Skip to content
KITAUTHORITY
The Teton Range rising behind a calm meander of the Snake River at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, with forested banks and snow-flecked peaks reflected in the water

National park guides

All 63 US National Parks

Search by name, or filter by region, season, and activity, then open a park for when to go, what to expect, and exactly what to pack.

63 national parks8 regions

Sort
Region
Activity
Season

All 63 national parks

Forested ridges of the Smoky Mountains receding into blue haze within Great Smoky Mountains National ParkSoutheast

Great Smoky Mountains

Tennessee

Dawn light over the layered red and orange cliffs and buttes of the Grand Canyon, seen from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, ArizonaSouthwest

Grand Canyon

Arizona

The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park viewed from the southeast hillside, its vivid blue center ringed by orange and yellow microbial mats and rising steam, set against the surrounding forest and sky.Rocky Mountains

Yellowstone

Wyoming

The Watchman, a sharply pointed red sandstone peak in Zion National Park, rising above the Virgin River and autumn cottonwoods at golden hourSouthwest

Zion

Utah

Glacier Gorge and rugged peaks rising above the still waters of Bear Lake, framed by pine forest, in Rocky Mountain National Park, ColoradoRocky Mountains

Rocky Mountain

Colorado

Yosemite Valley seen from Tunnel View, with El Capitan rising on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right, and Half Dome in the distance under a clear skyPacific

Yosemite

California

Bass Harbor Head Light Station, the iconic white lighthouse perched on the pink granite cliffs of Acadia National Park's rocky Maine coastline, with evergreens and the Atlantic Ocean.Northeast

Acadia

Maine

Cedar Creek winding across Ruby Beach toward the sea stack of Abbey Island under a soft Pacific Northwest sky, the rugged Olympic National Park coastline in WashingtonPacific

Olympic

Washington

The Teton Range rising behind a calm meander of the Snake River at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, with forested banks and snow-flecked peaks reflected in the waterRocky Mountains

Grand Teton

Wyoming

St. Mary Lake with tiny Wild Goose Island in the foreground, framed by towering peaks of Glacier National Park, Montana, seen from Going-to-the-Sun Road.Rocky Mountains

Glacier

Montana

A rare foggy morning in Joshua Tree National Park, with iconic Joshua trees scattered across the open desert plain and low fog rolling over the mountains beyond a winding park road.Pacific

Joshua Tree

California

A wide forested vista seen from the Ledges Overlook in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, looking west-northwest over a sea of green treetops stretching to the horizon.Great Plains & Midwest

Cuyahoga Valley

Ohio

Wide view of the Lake Michigan shoreline at Indiana Dunes National Park, with calm blue water meeting a sandy beach under an expansive skyGreat Plains & Midwest

Indiana Dunes

Indiana

Panoramic view from Inspiration Point of the Bryce Amphitheater in Bryce Canyon National Park, with thousands of orange and white limestone hoodoos descending into the bowl-shaped canyon under a clear skySouthwest

Bryce Canyon

Utah

The historic Fordyce Bathhouse, a grand Renaissance Revival building of white masonry and red-tile roof, fronted by palm trees and the brick Grand Promenade walkway along Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.Southeast

Hot Springs

Arkansas

The Gateway Arch rising over the St. Louis riverfront in daylight, photographed from the Mississippi River, with the stainless-steel catenary arch against a blue sky in Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri.Great Plains & Midwest

Gateway Arch

Missouri

The snow-capped volcanic summit of Mount Rainier rising above forested ridgelines, seen from the open alpine meadows of Grand Park in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, under a clear summer sky.Pacific

Mount Rainier

Washington

Wide panoramic view of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, with the New River winding through the forested gorge and the steel-arch New River Gorge Bridge spanning the canyon, seen from the National Park Service overlook near Fayetteville, West Virginia.Southeast

New River Gorge

West Virginia

Skyline Drive winding through hillsides of autumn foliage in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with the road curving into rolling fall-colored ridges just north of Elkwallow Wayside.Southeast

Shenandoah

Virginia

Panoramic view of Delicate Arch, the freestanding sandstone arch in Arches National Park, Utah, with the snow-capped La Sal Mountains in the distance under a clear skySouthwest

