🏞️ Top 10 US National Parks: Natural Wonders of America 🦅
According to statistics, 63% of Americans do not have a passport, and 38% have never had one at all. A passport, a required document for traveling abroad, is simply not needed for US residents. Because these lucky people have a huge number of the most amazing attractions in their country. Reach out your hand and you will touch the skyscrapers of New York. Stretch out the other one and you will touch the thousand-year-old redwood trees.
Among the main tourist destinations, Americans themselves consider the national parks of their country. Especially those located in the west, in California. I declare responsibly: after driving through these natural locations, I understood why Americans do not like to go abroad. What else can surprise the world after Yosemite and Death Valley?
Do you want to feel like a real American? Then we go to meet the most fascinating views of the USA, in the national parks of the west coast. Better yet, start searching for air tickets right away.
How to get to California national parks
In our publication about organizing an independent trip to California, we presented two main ways to travel along the West Coast of the United States: a bus tour and a car. So, in the case of national parks, we will have to abandon the pluralism of opinions – only cars.
No, of course, most parks can be reached by public transport. For example, for those arriving in Yosemite and Kings Canyon, they even set up a separate regional airport in Fresno. But then the difficult, painful and very time-constrained movement on a few buses will begin.
America is a country of free travelers who do not go to the prairie without their iron mustangs. Follow this example and book yourself a car at one of the many rental offices. And here we have collected life hacks for traveling by car.
How much time should I allow for moving between parks and visiting them? Depends on your schedule. It is quite possible, but not very advisable, not only to visit one of the parks in a day, but also to get to another for an overnight stay. There are nine large national parks in California, each of which will give you a lot of impressions. But it’s better to choose four or five of the most attractive ones and devote more time to them.
Lifehacks
Most US national parks are free to enter, but you will have to pay to visit key California parks. The fee is charged per vehicle, so you can treat the entry ticket as a parking fee. A visit to Death Valley will cost you $30 per car, Yosemite will cost $35 (this is the most expensive park on the list). Find a complete list of fees here.
When traveling through national parks by car, be careful and slow down. During the high season there are a lot of tourists who, like you, look around more than at the road. Emergency braking and unexpected maneuvers are very common.
It is always worth remembering that parks are wilderness areas. You may encounter predators, so avoid remote paths and don’t go out late. I also advise you to choose high, durable shoes that will protect you from reptile bites: this is rare, but there are poisonous snakes in the parks. We have collected other tips for lovers of long hikes in this publication.
At the same time, shoes should be comfortable, since you will have to move a lot. Be sure to take warm clothes with you (there can be temperature changes in the mountains) and raincoats. This applies to visiting Yosemite, one of the trails of which leads under the spray of a waterfall.
It's worth studying the trail maps in advance for the parks you've decided to visit. This will save time on site, as well as avoid a path that is beyond your means.
If you want to spend the night in a park, this is by no means possible everywhere. Special places are allocated for camping; you can’t just pitch a tent in nature. Hotels inside the parks themselves will be several times more expensive than outside them. And even so, the demand for them is high.
Well, if you are ready to say “yes” to all the wonders of California, then keep in mind that you will need a US tourist visa. If you are afraid of the process of obtaining it, then you should read the life hacks for obtaining it.
National parks
Californian nature excites and inspires, delights and forces you to reconsider the formula for an ideal trip. I wanted to stay for weeks at each of the national parks. Alas, there was no such time in stock. Most likely you won't have it either. Therefore, we have selected several of the most famous locations that are definitely worth a visit. In total, there are nine national parks and several dozen local parks in California.
Yosemite
We'll start our guide with one of the most famous parks in the USA. If they ask me what is the most beautiful thing in this world I have seen, then I will answer without hesitation – Yosemite Park. My travel priorities and idea of outdoor recreation were turned upside down after a trip there. The park gave me only one reason for frustration – that I spent so little time there.
No one will ever walk around Yosemite. The vast space includes oak groves on the plains and alpine meadows, kilometer-deep gorges and waterfalls cascading from barely visible heights. I advise you to study the park’s trail map in advance and have an idea of where you’ll be going when you enter. The must-see list includes Bridleveil Falls, Horsetail Falls, El Capitan granite rock, Sentinel Dome and Half Dome mountains.
