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Places

Explore America's National Parks, Monuments & Historic Places

From the iconic landscapes of Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon to historic landmarks, national monuments and scenic protected areas, National Parks Explorer helps you discover the best of America's public lands. Browse our growing collection of destinations, compare park types, explore official visitor information and use the filters below to quickly find places by name, state, country or category. Whether you're planning your next road trip or simply exploring from home, your adventure starts here.

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63 places found
Acadia National Park
National Park

Acadia National Park

Maine United States
Acadia National Park brings together some of the most beautiful landscapes on the Maine coast, combining granite mountains, rocky shorelines, forests, lakes, islands, and sweeping views across the Atlantic Ocean. Located primarily on Mount Desert Island, Acadia offers a distinctive national park experience where mountain adventures and coastal scenery are never far apart. Cadillac Mountain is one of Acadia’s best-known destinations, providing expansive views across Mount Desert Island and the surrounding coastline. Park Loop Road connects many other popular attractions, including Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and numerous scenic overlooks. Travelers who explore beyond the main loop can discover quieter sections of the park, including the Schoodic Peninsula. Hiking is one of the most popular things to do in Acadia National Park. Trails range from relaxing walks around lakes and through forests to steep mountain routes with dramatic ocean views. The historic carriage road system provides another way to experience Acadia and is popular with walkers, cyclists, and horse-drawn carriage tours. Visitors can also enjoy wildlife watching, photography, paddling, boating, stargazing, ranger programs, scenic drives, and guided experiences. Acadia is particularly appealing because it can feel different with every season. Summer attracts visitors for hiking and coastal recreation, while fall transforms the forests with classic New England foliage. Sunrise and sunset, changing tides, fog, and shifting coastal weather continually reshape familiar landscapes. Nearby Bar Harbor is the primary gateway for many visitors and offers a wide selection of hotels, inns, vacation rentals, restaurants, shops, cruises, and tours. Additional accommodations can be found throughout Mount Desert Island and surrounding coastal communities. Whether Acadia is the centerpiece of a Maine vacation or part of a longer New England road trip, allow enough time to experience both its mountains and coastline. Exploring beyond the busiest attractions reveals a national park filled with quiet forests, historic roads, rocky coves, island views, and unmistakable Maine character.
Managing agency National Park Service
National Park of American Samoa
National Park

National Park of American Samoa

American Samoa United States
The National Park of American Samoa invites you to discover the vibrant culture and stunning landscapes of the South Pacific. Experience a world unlike any other, where natural beauty and cultural heritage are protected for future generations. Join us in exploring these islands of sacred earth!
Managing agency National Park Service
Arches National Park
National Park

Arches National Park

Utah United States
Arches National Park is one of Utah’s most recognizable desert destinations, protecting a remarkable landscape of more than 2,000 documented natural stone arches along with towering pinnacles, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and sweeping views across the Colorado Plateau. Located just outside Moab, the park combines iconic scenery with hiking, photography, scenic drives, and classic Utah desert adventures. Delicate Arch is the park’s most famous landmark and one of the defining symbols of Utah. Visitors can view it from designated overlooks or hike across open sandstone to experience the arch at close range. Elsewhere, the Windows Section provides relatively easy access to several impressive formations, including North Window, South Window, Turret Arch, and nearby Double Arch. Devils Garden offers another concentration of remarkable geology. Trails lead through sandstone fins and arches, including Landscape Arch, one of the longest natural arches in the world. Other popular stops along the park road include Balanced Rock, Park Avenue, and viewpoints overlooking the surrounding desert and distant mountains. Hiking is one of the best things to do in Arches National Park, but visitors can also enjoy photography, stargazing, scenic driving, ranger programs, and guided experiences. More adventurous travelers can explore selected areas with authorized guides or combine Arches with rafting, mountain biking, off-road tours, and other activities available around Moab. There are no hotels or traditional lodging facilities inside Arches National Park. Nearby Moab provides an extensive selection of hotels, vacation rentals, campgrounds, restaurants, shops, outfitters, and guided tours, making it the natural base for most visitors. Arches also combines easily with nearby Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. Whether you are planning a short visit to see Delicate Arch or several days of hiking and exploring around Moab, experiencing the park at different times of day reveals constantly changing colors, shadows, and perspectives across its extraordinary sandstone landscape.
Managing agency National Park Service
Badlands National Park
National Park

