini-traffic jam in Sequoia National Park as we all admired this bear walking on the hill.

bear at Sequoia National park

Putting this list together made me realize these are all in the western part of the USA. It looks like we need to really make an effort to explore the other side of the country’s National Parks soon. This week is an opportunity to highlight and appreciate what the national park system offers for all of us to explore. I hope these pictures will inspire some of you to visit these national treasures or consider adding them to your travel wish list.

*What are your favorite National Parks or Monuments?

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America's National Parks photos

35 thoughts on “Celebrating America’s National Parks in Photos”

  1. Love it when we stumble upon animals grazing or just ambling along the roadside. Up here, it’s most often reindeer. My eyes keep reverting to the middle of the small top photos, of what looks like a bridge of sorts. Is that in Yellowstone?

  2. All of photos are gorgeous. I would love to visit any of these. The Grand Canyon tops my list!
    I was in Haleakala National Park many years ago, and I do remember the ride to the top. A little scary, but well worth it.

  3. Hello Mother Mary, thank you for always keeping me up with what important week or day it is. I don’t know where planet I’m from but unless you tell me it’s World’s Water Day or it’s National Park Week I don’t seem to be aware of them. Anyway, thanks for sharing this beautiful, amazing, stunning round up of US National Parks. I’m embarrass to admit I haven’t been to even a quarter of them:( That’s why you have to seriously adopt me!
    All your shots are spectacular but Keith and I particularly loved the Yosemite photo with the waterfall.

    1. I’m glad to be your event reminder :) I wouldn’t know either but being on Facebook a lot helps with being aware. You’ve got a lot of time to explore these parks. Thanks for the kind words and I’m glad you enjoyed them. Yosemite is spectacular and this is the view that started my quest to visit the National Parks.

  4. If we ever get to the USA we will definitely be visiting some of these beautiful
    national parks. I think The Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone
    and Yosemite will be first on my list. Beautiful.

    1. Thanks Jan. You’re building quite a list of parks to visit. many of them are doable in a few days since some are pretty close to each other. I hope you come back to the USA soon.

  5. Maria Alexandra @LatinAbroad

    Wow, your pictures are absolutely stunning! I often forget how gorgeous the United States are — I really need to do more traveling within!

    – Maria Alexandra

  6. Absolutely stunning photos. I really love the National Parks in the US. I have been to most of these parks (hard to say what was my favorite as I thought all of the parks were awesome but Yellowstone was definitely very special) and I thought I had seen pretty much the majority by now … till I read there are 401 parks, monuments, sites … It will definitely keep me busy for the next couple of years :)

  7. Love all of your National Park photos! So many beautiful places to visit – I hope that I’m able to see a few of them! We have only been to Glacier Bay, Denali, Haleakala and the Grand Canyon so I have a long way to go!

  8. Beautiful, Mary! Not so happy to admitt I have been to only four National Parks: Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Channel Islands and Zion. But like you, I still have a long way to go and loking forward to it.

  9. You’ve included some great National Park choices. I especially like Arches and Canyonlands National Park because you can include them in one Utah road trip. However I don’t see Glacier National Park – my favorite. The Many Glacier area has some of the best hiking in the world.

  10. I’ve got to get to Utah in particular to see the NPs. We love so many of them. I think my son’s favorite is Volcanoes. My husband’s is the Grand Canyon.

  11. Amazing Photos – gets me SO excited for this summer. We were going to bypass Sequoia to do more in Utah & Colorado but after your pictures, I think not – there is SO MUCH to do and see in CA!!!!

    Thanks for linking up this week!

  12. Great article and great pics. We have been doing cross country roadtips the past 4 years with our 4 kids and make an effort to see as many NPs as possible. Can’t wait to see what this summers trip brings.

  13. We are so lucky to have so many amazing national parks here in the U.S. — Happy to say that I’ve been to many that you’ve mentioned here & hope to get to the rest. We were just in Maui, but didn’t have a chance to drive to the top of Haleakala National Park. We were all around it and hiked some falls at the entrance though. Next time …..

  14. Mary, what a great collection of parks you’ve visited and what a superb set of photos too shoow them off. I’d love to visit Yosemite in September,King’s Canyon looks very interesting and the Guadeloupe one in Texas probably doesn’t see a lot of traffic. I hadn’t appreciated that there were as many National Parks & monuments as there are in the US – but a fun and educational experience trying to knock them all off.

  15. eileen at FamiliesGo!

    amazing photos! They make me want to burst out into “This Land Is Your Land…” Also, reminds me to get out and see more western parts of the US.

  16. Fantastic shots! I’ve been to quite a few of these locations, and also worth noting are some sites that aren’t national parks. There are some great nature tourist locations out there. Thanks for sharing!

  17. A came across your blog from Italian Notes. This post with all of the pictures you took is awesome
    Mary! I’m a huge fan of our National Parks :)

  18. These are some AMAZING shots of beautiful places. I’ve always loved National Parks, and America has some of the most memorable ones to visit. Thanks for sharing these with us.

  19. Amazing collection of images! I’d not heard of the Devil’s Postpile National Monument before, that’s brilliant.

  20. I really have made a massive over-site by not visiting the USA yet. I’ve never been that drawn by the cities- just because we have a similar culture, language etc here in the UK, but your national parks are definitely a good reason to make the trip. Some of these I hadn’t heard of. Bryce Canyon National Park looks incredible from your photo. :)

  21. Your photos are incredible! I love the national parks too! Unfortunately, we live in Vermont so it’s always a huge deal to travel to most of them. I loved Yellowstone because we saw so many people, but the crowds were tough on us. Our favorite national park experiences have been at the lesser known parks – Theodore Roosevelt NP tops the list, followed by Olympic NP, and Acadia.

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