10 National Parks to See Before You Die
Top 10 Most Visited Parks
1. Great Smoky Mountains
America's most visited park logged 9.4 million visitors in 2007, according to the National Parks Service. And for good reason.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts 800 miles of hiking trails, up rugged Appalachian Mountain peaks -- 16 of them greater than 6,000 feet. Straddling the mountainous border between North Carolina and Tennessee, the park is traversed by rivers and streams that reveal countless waterfalls. Part of the park's appeal is the diversity of recreation available there, from picnics and scenic drives to hiking and wildlife watching.
Founded in 1940, the park owes its creation, in part, to some of the biggest names in American conservation: John D. Rockefeller Jr., who donated $5 million to the effort, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was in the White House when the park was dedicated.
There's no bad time to visit, but the spring and early summer profusion of wildflowers earned this park the nickname of Wildflower National Park, and fall leaf peeping through the park's undulating ridges and its namesake mist can be magnificent.
Fog casts a veil over Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains at 6,643 feet. The park preserves the world’s best examples of deciduous forest and a matchless variety of plants and animals.
2. Grand Canyon
What, you haven't seen the Grand Canyon?
With 4.4 million visitors in 2007, Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park is the nation's second-most visited park. It's also generally included in every list of 7 Natural Wonders of the World, often as the only U.S. site.
You could have seen a zillion photos of the canyon, and it will still make your jaw drop to see it in person. Millions of years of geologic history are laid bare by the Colorado River, the colors are breathtaking and shift with the angle of the sun, and the hiking or white-water rafting experience is second-to-none.
President Theodore Roosevelt preserved the Grand Canyon as a national monument in 1908, and it was designated a national park 11 years later.
If you want to see the more remote North Rim, visit between late May and early October, before heavy snows close the roads. Most people stick to the more easily accessible South Rim, and they don't regret it.
Also, see why The Grand Canyon is one of 8 endangered national parks.
With 4.4 million visitors in 2007, Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park is the nation's second-most visited park. It's also generally included in every list of 7 Natural Wonders of the World, often as the only U.S. site.
You could have seen a zillion photos of the canyon, and it will still make your jaw drop to see it in person. Millions of years of geologic history are laid bare by the Colorado River, the colors are breathtaking and shift with the angle of the sun, and the hiking or white-water rafting experience is second-to-none.
President Theodore Roosevelt preserved the Grand Canyon as a national monument in 1908, and it was designated a national park 11 years later.
If you want to see the more remote North Rim, visit between late May and early October, before heavy snows close the roads. Most people stick to the more easily accessible South Rim, and they don't regret it.
Also, see why The Grand Canyon is one of 8 endangered national parks.