Arches

Utah

Wide panoramic landscape of Death Valley National Park at dusk, with layered desert mountain ridges receding under a deep blue twilight sky.Pacific

Death Valley

California

A dramatic wide dawn landscape at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with dark volcanic coastal terrain stretching beneath a deep early-morning sky.Islands & Tropics

Hawaii Volcanoes

Hawaii

Wide panoramic view from the summit of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, looking out over the granite formations of Castle Rocks and Paradise Peak amid forested Sierra Nevada ridgelines under a clear sky.Pacific

Sequoia

California

Scenic vista of the rugged red and tan sandstone cliffs and canyon ridgeline of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, under a clear skySouthwest

Capitol Reef

Utah

Towering old-growth coast redwood trees rising through a misty green forest in Redwood National and State Parks, Northern California.Pacific

Redwood National and State Parks

California

Wide panorama of the eroded buttes, layered spires, and sun-bleached clay formations of Badlands National Park, South Dakota, sweeping out toward mixed-grass prairie under a broad sky.Great Plains & Midwest

Badlands

South Dakota

Wide desert landscape in the western district of Saguaro National Park, Arizona, with towering saguaro cacti scattered across rolling Sonoran Desert terrain under a clear sky, with mountains on the horizon.Southwest

Saguaro

Arizona

Wide landscape view from the Green River Overlook in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park, looking out over layered red rock canyons and mesas carved by the Green River under a clear sky.Southwest

Canyonlands

Utah

A snow- and frost-covered hardwood forest stretching across the rolling hills seen from the Doyel Valley Overlook in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, on a clear winter day.Southeast

Mammoth Cave

Kentucky

The Everglades sawgrass marsh stretching flat to the horizon at golden hour, with open water and tree islands.Southeast

Everglades

Florida

The volcanic crater of Haleakala National Park on Maui, Hawaii, a vast reddish-brown basin of cinder cones and barren lava under a clear sky, viewed from the summit at nearly 3,000 meters elevationIslands & Tropics

Haleakala

Hawaii

Rolling white gypsum dunes of White Sands at sunset with long blue shadows and a pink sky.Southwest

White Sands

New Mexico

The blue-white face of Lamplugh Glacier flowing down between forested mountain slopes into the calm waters of Tarr Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska.Alaska

Glacier Bay

Alaska

Calm turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay at Biscayne National Park, Florida, looking out past Boca Chita Key toward the open ocean under a bright skySoutheast

Biscayne

Florida

A sweeping view from the Boicourt Overlook in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, looking out over layered, eroded buttes and rolling badlands prairie under a wide sky.Great Plains & Midwest

Theodore Roosevelt

North Dakota

A wide landscape view of Kings Canyon National Park from the Don Cecil Trail, looking out over forested ridges and the steep granite canyon walls of the Sierra Nevada under a clear sky.Pacific

Kings Canyon

California

Tilted rock layers in the towering limestone walls of Santa Elena Canyon, carved by the Rio Grande, in Big Bend National Park, Texas.Southwest

Big Bend

Texas

Wide panoramic view of the colorful badland hills and eroded geological formations of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona under a clear skySouthwest

Petrified Forest

Arizona

The deep blue water of Crater Lake under a clear sky, with the forested cinder cone of Wizard Island rising from the caldera and steep rim cliffs in the background, Crater Lake National Park, OregonPacific

Crater Lake

Oregon

Lassen Peak reflected in the still water of Manzanita Lake at first light.Pacific

Lassen Volcanic

California

The snow-capped peak of Denali (Mount McKinley), North America's tallest mountain, mirrored in the calm waters of Wonder Lake under a clear sky in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.Alaska

Denali

Alaska

A herd of American bison grazing across the open mixed-grass prairie of Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, with rolling grassland stretching to the horizon under a clear sky.Great Plains & Midwest

Wind Cave

South Dakota

Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings set into a sandstone alcove at Mesa Verde in warm afternoon light.Rocky Mountains

Mesa Verde

Colorado

Warm alpenglow light on the rippled sand dunes of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, with the snow-dusted Sangre de Cristo Mountains rising behind them at sunset.Rocky Mountains

