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 …
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 …
The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural attractions on Earth. It’s a vast and visually powerful landscape with plunging cliffs and variegated colors slashing across the ancient rocks. Known for its multihued toned, the colors of the rocks change color through the course of the day, culminating in a spectacular sunset. It also …
Wapusk National Park is a Canadian National Park located outside of Churchill, Manitoba. It is a sub-arctic park which is located along the shore of Hudson Bay and it is home to one of the largest polar bear denning areas in the world. The word “wapusk” comes from the Cree word for polar bear. The …
From the World Heritage inscription for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: In 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world’s first International Peace Park. Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant …