Category Ranking
Best National Parks for Kayaking in Fall
Top parks for kayaking during fall, ranked by a composite of activity quality and seasonal conditions.
Updated
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.
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
The East Coast's deepest river gorge cuts 1,000 feet through ancient rock, with Class V rapids and 100 miles of trails above.
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park
Gunnison River carved North America's steepest gorge through 1.7-billion-year-old rock, with 2,000-foot walls that trap the sun.
Congaree National Park
The largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the Southeast protects champion trees you'll reach via elevated boardwalk.
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend protects 1,200 square miles where the Chisos Mountains rise from desert. Over 450 bird species recorded—more than any 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.
Canyonlands National Park
Four districts carved by the Colorado River—from Island in the Sky's overlooks to The Maze's backcountry spanning canyons larger than LA.
Biscayne National Park
Miami's skyline floats on the horizon while you snorkel over the continental United States' only living coral reef system.
Everglades National Park
America's largest subtropical wilderness—a slow-moving river creating sawgrass marshes, mangrove islands, and alligator habitat.
Dry Tortugas National Park
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.