My favorite hiking trail is the Yosemite Falls Trail. Its length in one direction is six kilometers, where every step is shortness of breath, fatigue, pain for the body and endless pleasure for the eyes. A great challenge for the body, but be careful in the last third of the climb as the waterfalls make the rocky trail very slippery.
Sequoia Park
The sadness of Yosemite's abandoned beauty will be dispelled by two other parks, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. They are located nearby, and you pay once for entry.
The attraction that attracts tourists to Sequoia Park is, of course, the Giant Forest, which contains five of the 10 largest trees by timber volume in the world. Including an old giant sequoia named “General Sherman”. The 85-meter “general” is the largest tree in terms of wood volume on Earth. It is likely that he saw the times of Aristotle and Plato, sequoia trees up to 2700 years old.
There is no need to explore the trails in Sequoia Park. Among these giants you just want to get lost for a while and feel all your insignificance. Huge trees with all their appearance seem to assure: generations go and come, but we don’t care about that, we will cover the whole world with our canopy.
Kings Canyon
Sequoia-inspired travelers often ignore nearby Kings Canyon. And completely in vain. Firstly, because it is home to the world's second largest giant sequoia, “General Grant”.
Secondly, Kings Canyon will give you completely different landscapes. It is a valley carved by a glacier, from which numerous peaks rush upward, and high-mountain meadows stretch between them. The best trail in the park is the Pacific Crest Trail.
Pinnacles
Pinnacles is one of the youngest national parks in the United States. Little known and uncrowded. That's why it made it onto our list of recommendations. It is ideal for those who want to avoid crowds of tourists and enjoy privacy.
Is this the only reason worth visiting Pinnacles? Of course not. The park is an indescribable combination of different natural areas: from rocky deserts to dense forests. Its rocky spiers make the park popular for mountaineering enthusiasts (we've put together a selection of great mountain hikes). And Californian condors soaring above the endless expanses are for birdwatching enthusiasts. Pinnacles is also worth visiting the caves and grottoes, home to at least 13 different species of bats.
Joshua Tree
For the standard views of the Wild West, as we are used to seeing it in Westerns, come to Joshua Tree Park, named after the desert symbol of the United States, the Joshua Tree. Its territory includes the Colorado and Mojave deserts. The latter can change your idea of deserts, because sub-zero temperatures are not uncommon there. And the piles of boulders and Skull rock in the Mojave spark the imagination with their otherworldly appearance.
Joshua Tree's most scenic spots include Fortynine Palms, Hidden Valley, Lost Horse Mine, a day trip to Lost Palms, and Mount Ryan.
Death Valley
We end our short but very eventful journey with a location with a terrible name, Death Valley. The name is well deserved: Death Valley is known as the hottest place on Earth (the temperature record was set in 1913, when the thermometer reached +56.7 °C). Usually, however, temperatures are not so critical. The average maximum temperature in July reaches only +46 °C, and at night drops to 30-31 °C.
Death Valley is also the driest place in North America. Precipitation is about 5 mm per year, although flooding occurs occasionally.
The mysticism of the park is given by such a geological phenomenon as moving stones. And the karst cave “Devil's Pit” completes it.
Another record set by Death Valley has nothing to do with nature, but with the port. It is home to the 215-kilometer Badwater Ultramarathon, the toughest track and field event in the world. But after the Yosemite trails and rock climbing in the Pinnacles, we don’t care about it, do we?
Other national parks
The natural locations of California we described are like a drop of water in the Pacific Ocean washing the Californian coast. You can come across a breathtaking panorama in the most unexpected place. Slightly less popular, but undoubtedly worthy of tourist attention, parks are listed below:
Channel Island is an island near Santa Barbara where you can book a boat excursion to watch colonies of fur seals, seals, pelicans, and even see a red-listed blue whale in the ocean.
Lassen Park – from the power of the ocean to the power of the earth! This park is known for its many volcanoes, including Lassen Peak, the tallest domed volcano in the world. A trip with fire is guaranteed!
Redwood – this is a must-visit for those who can't get enough of the giant trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks. This time you will find not thickets lost in the mountains, but a coastal forest belt wedged into the ocean. Redwood will be of interest to birdwatchers, as many rare bird species live here.
Planning a trip to California is not easy, and paying for it is even more difficult. But there is no more grateful place on earth that is ready to reward a tourist for his efforts.