#1 A pink sky above gentle white buildings

Hot Springs National Park

AR · 2.5M visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Hot Springs' 143-degree thermal water flows through historic bathhouses where health seekers once shared sidewalks with gangsters.

#2 A crowd of people sit and watch the sunset at delicate arch.

Arches National Park

UT · 1.5M visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Over 2,000 natural stone arches carved from red sandstone—the world's highest concentration—including the iconic Delicate Arch.

#3 A triangular sandstone mountain overlooks green and yellow foliage. A cloudy blue sky is overhead.

Zion National Park

UT · 4.9M visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Red cliffs rise 2,000 feet above the Virgin River, where Angels Landing's chain climb and The Narrows' slot canyon wade draw crowds.

#4 Michigan Lake beach with green grassy dunes in the background, under a blue sky.

Indiana Dunes National Park

IN · 2.7M visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Lake Michigan's wind built these dunes into the park system's highest plant biodiversity—over 1,100 species on 15 miles of Indiana shore.

#5 'Ahinahina blooms in Haleakala crater

Haleakalā National Park

HI · 732K visitors/yr

Very Crowded

A dormant volcano where you stand above the clouds at 10,000 feet, then descend through alpine desert to rainforest in a single morning.

#6 A red rock landscape and plateau forest glows with the morning sun

Bryce Canyon National Park

UT · 2.5M visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Earth's densest hoodoo forest where the Navajo Loop drops you between orange spires so narrow you'll touch both walls at 8,000 feet.

#7 Wingate Sandstone cliffs behind historic barn and farmhouse

Capitol Reef National Park

UT · 1.4M visitors/yr

Busy

A hundred-mile wrinkle in the earth where sandstone cliffs fold into hidden canyons and pioneer orchards still grow beneath Capitol Dome.

#8 Saguaro flowers

Saguaro National Park

AZ · 946K visitors/yr

Very Crowded

Giant saguaros, some 200 years old and 40 feet tall, frame both sides of Tucson in the densest stands of these iconic cacti anywhere.

#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 White dunes in foreground with sun setting behind mountain.

White Sands National Park

NM · 702K visitors/yr

Busy

The world's largest gypsum dunefield covers 275 square miles where white sand dunes shift up to 30 feet per year and swallow ecosystems.