23 Beautiful National Parks to Inspire Your Next 2023 Getaway

The largest national park in Utah, Canyonlands’s famous scenery is just as the name suggests: acres and acres of beautifully carved canyons. Whether you’re walking through the towering “Needles”, or staring across the Island in the Sky (a giant flat-topped mesa with gorgeous, panoramic views); you’re sure to never be bored of the Colorado River’s famous carvings.

The newest national park, New River Gorge was named as protected land in just 2020. In the southern Appalachian mountains in Lansing, West Virginia, this serene setting boasts stunning sunrise views from the New River Gorge Bridge, ample hikes, and even river-rafting fun for the whole family.

Full of mountains, glaciers, and forests, Washington State’s North Cascades has terrain for every preference. For those not looking to work up a sweat, the park’s lakes and ponds offer plenty of scenery for fishing or birdwatching.

While Colorado and Utah may receive all the hype for their scenery, another underrated corner state has equally beautiful landscapes. Home to the nation’s largest cacti, the Saguaro National Park is the picture-perfect American West (even Taylor Swift is a fan).

Comprising five islands off the coast of Ventura, California, the Channel Islands National Park is a must-visit for any sea life lover. Not only can you go whale-watching and view hundreds of sea birds, the park is home to 145 native species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

Known for its island-spotted lakes, sculptural rock garden (courtesy of artist Jack Ellsworth), and—yes—northern lights, Voyageurs National Park is perfect for both city-escapists and camping-pros. Situated near the Canadian border in International Falls, Minnesota, these pristine wilds are a spectacle all year-round.

Just outside South Carolina’s capital city, Congaree boasts the nation’s largest expanse of intact old growth, bottomland forests—with some of the tallest trees you’ll find in the Eastern states.

With ruins of old ranches, natural hot springs, and the entire Chisos mountain range, the million acres of Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas is for history-buffs and spa-seekers alike.

Take a journey underground with New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns. Made up of over 100 caves, visitors can marvel at the hanging stalactites and the expansive Big Room. Not a fan of the dark? Not a problem, the park also features a winding desert drive with picturesque views.

Not usually thought of as a nature-enthusiast’s dream destination, it’s time to move Indiana further up your vacation list; thanks to Indiana Dunes National Park. Running along the coast of Lake Michigan, Dunes has over 50 miles of hiking trails through remote wetlands and sunny prairies. After the hiking boots come off, take a dip in the pristine waters.

The largest national park in the United States, Wrangell St. Elias has over 13.2 million acres of soaring mountains, ice caves, and rich forests to explore. Follow any river to hike on a glacier, or camp overnight to view the northern lights. Up for a true adventure? The park contains nine of Alaska’s 16 highest peaks, a few of which you can climb.

Glacier National Park is so named thanks to its glacial remains dating back to the Ice Age. On the Canadian border, spanning more than 1 million acres, this park encompasses 700 lakes, two mountain ranges, and countless hiking trails and waterfalls for your pleasure. There’s so much to take in that you’ll need to stay in one of its lodges or chalets, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the most well-known national parks and a UNESCO World Heritage site to boot, Yosemite features scenic valleys you can hike through and breathtaking waterfalls to discover while rafting. Some must-see attractions are the granite monolith at Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in North America.

You’ll feel as if you’re standing on top of the world when you’re on the rim of the Grand Canyon, and you are: The layers of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks offer a rare look into the geologic history of the Earth. Whether you choose to walk the trails along the canyon’s floor, raft the Colorado River, or just marvel at the views on the Skywalk observation deck, you won’t be disappointed.

Old Faithful isn’t the only thing Yellowstone has to offer. After visiting the famous geyser, be sure to check out the mountains, hot springs, waterfalls, and canyons. This 2.2-million-acre national park spreads across three states and is home to countless wildlife, including buffalo, elks, and grizzly bears.

Grand Teton makes for an easy way to hit more than one national park on your trip—it’s only about an hour’s drive south of Yellowstone. And while Yellowstone is primarily known for its geothermal wonders, Grand Teton has a bounty of scenic waterways, including waterfalls, lakes, and rivers. In fact, the Snake River, which winds through the park, is perfect for fishing, canoeing, or kayaking.

Acadia is the only national park in the northeastern United States, and it’s surely one of the best. With its beautiful mountains, forests, ocean coastline, lakes, and ponds, Acadia provides endless opportunities for recreation, such as horseback riding, biking, hiking, and rock climbing. You might even spot seals playing along the rocky coast.

If forest trails aren’t really your thing, try Arches, in Utah, which is loaded with more than 2,000 naturally formed sandstone arches, thanks to millions of years of erosion. Bike or hike through some of the most popular trails, such as Delicate Arch and Fiery Furnace, and marvel at the 128-foot-tall Balanced Rock.

