Featured: 10 National Parks That You Should Visit

Most of the destinations for this summer vacation are usually beaches or other countries, but there are many wonderful sights to see in America than its beaches. One of those sights is the nation's national parks. Many beautiful parks are scattered amongst the States and each one of them are different from one another. Ranging from desert to wetlands, historical and scenic and wilderness to the Rockies, America's national parks offer a wide variety of sights to see. So for today's 10 Ways..., I'll give you 10 national parks that you should visit.

1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison has a lot to offer especially if you're looking for an adventure. It has a unique landscape which was formed due to Proterozoic rocks being eroded by water.

"No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison" - Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce site

This national park offers a wide range of hiking opportunities. You can enjoy short hiking trails along the rim or long ones along the canyon. Most trails are not suited for novice hikers but with determination and perseverance, climbing the canyon will provide a world class experience, according to this site.

2. Yosemite National Park

This national park is the third most visited park in the United States. The park was the third established park in the U.S. in 1890 but its preservation dates back to Abraham Lincoln's law guaranteeing the land's protection in 1864. This is considered as a renowned destination in the world by rock-climbers because of its granite cliffs. The Sequoia groves, commonly known as California Redwood, make the site very popular among tourists, photographers and campers.

3. Great Basin National Park

Located in Nevada, the Great Basin is an underappreciated park with only - more or less - 90,000 visitors a year. A 13, 063 foot mountain called "Wheeler Peak" which was sculpted by a glacier, will await you in eastern Nevada. A scenic drive that climbs up to 10,000 feet provides visitors with beautiful views without any effort.

4. Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota is the first park in the world to protect a cave. It became renown because of its unique rock formations; it has an outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual formation of calcite resembling honeycombs. Eventually, Wind Cave was recognized as the fourth largest cave in the world.

5. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

If you want to see six million worth of volcanic activity, then you should go to Sunset Crater. It is a perfect example of a cinder cone volcano. No climbing is allowed on the volcano but many features can be seen along the trails like lava bubbles. If you want to see the terrain, you can climb up the Lenox Crater.

6. Dinosaur National Monument

This monument preserves resources from our past and our present. Dinosaur NM will provide you a glimpse to the past; both geological and paleontological resources date back to a million years ago. Today, its environment is an effect of climate, geography and landscape. The monument provides more than a thousand plant and animal species native to the place. Also, Dinosaur NM has the Carnegie Fossil Quarry which is renowned around the world for its specimens.

7. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

Gates of the Arctic has this unparalleled beauty that can't be described. Lying entirely north, at the Arctic Circle, it includes a scenic headland of the Brooks Range, an extension of the Rocky Mountains. Four times the size of Yellowstone National Park, its spacious landscape is used by numerous animals like grizzly bears. Its southern part is a taiga while the northern part resembles the driest regions on Earth.

8. Colorado National Monument

Southwest of the Red-Rock Country is famous for numerous things. Its spectacular canyons are an example. The national monument offers a wide array of eroded cliffs and pinnacles. It's an easily toured park and easily accessible as well.

9. Mojave National Preserve

This is one of those places where it doesn't show in your GPS. Its very remoteness and uninhabited lands offer solace and solitude to those who need it. Travelers can explore trails, the sand dunes and the world's largest forest of Joshua trees. It encompasses three of the four major North American deserts - Mojave, Great Basin and Sonoran. Their colorful display of wildflowers is a great sight to see after wet winters.

10. Olympic National Park

Located in the Pacific-Northwest, in Port Angeles, it is famous for its glacier-capped mountains, Pacific coast and magnificent forests. It is unique because it has four regions: Pacific coastline, a temperate rainforests, alpine areas and forests in its drier side. It became an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and five years later, it became a World Heritage Site.

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