Overview Gateway Arch National Park, formerly the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, is a United States National Park in St. Louis, Missouri. The primary attraction is the Gateway Arch which commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. St. Louis used to be known as the “Gateway to the West”, which is why it was selected …
Zion National Park seems to be a favorite of almost everyone who has visited the park. The heart of the park is Zion Canyon which was cut by the Virgin River. The result is a stunning landscape created by the combination of mountain, valley, and river. One of the things which makes Zion so popular …
Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the least visited national parks in the United States, with only 60,000 visitors per year. This is primarily due to its remote location 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. It is also the most aquatic of all the U.S. national parks with 98% of the park consisting …
Joshua Tree National Park is located in the Mojave Desert in Southern California, centered roughly between Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego. It gets its name from the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia, seen above) which inhabits most of the park. Due to its remote location in the desert, Joshua Tree isn’t a popular national …
Southern Oregon and Northern California is a sparsely populated part of the country with some of the best scenery and natural attractions in the United States. Across California there is no shortage of beautiful places to visit, and that includes in the north of the state, where fewer travelers venture. Those road tripping the area …
I won’t beat around the bush. North Cascades is probably the least deserving site I’ve visited in the US to have a national park designation. The primary feature of the park is a dam. Almost everywhere you go in the park you find high voltage electrical lines. It really should be designated as a National …
I don’t think it is an overstatement to say that Mount Rainier is the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Visible from Seattle on a clear day, it dominates the surrounding region. In fact, it is so large that it can also be seen from Portland and from the top of the mountains surrounding Vancouver. …
Banff is probably the best known national park in Canada. Located in the Canadian Rockies, just a 90 minute drive from Calgary, it is also one of the more accessible national parks in Canada. Part of the fame of Banff comes the fact that it is also Canada’s oldest national park. Established in 1885, just …
The story behind Shenandoah National Park is an interesting one. In 1930’s, all of the great national parks in the US were out west, yet most of the population in the US was in the east. The park was created by taking the land of over 1,000 people by eminent domain, as almost all the …