Olympic National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is truly a sight to see. It comprises many diverse ecosystems at varying elevations, including glacier-capped mountains and old-growth temperate rain forests. There are sandy beaches—where you can spot anemones in tide pools—and a range of fun snow sports available on Hurricane Ridge in the winter.

Rocky Mountain is an experience not to be missed. The park’s Trail Ridge Road tops out at more than 12,000 feet and introduces visitors to subalpine and alpine environments. At lower altitudes, wildflowers and wildlife thrive—the park has large herds of elks and bighorn sheep and a small population of moose. Rock climbing, backcountry camping, and horseback riding are also available to the intrepid visitor.

Zion’s rust-colored narrow slot canyons attract millions of tourists each year, making Utah’s first national park the state’s most popular as well. To beat the crowds at busy hiking spots like Angel’s Landing, you’ll want to set out by sunrise, but Zion has plenty of lesser-known routes, too. And if you don’t mind getting your feet wet—literally—about 60 percent of the famous Narrows hike involves walking, wading, or swimming in a river.

Home to some of the oldest mountains in the world, Great Smoky Mountains is the country’s most-visited national park and one of the few that is free to explore. In addition to hiking, biking, and fishing in beautiful surroundings, there are numerous swimming holes and the scenic and accessible Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

The highest peak in North America can be found at Denali National Park, which serves as a peaceful retreat for wildlife such as grizzly bears, caribou, and wolves. Hike Horseshoe Lake Trail for picturesque views of a calm lake hidden between the trees, and gaze up into clear skies at night for thousands of stars and a chance to see the aurora borealis.

Mount Rainier is famous for its contrasts: There’s the 14,410-foot-tall namesake peak, an active volcano that towers over the park and which last erupted in 1894. And in the valley below, a subalpine wildflower meadow contains hundreds of species of plants and animals. For the particularly ambitious, the mountain is circumnavigated by the Wonderland Trail, a 93-mile journey that typically takes hikers 10 to 14 days to complete.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, protects Mauna Loa and Kilauea, two of the most active volcanoes in the world. Take Crater Rim Drive to get to the main attractions: Pu‘u Pua‘i Overlook, Devastation Trail, and Kilauea Iki Overlook. You can also hike the Mauna Loa backcountry for its stunning, otherworldly landscapes.

At Haleakala, you can hike the desert trails and explore waterfalls and bamboo forests that are home to some of the park’s endangered residents, such as the Hawaiian goose, the official state bird. If you’re feeling especially daring, you can even climb into a dormant volcano. And don’t forget to reserve a spot to watch the out-of-this-world sunrise, which is unlike any you’ll ever see.

The remote Kenai Fjords preserves a pristine glacial landscape on the Kenai Peninsula, about two and a half hours south of Anchorage. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the park’s Harding Icefield, and adventurous kayakers often spot porpoises, orcas, and humpback whales in the chilly waters. For those who prefer to be on land, there’s a wealth of activities, including hiking, dogsledding, and cross-country skiing.

Stargazing is highly recommended when you visit Joshua Tree, and the best place to do it is at one of the park’s nine campgrounds. During the day, marvel at the place where two deserts—the Mojave and the Colorado—come together in a landscape rich with cactus, coyotes, and the park’s namesake tree.

Most of Great Basin National Park was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago, and the Wheeler Peak Glacier is one of the southernmost in the U.S. There’s a wealth of geological diversity here, from the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak to the surrealistic Lehman Caves, with stalactites formed from limestone.

Bryce Canyon is known for its natural amphitheaters and hoodoos, which are tall, irregular rock columns formed from the erosion of a plateau. Take in a sunrise or sunset at one of the park’s four main viewpoints, and learn about the Native Americans who first occupied the area around 1200.

Death Valley is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and the hottest place in the country, but don’t let the name scare you off. The park is a land of fascinating extremes, with a ton of wildlife and geology to explore: Zabriskie Point’s wavy hills were once the bottom of a lake that dried up 5 million years ago, and a pupfish that resides in one of the park’s creeks can withstand salinity four times that of the ocean and temperatures from 32 to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.

Discover the rugged Badlands, one of the world’s most abundant fossil beds and home to animals such as bison and prairie dogs. The rock formations have a “life span” of about 1 million years and erode at a rate of an inch per year; you can see this process exposed on the Badlands Wall. Hiking at Notch Trail yields some amazing views of the prairies and grasslands below.

A joint park combining Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park possesses the greatest difference in elevation—from 1,306 feet to 14,505 feet—of any protected area in the Lower 48. But the main attraction is the General Sherman giant sequoia tree, the world’s largest tree by volume, standing 275 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter.

Capitol Reef is in the unique Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long wrinkle in the Earth’s surface that contains grand canyons, rock domes, and towering cliffs. It has also been named an International Dark Sky Park, meaning you’ll get a clear view of the night skies and a chance at seeing one of the park’s many nocturnal creatures, such as mountain lions and coyotes.