National parks offer active travelers the opportunity to hike, bike and soak up the beauty of the country’s best landscapes. If you’re looking to go off the beaten path and spend quality time in the wild, set your GPS for one of these lesser-known American treasures. Some sections of the parks may be closed during summer 2020, so check each park’s website for an update on what to expect for your trip.
Channel Islands National Park (Ventura, California)
Along the Santa Barbara Channel are 8 picture-perfect islands that are reachable only by boat or plane.
Did you know that only 70 miles north of the bustling city of Los Angeles you can find an island paradise? Accessible only by boat or plane, the secluded location of this park has allowed the ecological topography to evolve naturally. Channel Islands is where adventurous travelers can discover animals, plants and archeological resources found nowhere else in the world. To round out your experience, you can also plan to camp, hike, snorkel, kayak, go birdwatching or just relax.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Brecksville, Ohio)
One of Ohio’s greatest natural attractions is Cuyahoga Valley National Park with trails, waterfalls and a scenic railroad.
Spot bald eagles and go EarthCaching (a geological treasure hunt) at this sanctuary for native plants and wildlife located just outside Cleveland and Akron. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is where you’ll find the winding Cuyahoga River giving way to deep forests, rolling hills and open farmlands. If you’re looking to mix in a bit of history to your excursion, plan to hike or bike the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail where you’ll see waterfalls, 19th-century buildings and an old covered bridge.
Petrified Forest National Park (Holbrook, Arizona)
At least 9 species of extinct fossilized trees have been identified in the Petrified Forest along with other plants, reptiles and sea life.
Northeast Arizona is where you can visit a forest unlike any other. Petrified Forest National Park is 230 square miles of treeless desert grasslands spanning across the Navajo and Apache reservations. The highlights of the park are the fossilized wood and reptiles, some dating from over 225 million years ago. For those interested in science, you can ask the park rangers about the most recent findings by the archeologists, ecologists and paleontologists doing research in the area. Or do your own research on the unique topography during a backcountry hike into areas that were only just recently opened, like Red Basin and Martha’s Butte.
Congaree National Park (Hopkins, South Carolina)
South Carolina’s largest region of hardwood forest has trees recorded to be at least 300 years old.
Camp, canoe, hike the boardwalk trail or fish at the largest area of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States—all less than 30 minutes away from South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia. Offering more than 26,000 acres of national park, Congaree is where you can paddle or simply go for a walk to admire the park’s enormous trees (some of which are more than 300 years old). Be sure to keep your camera close at hand, because you’ll likely spot wildlife like deer, turtles and river otters.
Biscayne National Park (Homestead, Florida)
Within easy reach of Miami, Biscayne National Park is an emerald destination of sun, sea and fun. Photo Credit: NPS
Go camping, snorkeling or paddling as you tour the protected land of Biscayne National Park. This watery wonderland of coral reefs and mangrove forests is less than an hour from Miami and yet still gives you the feeling that you’ve been transported to another world. Biscayne is a combination of turquoise water and vibrant islands, where you can see evidence of 10,000 years of human history when inhabitants were dependent on the bay for survival.
El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area (Grants, New Mexico)
Known as the land of fire and ice, El Malpais is a volcanic landscape unlike any other. Photo Credit: NPS
Travel the volcanic landscape of El Malpais, just 2 hours from Albuquerque hotels and 1 hour from Gallup hotels, and discover abundant wildlife, cinder cones, lava tube caves, sandstone bluffs and hiking trails. Take an easy drive, enjoy scenic overlooks, walk a variety of trails, go spelunking (an extreme version of cave exploration) or delve into the rugged backcountry as the geology, history and culture of the region is revealed.