So far I've been adventurous and lucky enough to visit a few of the national parks in the continental United States ; I've truly enjoyed each one. So one of my life goals is to spend some time at each of the national parks in the United States (there are even more than just the 50 states). This page is a collection of notes from my visits ; I hope it will inspire other travelers to pursue similar dreams.
In addition to national parks, I've added a few NPS–run landmarks that I think are of particular merit : national seashores are marked with (NS) and national monuments with (NM). Parks marked with a (P) are also preserves.
Alaska
Wow, Alaska ! This state is nearly one-third as large as the continental US ; I just can't grasp the size of these national parks. But I can't wait to make it up there for a tour.
Gates of the Arctic (P)
Kobuk Valley
Denali (P)
Wrangell–St. Elias (P)
Lake Clark (P)
Kenai Fjords
Glacier Bay (P)
Katmai (P)
Arizona
Grand Canyon
One of the most visited natural phenomena in the world, the Grand Canyon is truly a spectacle. The canyon is visible to astronauts orbiting around the earth, and it attracts tourists from all corners of the globe.
Petrified Forest
The painted desert in eastern Arizona is a beautiful stretch of land. Unfortunately, I've only been here once, driving through in a hurry to get to Phoenix.
Saguaro
Arkansas
Hot Springs
California
The state of California is blessed with an absurd number of national parks, and all of them are stunning.
Redwood
This national park claims a little bit of the land that shelters some of the largest trees in the world ; visiting is a reminder of both the grandeur of nature and the dangers of excessive pillaging of our natural resources.
Lassen Volcanic
Volcanoes are really cool ! This park—about which I admittedly hadn't ever heard until the day before we visited—occupies a stretch of land just south of Mount Shasta in northern California. The park, situated on the slopes and the ancient crater of an old (but still active) volcano, houses fantastic sulfur works, boiling springs, and cool lakes.
Point Reyes (NS)
Point Reyes is an easy drive from the San Francisco Bay area, and is a great place for a day hike or a short camping trip.
Muir Woods (NM)
This national monument is a small patch of some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen. If you're interested in redwoods—but also in large cedars, firs, and so on—this monument is worth a visit. Beware, however : Its proximity to the San Francisco Bay area is one of the reason's it is so often crowded.
Yosemite
No less than John Muir chose this place to live for several years ; Yosemite is one of the truly beautiful places I've been able to visit in the world.
Kings Canyon
Sequoia
Death Valley
Channel Islands
Joshua Tree
Colorado
Rocky Mountain
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Mesa Verde
Both historic site and national park, some of the chief attractions at Mesa Verde are the millennia–old cave dwellings situated in the sides of steep–walled canyons.
Florida
Everglades
Biscayne
Hawaii
Haleakala
Hawaii Volcanoes
Kentucky
Mammoth Cave
This park's chief attraction surprised me with its beauty and history—so much so that I returned four years after my first visit, just to take more of the cave tours.
Maine
Acadia
Michigan
Isle Royale
Minnesota
Voyageurs
Montana
Glacier
You know, if a state is going to end up with just one national park, it really ought to be as stunningly beautiful a place as Glacier. Situated in one of my favorite areas of the country, this park is both a photographer's dream and a hiker's paradise.
Nevada
Great Basin
New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns
North Carolina
Though North Carolina is a really beautiful state, most of its appeal comes from the rustic and colorful farmland that covers much of the state's land area. Unfortunately, national parks are not quite the kinds of places that are started on farms ...
Cape Hatteras (NS)
Cape Hatteras was the starting point for my summer 2004 cross–country bike trip ; this national seashore forms part of the Outer Banks, which are a series of islands off the true coast of North Carolina. This seashore's visual offerings are stunning, and the sounds truly amaze—sometimes only hundreds of feet wide, you can hear the pounding surf on one side of the islands while you watch the calm waters of the sound on the other side.
Great Smoky Mountains
North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt
Oregon
In addition to a really beautiful desert, some amazing mountains, and a world–famous coastline, Oregon's one national park is beautiful.
Crater Lake
The seventh-deepest lake in the world occupies the collapsed crater of an ancient volcano. This park's colorful water is claimed to be the purest in the world, but I think the views are even better.
South Dakota
Badlands
Wind Cave
Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains
Texas
Guadalupe Mountains
Big Bend
Utah
Arches
Capitol Reef
Canyonlands
Bryce Canyon
Zion
Virginia
Shenandoah
Washington
Washington—my family's home state—boasts three fantastic national parks, but even though I've lived in the area for a long time, I have yet to visit most of them.
North Cascades
Olympic
Olympic is another one of those national parks that just surprised me. Boasting an altitude difference of nearly 8000~feet from almost sea level to the peak of Mount Olympus, this park harbors several species of tree that are among the largest in the world. Olympic is primarily a wilderness area, so most of its preserved land is inaccessible unless you want to hike to it.
Mount Rainier
Wyoming
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Virgin Islands
I was surprised to see that there's a national park on this series of islands. I can't wait to visit.
Virgin Islands
American Samoa
Likewise ... but this one is a little further from the continental US !