National Park, Preserve, Forest and Wilderness Directory
- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Biscayne National Park
- Homestead, Florida
- Area: 173,467 acres
- Season: Year-round
- Major attractions: Underwater coral reefs; marine life.
- Activities: Boating, snorkeling, scuba diving.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Hawaii National Park, Hawaii
- Area: 229,178 acres
- Major attractions: Volcano activity; semitropical plants; birds.
- Activities: Hiking, nature walks, camping,
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- 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.
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- 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).
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- 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.
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- 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).
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Petrified Forest National Park
- Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona