Category Ranking
Best National Parks for Hiking in Summer
Top parks for hiking during summer, 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.
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.
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.
North Cascades National Park
Three hundred glaciers carve through jagged peaks three hours north of Seattle, the most glaciated terrain in the Lower 48.
Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve
Six million acres where caribou migrations follow ancient routes and the Brooks Range rises through valleys most will never reach.
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.
Redwood National and State Parks
The world's tallest trees stand in groves you can walk through on level trails, three hours north of San Francisco with a third the crowds.
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.
Isle Royale National Park
Remote Lake Superior island where wolves, moose, and backpackers share 165 miles of trail. No roads, no cell service—just forest camps.