Magnificent National Parks Vacations

If visiting some of the greatest national parks in America isn’t on your bucket list, it should be.  There are 59 to choose from, and they’re all wonderful. But, who has the time to see them all? This article presents the best of the best so you can make an informed decision about where to spend your time and money on your national parks vacations.  

According to the National Park Service, the Great Smoky Mountains (across North Carolina and Tennessee) drew a staggering eleven mission visitors in 2017, much more than second-place Grand Canyon, in Utah and Arizona.  Third place was Zion National Park in Utah with about four million. See the list of the top 10 most visited national parks, below:

Ten Most Popular National Parks

1. Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, and North Carolina
2. Grand Canyon, Utah and Arizona
3. Zion National Park, Utah
4. Rocky Mountain, Colorado
5. Yosemite, California
6. Yellowstone, Montana, and Wyoming
7. Acadia, Maine
8. Olympic, Washington State
9. Grand Teton, Wyoming
10. Glacier, Montana

Great Smoky Mountains

I’ll highlight a few of the most popular national parks, here.  Great Smoky Mountain National park is known for its abundance of plant and animal life; hence its current promotional theme, “Wondrous Diversity of Life.”  Part of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Range, the Great Smoky Mountains are gorgeous, filled with ridges and artifacts of mountain culture.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon was eroded over many years by what is now known as the Colorado River.  The canyon stretches for 277 river miles, is often one mile deep, and sometimes 18 miles wide.  It would be sad not to include Grand Canyon in one of your national park vacations.  You have to see it to believe it!

Zion

Zion National Park boasts of not only its majestic cliffs and rock formations, but also its history of trails walked by native ancient Americans and pioneers.  The sandstone cliffs glisten of pink, coral, and cream, beautifully contrasting the blue sky. Plant and animal life are plentiful and diverse.

Yosemite

Yosemite, of the Sierra Mountains in California, features the hardness of granite and the power of glaciers to cut through the land.  It possesses gushing waterfalls, deep valleys, colorful meadows, and the giant sequoia trees, making Yosemite a special national park vacation.

Southern Utah

Because of the convenient proximity of Zion National Park to Grand Canyon, it’s easy to argue that Southern Utah should be your first choice of national park vacations.  Not only are Zion and Grand Canyon two of the top three parks, but also Utah has four additional stunning national parks within a couple of hours driving distance.

The five national parks in Utah are Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion.  They are rich in native history and offer great photography, hiking, some of the world’s best mountain biking, and spectacular views of God’s/Nature’s “other-planetary” creations.

In this author’s opinion, the reason millions of people flock to national park vacations is that the parks evoke a real sense of awe (not the frivolous and overstated use of the word “awesome”).  Experiencing the “incredible” national parks is humbling and often quite shocking, compared to what we are accustomed to seeing.  Their serenity and majesty instill a sense of wonder and remind us that God or Nature is much greater than we.

Magnificent National Parks Vacations

Article By: Clear Content Marketing