The Best of Western National Parks

All of our national parks are centered on natural landmarks, mountains, water, or natural wonders of the world. They preserve the beauty and history of the area where they are located. Many of the western national parks are encompassed in the top 10 list of favorites: Arches National Park (Utah), Crater National Park (Oregon), Glacier National Park (Montana), Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming), Olympic National Park (Washington), Rocky Mountain National Park(Colorado), Yellowstone National Park(Wyoming), Yosemite National Park (California), and Zion National Park (Utah). Many of these and other parks offered free admission over this last summer for a few days.

Glacier National Park has a little bit of everything for their visitors. Cedar forests, lakes, fields, and valleys offer year round activities for the adventurous. Arches National Parks exhibits natural sandstone arches along a forty-mile trail, having the world’s largest concentration of these majestic wonders. Olympic National Park flaunts the Pacific Ocean and Olympic Mountains, with the richness of rain forest terrain to majestic waterfall displays.

Crater National Park’s specialty is the volcanic creation of the Crater Lake caldera in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. It is a hiker’s paradise, with over 700 miles of trails. Yellowstone National Park is best known for the world famous geyser, Old Faithful. Yellowstone prides itself on the variety of large wildlife for visitors to view, such as elk, bear, bison, and wolves.

You can also stay away from the traditional parks and settings and try something unique which may be very popular in that area but little known nationally. Utah has exquisite caverns inlaid with calcite crystals that enhance the stalactites and stalagmites of the Jewel Cave National Monument. This park offers an exceptional experience.

Whatever national park you choose to visit, you will never be bored. Each park has distinctive and exciting surroundings for every kind of adventure imaginable.