Crater Lake, Oregon, was the fifth National Park, established May 22nd, 1902 after 17 years of lobbying by a man named William Steel. The lake was formed thousands of years ago after the eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama in the Cascade Range. The lake is the deepest in the US (about 1,940 feet) and […]
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Category: 5-Star
Big Bend
Big Bend National Park, Texas, protects the diverse ecology of the area inside the “Big Bend” in the Rio Grande, the border between the US and Mexico.Big Bend, while technically situated in a desert area, is home to more than 400 species of birds and contains several different climate zones ranging from the Chihuahuan desert […]
Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) is home to brilliant red canyons and ancient ruins set in the heart of the Navajo Reservation in northeast Arizona. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating ILNP Park Review Our Visit. We visited Canyon de Chelly as part of our 8-Park Southwest tour in March 2004. […]
Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Sequoia National Park, the second oldest Park next to Yellowstone, was established in 1890 to protect the Giant Sequoia tree species found only in this area of the world. The Giant Sequoia is the largest of all living organisms, but their existence was threatened by logging before the Park was created. Kings Canyon National Park, […]
Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, which lays across the mountainous border between Tennessee and North Carolina, was established in 1934 to protect some of the densest “old-growth” deciduous forest in the world. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In a Word. “Refreshing” “How lovely […]
Denali
Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska was founded in 1917 as Mt McKinley National Park. The centerpiece is Mt McKinley (known to locals by it’s native American name, Denali), North America’s highest peak at 20,320 feet, but the park’s 6,000,000+ acres are also home to a fantastic array of wildlife including moose, caribou, Dall […]
Carlsbad Caverns
Carlsbad Cavern National Park was established to protect the enormous caves under the southern New Mexico desert. While these caves are not the most ornate (“decorated” in spelunking terms) in the world or the largest, they are certainly some of the best caves in the world at combining size and beauty. The Park makes a […]