Badlands National Park is located in South Dakota and is notable for its sediment rock layers eroded by wind and water. I started the Badlands Loop Road drive from Interior, SD since it was closer to the visitor center and hiking trails.
Category: National Parks & Monuments
Mount Rainier National Park
Best time to go here is August, when the snow melts and the flowers bloom! There are five different areas of the park and the most popular are Sunrise and Paradise.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park in Moab, Utah is aptly named for the numerous sandstone arches found in this region. These arches are products of erosion and will fall over time while news one will be formed. The popular ones that I chose to visit were Delicate Arch, South and North Windows Arch, Turret Arch, Double Arch, and Landscape Arch.
Painted Hills at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is located in Oregon and has three units-Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock. I visited the Painted Hills and Sheep Rock area since I was looking for color. To do all three units, would require more than a day since they are all roughly an hour or more apart.
Death Valley National Park
There are so many things to see at Death Valley National Park. You can easily spend a week exploring the whole park and constantly be amazed with all the desert views. Beware coming here in the summer because the temperature will burn you to a crisp!
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument is the most famous redwood park in California. Tourists from all over the world flock here to walk the well maintained trails for all ages and look up at these gorgeous trees. This happens to be a great spot for a tree to grow because of all the fog in Marin County. This park exists thanks to a man named William Kent who preserved this area by buying the land and donating to the government.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park has a lot of old ships to visit and explore. Aside from the ships, you can walk around Aquatic Park cove to visit the pier, the beach, and the museum.
Behind Bars at Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island had many uses back in the days before it became a national park site. To get to the island, you’ll need to book tickets from Alcatraz Cruises located on Pier 33 either online or in person. The ferry ride is only 15 minutes long with incredible views of San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge.
Saguaro National Park
Saguaros (pronounced sa-wah-ros) are the quintessential plant of the Arizona desert. These tall, green, and spiky cacti grow slowly from seeds only in the Sonoran Desert region. There are two entrances to Saguaro National Park (east vs west) but you can’t go wrong picking one over the other.
White Sands National Monument
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is a unique place to explore. The dunes are made up of gypsum which is unlike the normal silica sand we see on beaches. Gypsum was left behind after an old lake dried up and it is replenished by wind blowing mountain deposits into the area whenever it rains.