Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor, Maine
Area: 41,888 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Mountains (highest point on Atlantic Coast) showing marine erosion and glaciation; lakes; forests; marine life.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, nature walks, picnicking, swimming, sea cruises.
Arches National Park
Moab, Utah
Area: 73,379 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Huge rock formations caused by erosion; mountains; Colorado River gorge.
Activities: Camping, fishing, canoeing, whitewater boating.
Badlands National Park
Interior, South Dakota
Area: 242,755 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Multicolored peaks and spires caused by erosion; fossil sites; wildlife; Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near site of Wounded Knee battleground.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, picnicking.
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park, Texas
Area: 801,163 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Mountains; canyons, desert; U.S. and Mexican flowers; trees; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, boating, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, pack trips.
Biscayne National Park
Homestead, Florida
Area: 173,467 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Underwater coral reefs; marine life.
Activities: Boating, snorkeling, scuba diving.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Area: 35,836 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Multicolored rock erosions.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, boating, picnicking, museum tours.
Canyonlands National Park
Moab, Utah
Area: 337,570 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Rock formations; ancient cliff dwellings; Green River and Colorado River canyons.
Activities: Boating, whitewater trips, hiking, camping, fishing, horseback riding, picnicking.
Capitol Reef National Park
Torrey, Utah
Area: 241,905 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Colorful rock formations; desert plants and wildlife; pioneer exhibits.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, four-wheel-drive trails.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Area: 46,775 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Possibly world's largest cavern with spectacular underground formations; above-ground desert plants and rock formations.
Activities: Cavern tours, hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Channel Islands National Park
Ventura, California
Area: 249,355 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Marine life and sea birds.
Activities: Hiking, boating, fishing, picnicking, scuba diving, snorkeling.
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Sulphur, Oklahoma
Area: 9,521 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Mineral springs, wild animals; birds and plants.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake, Oregon
Area: 183,224 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Deepest lake in the United States (2,000 feet) in crater of extinct volcano; multicolored rocks; forests, mountain flowers, and wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, boating, cross-country skiing.
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali, Alaska
Area: 4,716,726 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Peaks of Alaska Range, including Mount McKinley (20,320 feet); rare wildlife and subarctic plant life; huge Denali fault; break in earth's crust.
Activities: Camping, dog-sledding, hiking, fishing.
Everglades National Park
Homestead, Florida
Area: 1,506,499 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Immense subtropical wilderness; mangrove swamps; wild animals and rare birds.
Activities: Boating, camping, fishing, guided tours, hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Fairbanks, Alaska
Area: 7,523,888 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Snow-covered peaks of Brooks Range north of Arctic Circle; tundra wilderness; wildlife.
Activities: Hunting, fishing, camping, mountain climbing.
Glacier Bay National Park
Gustavus, Alaska
Area: 3,226,000 acres
Season: May to September
Major attractions: Great Mendenhall Glacier; iceberg formations from glaciers; dense coastal rain forests; wildlife; nearby, Mount Logan, highest point in Canada (19,850 feet).
Activities: Camping, hiking, hunting, fishing.
Glacier National Park
West Glacier, Montana
Area: 1,056,000 acres
Season: June through September
Major attractions: Rugged mountain peaks of Continental Divide; glaciers; numerous alpine lakes and streams; rare wildflowers; wildlife; ancient Blackfoot hunting grounds.
Activities: Hiking on old hunting and exploration trails, nature walks, horseback riding, camping, fishing.
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Area: 1,218,376 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Mile-deep, 1.5-billion-year-old canyon of Colorado River, showing geologic features with fossil plants and animals; multicolored rocks; wide range of wild plants and animals; Havasupai Indian reservation.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, boating, whitewater trips, nature walks, picnicking.
Grand Teton National Park
Moose, Wyoming
Area: 309,993 acres
Season: June to September
Major attractions: Mountains; trails of famous early explorers; perennial snow fields; wild plants, animals, and birds.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, boating, horseback riding.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Area: 520,269 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Highest mountains in the eastern United States (6,500 feet); wide range of plants; wildlife;
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, nature walks, museums, horseback riding, picnicking.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Salt Flat, Texas
Area: 86,415 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Desert wilderness; limestone fossil reef; wildlife; highest point in Texas (8,749 feet).
Activities: Camping, hiking.
Haleakala National Park
Makawao, Maui, Hawaii
Area: 28,655 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Haleakala crater; scenic pools; rare wildlife; semitropical vegetation
Activities: Hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii National Park, Hawaii
Area: 229,178 acres
Major attractions: Volcano activity; semitropical plants; birds.
Activities: Hiking, nature walks, camping,
Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Area: 5,839 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Ancient hot springs for bathing with reputed therapeutic benefits.
Activities: Bathing, museum tours, hiking, nature trails, picnicking, camping.
Isle Royale National Park
Houghton, Michigan
Area: 571,790 acres
Season: April to October
Major attractions: Historic fisheries; hardwood and evergreen forests; pre-Columbian copper mines; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing. kayaking, boating (no cars permitted on island).
Katmai National Park and Preserve
King Salmon, Alaska
Area: 3,700,000 acres
Season: May to September
Major attractions: Varied subarctic environment; Alagnak Wild River; Valley of 10,000 Smokes; wildlife.