Great Sand Dunes

Colorado

Early morning light over the icy expanse of Pedersen and Aialik Glaciers descending toward the water in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, framed by surrounding coastal mountains.Alaska

Kenai Fjords

Alaska

The vast Big Room cavern of Carlsbad Caverns, dramatic stalactites and stalagmites under soft uplighting.Southwest

Carlsbad Caverns

New Mexico

The steep, dark canyon walls of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park glowing in golden sunset light, with the deep gorge of the Gunnison River cut into ancient Colorado rock.Rocky Mountains

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Colorado

The turquoise waters and white-sand crescent of Trunk Bay seen from above in Virgin Islands National Park on St. John, with lush green hillsides framing the beach and offshore islands on the horizonIslands & Tropics

Virgin Islands

The rock spires of Pinnacles National Park rising above golden chaparral hills at sunset.Pacific

Pinnacles

California

Arch Rock, the iconic 40-foot natural sea bridge at the east end of Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park, rising from the blue Pacific Ocean off the California coast under a clear skyPacific

Channel Islands

California

An elevated wooden boardwalk trail winding through the old-growth bottomland hardwood forest and swamp of Congaree National Park, South Carolina, framed by towering trees.Southeast

Congaree

South Carolina

El Capitan, the signature limestone peak of the Guadalupe Mountains, rising above the Chihuahuan Desert in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TexasSouthwest

Guadalupe Mountains

Texas

Dusk over Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota, with dramatic clouds glowing at sunset above the calm lake water and dark treelined shorelineGreat Plains & Midwest

Voyageurs

Minnesota

An ancient bristlecone pine on a rocky slope below snow-streaked Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park.Southwest

Great Basin

Nevada

Aerial view of the hexagonal masonry Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, surrounded by shallow turquoise Gulf of Mexico watersSoutheast

Dry Tortugas

Florida

Glaciated peaks above a braided river valley with the historic Kennecott mill buildings at Wrangell-St. Elias.Alaska

Wrangell-St. Elias

Alaska

Snow-dusted shoreline and forested islands rising from the calm waters of the Bay of Islands on Naknek Lake in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, with low mountains in the distance under a soft winter sky.Alaska

Katmai

Alaska

The rugged forested Lake Superior shoreline of Isle Royale at dusk.Great Plains & Midwest

Isle Royale

Michigan

View of Vatia village and its bay framed by steep rainforest-covered ridges and Pacific Ocean coastline, seen from the Tuafanua Trail in the National Park of American Samoa on Tutuila Island.Islands & Tropics

National Park of American Samoa

Wide landscape view across Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska, showing the long glacial lake set among forested foothills and snow-dusted mountains under an open sky.Alaska

Lake Clark

Alaska

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska, a vast field of wind-rippled sand stretching across rolling, undulating terrain under soft daylight.Alaska

Kobuk Valley

Alaska

Jagged glacier-capped peaks of The Triplets, Cascade Peak, and Johannesburg Mountain rising above forested ridges along the Cascade Pass Trail in North Cascades National Park, Washington.Pacific

North Cascades

Washington

The North Fork of the Koyukuk River winding through the Brooks Range between the steep peaks of Frigid Crags and Boreal Mountain, the namesake "gates" of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska, seen from the summit of Eroded Mountain.Alaska

Gates of the Arctic

Alaska

Not sure where to start?

Short, hand-picked lists for the way most people actually choose a park: by season, first visit, easy logistics, or a quick weekend.

By season

Best parks by season

Weather and crowds move first. Weigh fall color, desert heat, and shoulder-season tradeoffs by month.

Where most people start

Zion, Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains

First visit

Best parks for a first visit

Parks with clear gateway towns, flexible routes, big payoff, and easy backup plans.

Where most people start

Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, Grand Teton

Easy logistics

Best parks with no permits or shuttles

Parks where a great trip does not hinge on winning a permit lottery, tour ticket, or shuttle slot.

Where most people start

Shenandoah, Cuyahoga Valley, Capitol Reef

Weekend trip

Best parks for a weekend

Airport access, gateway towns, and compact highlight loops that work in two or three days.

Where most people start

Indiana Dunes, Saguaro, Joshua Tree