#1Wisps of fog hang over the forests in the mountains.

Great Smoky Mountains

NC, TN

Busy

America's most-visited park offers 850 miles of trails, historic farmsteads in Cades Cove, and the continent's salamander capital.

#2Misty water evaporating from a cascade

Hot Springs

AR

Very Crowded

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

#3bridge spanning the river

New River Gorge & Preserve

WV

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.

#4A man stands with his back facing us, looking at a waterfall.

Shenandoah

VA

Comfortable

Skyline Drive traces 105 miles of Blue Ridge crests where 500 miles of trails drop into mountain hollows that were farmland a century ago.

#5A long staircase travels down a slope into the dark cave opening.

Mammoth Cave

KY

Moderate CrowdsHidden Gem

The world's longest cave system—over 400 miles mapped—lies beneath Kentucky's limestone plateau, explored for over 200 years.

#6Two canoes at Nine Mile Pond during sunset.

Everglades

FL

ComfortableHidden Gem

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

#7Downtown Miami in background.

Biscayne

FL

BusyHidden Gem

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

#8Queen Angel Fish

Virgin Islands

VI

BusyHidden Gem

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

#9View of the Congaree River during the Fall

Congaree

SC

Moderate CrowdsHidden Gem

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

#10Park visitors enjoy a sunset on the moat wall.

Dry Tortugas

FL

BusyHidden Gem

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.

States in This Region