#1 Coral reef with two snorkelers diving below the surface

Biscayne National Park

FL · 512K visitors/yr

Busy

Miami's skyline floats on the horizon while you snorkel over the continental United States' only living coral reef system.

#2 Steep, rugged ocean cliffs extending in an island chain.

Channel Islands National Park

CA · 263K visitors/yr

Comfortable

California's Galápagos lies 12 miles offshore with 145 endemic species. Sea lions, island foxes, and rare seabirds inhabit five islands.

#3 A few of the stars at night with a view of Fort Jefferson.

Dry Tortugas National Park

FL · 84,873 visitors/yr

Busy

Seven coral islands 70 miles west of Key West, anchored by Fort Jefferson—a massive 19th-century fort that was never finished or fired upon.

#4 A sunset creates a silhouette of a cypress tree with needle-like leaves that is shaped like an 'N'.

Everglades National Park

FL · 742K visitors/yr

Comfortable

America's largest subtropical wilderness—a slow-moving river creating sawgrass marshes, mangrove islands, and alligator habitat.

#5 View of the Congaree River during the Fall

Congaree National Park

SC · 242K visitors/yr

Moderate Crowds

The largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the Southeast protects champion trees you'll reach via elevated boardwalk.

#6 Photo of blue sky with fluffy white clouds reflect in calm lake with mountains in the background.

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve

AK · 30,815 visitors/yr

Room to Breathe

Two active volcanoes, 42-mile glacial lake, and bears fishing roadless salmon streams you can only reach by floatplane.

#7 A deep canyon with a forested floor and steep granite cliffs

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

CA · 2.0M visitors/yr

Comfortable

The giant sequoias here include General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, anchoring a forest where trunks exceed 30 feet wide.

#8 Turquoise water laps white sandy shore fringed with lush green vegetation.

Virgin Islands National Park

VI · 423K visitors/yr

Busy

Two-thirds of St. John is protected parkland where coral reefs meet sugar plantation ruins and an underwater trail marks labeled coral.

#9 sun rising over the New River Gorge

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

WV · 1.8M visitors/yr

Busy

The East Coast's deepest river gorge cuts 1,000 feet through ancient rock, with Class V rapids and 100 miles of trails above.

#10 Black Canyon near Tomichi Point

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park

CO · 336K visitors/yr

Moderate Crowds

Gunnison River carved North America's steepest gorge through 1.7-billion-year-old rock, with 2,000-foot walls that trap the sun.