While peak visitation periods bring crowds to the most popular parks, smart visitors can avoid those by timing their trip for winter, spring and fall. A major exception is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where colorful foliage draws leaf peepers from October to early November.
During the busy summer season, solitude in the top parks still can be found in the backcountry, where relatively few venture. Here are the top parks ranked in order of popularity.
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Although the softly contoured Appalachian Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park have a beauty more subtle than the dramatic natural features of the West, the park is by far the most popular in the system. With almost 9.4 million visitors in 2007, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had more than double the draw of any other park, according to the National Park Service.
Biodiversity is the name of the game at the park, which straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. Flora and fauna thrive in its humid, temperate climate, and its habitats have been untouched by glaciers and oceans for more than one million years. One hundred species of trees live among the misty peaks and valleys, a greater number than in any other North American park.
Wildlife viewing within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is best in Cades Cove and Cataloochee. Visitors are sure to see black bears lumbering by most days and may even see elk, which were reintroduced to the park in 2001. Other commonly seen mammals are bats, chipmunks, deer, groundhogs and squirrels.
2. Grand Canyon National Park
Standing on the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, looking out over the gorge and then down to the river far below, is the quintessential national park experience. A 2 billion-year geologic timetable can be seen in the colorful strata of the park’s mile-high walls. The huge canyon is 18 miles wide in some areas and spans the 277-mile Colorado River. It’s no wonder that the occasional distracted park visitor falls off the edge.
While the semi-arid climate of the park may seem inhospitable to wildlife, the canyon’s various habitats encompass seven major ecosystems. In addition to an abundance of bats and squirrels, wildlife includes black bears, bobcats, coyotes, desert bighorn sheep, mountain lions and mule deer.
The northwest Arizona park drew more than 4.4 million visits in 2007, primarily due to its relatively easy-to-reach Southern Rim. The Northern Rim can be reached by car, except from about mid-October to late May when snowy conditions preclude it. Ambitious visitors can journey into the canyon on an overnight hiking trip.
3.Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is home to giant sequoia groves and scenic wild rivers. Glaciers and rock falls have shaped the park’s picturesque granite cliffs and waterfalls. At 2,400 feet, Yosemite Falls is North America’s highest waterfall. From the depths of the Yosemite Valley at 4,000 feet above sea level to Mt. Lyell at 13,000 feet, Yosemite National Park stirs and awes.
With changes in elevation, the park evolves from scrublands and woodlands to an alpine zone creating great biodiversity. In the valley are the grizzly and black bear, and mule deer. The forests are home to the bobcat, gray fox, bats and the spotted owl. The Sierra Nevada red fox hunts in the alpine regions, and bighorn sheep have been reintroduced there.
The park, located in California within easy driving distance of San Francisco, drew more than 3.5 million visits in 2007. Because the spectacular Yosemite Falls is fed mostly by snowmelt, you may want to visit during peak flow period around May. The falls typically dry up by August and stay that way until the winter snows.
4. Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park contains about half of all the world’s geothermal features, so the famous Old Faithful geyser is only one of its many steamy wonders. Others include mud pots, vents and hot springs. Rocky Mountain peaks and valleys further distinguish the park, as does the spectacular Yellowstone Canyon, Lake and Falls. The Yellowstone River—the longest free-flowing river in the continental United States—carved the canyon and feeds the falls.
The park is home to the highest concentration of mammals in any state but Alaska, according to the National Park Service, and its Northern Range has been called the American Serengeti. Wildlife viewing includes grizzly and black bears, bighorn sheep, bison, pronghorn, deer, elk and coyote. Wolves were reintroduced in 1995.
About 3.2 million visits were made to the park in 2007, but the vast majority of visitors strayed no farther than scenic pull offs. While there are five entrances to the park, only the North Entrance is accessible year round.
5. Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park may not have the same national name recognition as the other top parks, but it draws 3 million visits a year. The Pacific Northwest destination is a study in contrasts from its 72 miles of pristine beach and rocky headlands to its mountain meadows, temperate rainforests and glacier-covered peaks. Rivers radiate from Mount Olympus like spokes in a wheel and glacier-carved lakes adorn the park’s valleys.
The park offers some of the most diverse wildlife viewing in the system. Whales, dolphins and sea lions can be seen offshore. Tide pools—temporary homes to starfish and other invertebrate treasures—line the beach. Inland are large herds of Roosevelt elk, as well as a healthy population of deer, bear, raccoon and beaver. The fisher, a weasel-like mammal, was reintroduced to Olympic National Park in 2008.