Activities: Fishing, wildlife-watching; kayaking.
Kenai Fjords National Park
Seward, Alaska
Area: 670,000 acres
Season: May to September
Major attractions: Mountains; ice fields: ford system; varied marine life.
Activities: Fishing, boating, mountain climbing, camping, hiking, bird watching (150 species).
Kings Canyon National Park
Three Rivers, California
Area: 460,331 acres
Season: May to October
Major attractions: High Sierra peaks; giant sequoia trees; mile-deep canyon; alpine lakes; glaciers and snowfields; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, cross-country skiing.
Kobuk Valley National Park
Kotzebue, Alaska
Area: I ,750,000 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Baird Mountain peaks; forests, tundra; great sand dunes; prehistoric archeological sites; arctic wildlife.
Activities: Hiking, boating, mountain climbing, fishing.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Anchorage, Alaska
Area: 2,636,839 acres
Season: June to September
Major attractions: Aleutian Range peaks; Cook Inlet; live volcanoes; fossils; forests; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, fishing, boating, hiking, bird-watching, hunting.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Mineral, California
Area: 106,372 acres
Season: June to October
Major attractions: Live volcano (intermittent eruptions from 1914 to 1921); hot springs.
Activities: Camping, hiking (150 miles of trails), boating, winter sports.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
Area: 52,419 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Large cavern (330 miles of passageways); underground river.
Activities: Boating, camping, fishing, hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Area: 51,333 acres
Season: May to October
Major attractions: Pre-Columbian cliff dwellings; lookout showing six mountain ranges in four states.
Activities: Camping, picnicking, hiking, cliff-dwelling tours.
Mount Rainier National Park
Ashford, Washington
Area: 235,613 acres
Season: June to November
Major attractions: Mountain terrain featuring glaciers, forests, and subalpine meadows.
Activities: Hiking, winter sports, camping, guided climbs to summit (14,410 feet) for experienced mountaineers.
North Cascades National Park
Sedro Woolley, Washington
Area: 504,781 acres
Season: April to October
Major attractions: Alpine wilderness area featuring mountains, lakes, forests, glaciers, wildlife.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, boating, horseback riding.
Olympic National Park
Port Angeles, Washington
Area: 922,654 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Rain forests of giant evergreens; mountains; glaciers; wildlife; rocky beaches on peninsula between Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, birdwatching, horseback riding, boating.
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Area: 93,530 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: World's largest display of petrified coniferous trees in six groups of logs now in the form of jasper and agate; prehistoric Indian rock carvings; painted desert of eroded layers of red and yellow sediment.
Activities: Hiking, nature walks, picnicking, camping.
Redwood National Park
Crescent City, California
Area: 110,132 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Redwood forests, including tallest known tree in the world; Pacific Ocean coastline.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, whitewater trips nearby.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Estes Park, Colorado
Area: 265,198 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Mountains; lakes; streams; forests; wildflower meadows; wild animals.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountaineering classes, winter skiing.
Sequoia National Park
Three Rivers, California
Area: 402,482 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: High Sierra peaks, including Mount Whitney (14,494 feet); sequoia forests; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, photographic trips.
Shenandoah National Park
Luray, Virginia
Area: 196,039 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attraction: Blue Ridge Mountains; hardwood forests; wildflowers.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, nature walks, picnicking.
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial National Park
Medora, North Dakota
Area: 70,446 acres
Season: May to October
Major attractions: Little Missouri River badlands; site of former President Theodore Roosevelt's ranch; wildlife.
Activities: Hiking, camping, picnicking, float trips, bird-watching.
Virgin Islands National Park
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Area: 14,689 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Tropical plant and animal life; marine life; sandy beaches; colonial plantations; early Carib relics.
Activities: Camping, fishing, hiking, nature walks, picnicking, swimming, diving.
Voyageurs National Park
International Falls, Minnesota
Area: 219,400 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Evergreen forests; ancient rock outcroppings; bogs; glacial lakes; wildlife.
Activities: Boating (access to interior is mainly by boat), camping, fishing, hiking, canoeing.
Wind Cave National Park
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Area: 28,060 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Limestone caverns; bison herds; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, nature walks, picnicking.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Glennallen, Alaska
Area: 8,945,000 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Largest U.S. national park; greatest concentration of peaks over 14,000 feet in North America; rugged coastline; boreal forests; alpine tundra; wildlife.
Activities: Mountain climbing, hunting, fishing, camping, boating.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Area: 2,219,791 acres
Season: Year-round
Major attractions: Oldest national park; spectacular wilderness; Old Faithful geyser; hot springs; lakes, streams, and waterfalls; wildlife; the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, photography, horseback riding, boating, picnicking, winter ski touring.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park, California
Area: 761,170 acres
Season: June to October
Major attractions: Mountain peaks over 10,000 feet; spectacular granite domes and monoliths; highest waterfall in the United States; sequoia groves; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, downhill and cross country skiing in winter.
Zion National Park
Springdale, Utah
Area: 146,597 acres
Season: June to October
Major attractions: Huge canyons and gorges carved by mountain rivers; colorful rock cliffs; wildlife.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, boating.