Category Ranking
Best National Parks for Hiking in Fall
Top parks for hiking during fall, ranked by a composite of activity quality and seasonal conditions.
Updated
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Two active volcanoes shape terrain from tide pools to alpine desert. Walk across recent lava flows and through rainforests on ancient rock.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
The giant sequoias here include General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, anchoring a forest where trunks exceed 30 feet wide.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Texas's highest peaks rise from a 265-million-year-old fossil reef in the Chihuahuan Desert, holding more species than any Texas park.
Grand Canyon National Park
The Colorado River carved through two billion years of rock to create a chasm one mile deep and 277 miles long at the South Rim.
Yosemite National Park
Granite cliffs rise 3,000 feet, seasonal waterfalls drop half a mile, and giant sequoias reach into the Sierra sky in this iconic valley.
Zion National Park
Red cliffs rise 2,000 feet above the Virgin River, where Angels Landing's chain climb and The Narrows' slot canyon wade draw crowds.
Haleakalā National Park
A dormant volcano where you stand above the clouds at 10,000 feet, then descend through alpine desert to rainforest in a single morning.
Channel Islands National Park
California's Galápagos lies 12 miles offshore with 145 endemic species. Sea lions, island foxes, and rare seabirds inhabit five islands.
Arches National Park
Over 2,000 natural stone arches carved from red sandstone—the world's highest concentration—including the iconic Delicate Arch.
Glacier National Park
Twenty-six glaciers remain from the 150 that once filled these valleys. Going-to-the-Sun Road climbs past Logan Pass to the evidence.