The park is located on the Olympic peninsula in the Northwest corner of Washington State. Weather is highly variable, and the park receives more than 200 inches of snow and rain each year. July through September is the driest season.
During the busy summer season, solitude in the top parks still can be found in the backcountry, where relatively few venture. Here are the top parks ranked in order of popularity.
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Although the softly contoured Appalachian Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park have a beauty more subtle than the dramatic natural features of the West, the park is by far the most popular in the system. With almost 9.4 million visitors in 2007, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had more than double the draw of any other park, according to the National Park Service.
Biodiversity is the name of the game at the park, which straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. Flora and fauna thrive in its humid, temperate climate, and its habitats have been untouched by glaciers and oceans for more than one million years. One hundred species of trees live among the misty peaks and valleys, a greater number than in any other North American park.
Wildlife viewing within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is best in Cades Cove and Cataloochee. Visitors are sure to see black bears lumbering by most days and may even see elk, which were reintroduced to the park in 2001. Other commonly seen mammals are bats, chipmunks, deer, groundhogs and squirrels.
2. Grand Canyon National Park
Standing on the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, looking out over the gorge and then down to the river far below, is the quintessential national park experience. A 2 billion-year geologic timetable can be seen in the colorful strata of the park’s mile-high walls. The huge canyon is 18 miles wide in some areas and spans the 277-mile Colorado River. It’s no wonder that the occasional distracted park visitor falls off the edge.
While the semi-arid climate of the park may seem inhospitable to wildlife, the canyon’s various habitats encompass seven major ecosystems. In addition to an abundance of bats and squirrels, wildlife includes black bears, bobcats, coyotes, desert bighorn sheep, mountain lions and mule deer.
The northwest Arizona park drew more than 4.4 million visits in 2007, primarily due to its relatively easy-to-reach Southern Rim. The Northern Rim can be reached by car, except from about mid-October to late May when snowy conditions preclude it. Ambitious visitors can journey into the canyon on an overnight hiking trip.
3.Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is home to giant sequoia groves and scenic wild rivers. Glaciers and rock falls have shaped the park’s picturesque granite cliffs and waterfalls. At 2,400 feet, Yosemite Falls is North America’s highest waterfall. From the depths of the Yosemite Valley at 4,000 feet above sea level to Mt. Lyell at 13,000 feet, Yosemite National Park stirs and awes.
With changes in elevation, the park evolves from scrublands and woodlands to an alpine zone creating great biodiversity. In the valley are the grizzly and black bear, and mule deer. The forests are home to the bobcat, gray fox, bats and the spotted owl. The Sierra Nevada red fox hunts in the alpine regions, and bighorn sheep have been reintroduced there.
The park, located in California within easy driving distance of San Francisco, drew more than 3.5 million visits in 2007. Because the spectacular Yosemite Falls is fed mostly by snowmelt, you may want to visit during peak flow period around May. The falls typically dry up by August and stay that way until the winter snows.
4. Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park contains about half of all the world’s geothermal features, so the famous Old Faithful geyser is only one of its many steamy wonders. Others include mud pots, vents and hot springs. Rocky Mountain peaks and valleys further distinguish the park, as does the spectacular Yellowstone Canyon, Lake and Falls. The Yellowstone River—the longest free-flowing river in the continental United States—carved the canyon and feeds the falls.
The park is home to the highest concentration of mammals in any state but Alaska, according to the National Park Service, and its Northern Range has been called the American Serengeti. Wildlife viewing includes grizzly and black bears, bighorn sheep, bison, pronghorn, deer, elk and coyote. Wolves were reintroduced in 1995.
About 3.2 million visits were made to the park in 2007, but the vast majority of visitors strayed no farther than scenic pull offs. While there are five entrances to the park, only the North Entrance is accessible year round.
5. Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park may not have the same national name recognition as the other top parks, but it draws 3 million visits a year. The Pacific Northwest destination is a study in contrasts from its 72 miles of pristine beach and rocky headlands to its mountain meadows, temperate rainforests and glacier-covered peaks. Rivers radiate from Mount Olympus like spokes in a wheel and glacier-carved lakes adorn the park’s valleys.
The park offers some of the most diverse wildlife viewing in the system. Whales, dolphins and sea lions can be seen offshore. Tide pools—temporary homes to starfish and other invertebrate treasures—line the beach. Inland are large herds of Roosevelt elk, as well as a healthy population of deer, bear, raccoon and beaver. The fisher, a weasel-like mammal, was reintroduced to Olympic National Park in 2008.
The park is located on the Olympic peninsula in the Northwest corner of Washington State. Weather is highly variable, and the park receives more than 200 inches of snow and rain each year. July through September is the driest season.
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