Yosemite, California, is the king of all National Parks. Although it was declared a National Park October 1st, 1890, after Yellowstone and Sequoia, Yosemite is the Park that started it all. It was here, amidst the spectacular beauty of “the valley” that John Muir convinced the US government to set aside some of its most […]
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Category: National Parks
Redwood
Redwood National Park, California, was actually a latecomer to this area. Founded October 2nd, 1968, it joined three California State Parks in protecting some key groves of redwood trees, the tallest in the world, that grow only along a narrow strip of the California and Oregon coasts. Today, the area is jointly managed by the […]
Crater Lake
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 […]
Everglades
Everglades National Park, Florida, founded in 1947, protects the once-vast wetlands of southern Florida, home to an amazingly diverse collection of wildlife. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In a Word. “Teeming” “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for […]
Biscayne
Biscayne National Park in Florida was established in 1980 to protect one of the last pristine areas of coral reef and keys in the US from encroaching development. Over 17,000 acres, 95% under water. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Overall Rating Scenery Mangrove swamps and coral reefs typical of southern Florida but […]
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 […]
Mesa Verde
Established in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado is one of the oldest national parks around and is still the only national park founded to protect something man-made. In this case, it’s several of the largest and best preserved ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings in the US. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP […]
Petrified Forest
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, is home to the largest collection of colorful petrified wood in the US. Like many parks, Petrified Forest was formerly a National Monument. It achieved National Park status in 1962. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In a Word. “Colorful” […]
Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, was founded in 1972 to preserve the surprisingly diverse wilderness of the southern Guadalupe Mountains, a range created from an enormous fossilized reef rising up from the Chihuahuan Desert. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In a Word. “Unexpected” “He […]
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 […]
Kenai Fjords
Kenai Fjords, Alaska, achieving National Park status in 1980, is home to about a dozen glaciers and some great Alaskan wildlife. Located on the Alaskan coast near Anchorage, Kenai Fjords is best seen both by land and by boat. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review […]