Badlands National Park

South Dakota United States
Badlands National Park protects one of South Dakota’s most unusual landscapes, where sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, canyons, and colorful rock formations rise abruptly from one of America’s largest protected mixed-grass prairies. Located east of the Black Hills, the park combines dramatic geology with wildlife, fossils, hiking, scenic drives, and exceptionally open views across the Great Plains. Badlands Loop Road is the easiest introduction for first-time visitors. The scenic route connects overlooks, trailheads, and changing geological formations, making it possible to experience much of the park by combining short walks with scenic stops. Sunrise and sunset are especially rewarding as low light brings out layers of red, yellow, gray, and orange in the eroded landscape. Hiking provides a closer look at the Badlands. The Door and Window trails offer relatively short routes into the formations, while the Notch Trail delivers a more adventurous experience with steep terrain and expansive views. Visitors can also explore less-developed areas and prairie landscapes away from the busiest viewpoints. Wildlife is another major reason to visit Badlands National Park. Bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, pronghorn, and other animals inhabit the grasslands surrounding the rock formations. The park is also internationally important for its fossils, preserving evidence of ancient mammals that lived here millions of years ago. Other things to do include photography, birdwatching, scenic driving, camping, ranger programs, fossil exhibits, and stargazing beneath remarkably dark South Dakota skies. Cedar Pass Lodge provides seasonal accommodations and food near the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, while additional hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, and visitor services can be found in communities surrounding the park and in Rapid City. Badlands combines naturally with Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Custer State Park, and other South Dakota destinations. Whether you spend several hours driving the loop or stay longer to hike, watch wildlife, and explore at sunrise and sunset, the park offers far more than a quick roadside view.
Managing agency National Park Service
Big Bend National Park
National Park

Big Bend National Park

Texas United States
There is a place in Far West Texas where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. Here, at the end of the road, hundreds of bird species take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert. Tenacious cactus bloom in sublime southwestern sun, and species diversity is the best in the country. This magical place is Big Bend...
Managing agency National Park Service
Biscayne National Park
National Park

Biscayne National Park

Florida United States
Within sight of Miami, yet worlds away, Biscayne protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs. Evidence of 10,000 years of human history is here too; from prehistoric tribes to shipwrecks, and pineapple farmers to presidents. For many, the park is a boating, fishing, and diving destination, while others enjoy a warm breeze and peaceful scenery.
Managing agency National Park Service
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park
National Park

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park

Colorado United States
Big enough to be overwhelming, yet still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time. Come see some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. Forces of nature and the Gunnison River sculpted this canyon over two million years. The result is a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.
Managing agency National Park Service
Bryce Canyon National Park
National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Utah United States
Bryce Canyon National Park is one of Utah’s most distinctive landscapes, famous for thousands of colorful rock spires known as hoodoos. Rather than a single canyon, the park consists of a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the edge of a high plateau, creating an extraordinary landscape of orange, red, pink, and white rock formations. Bryce Amphitheater is the centerpiece of most visits. Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, and Bryce Point provide spectacular views from above, but hiking below the rim reveals an entirely different perspective. Trails wind between towering hoodoos, natural passageways, pine forests, and sculpted rock walls, allowing visitors to experience the formations at close range. Hiking is one of the best things to do in Bryce Canyon National Park. The popular Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop trails can be combined for a memorable journey through the amphitheater, while longer routes provide opportunities to explore quieter sections of the park. Visitors can also follow the Southern Scenic Drive toward destinations such as Natural Bridge and Rainbow Point. Beyond hiking, Bryce Canyon offers photography, horseback riding, wildlife watching, ranger programs, scenic driving, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and guided experiences. Its high elevation and dark skies also make the park an outstanding destination for stargazing and astronomy. The historic Lodge at Bryce Canyon provides accommodations close to the amphitheater, while additional hotels, cabins, restaurants, and visitor services are available in nearby communities. Reservations are especially valuable when traveling during popular vacation periods. Bryce Canyon combines naturally with Zion National Park and other destinations on a Utah national parks road trip. Whether you have several hours for the major viewpoints or multiple days for hiking, photography, and exploring the high plateau, experiencing the hoodoos from both the rim and the trails below makes a visit especially rewarding.
Managing agency National Park Service
Canyonlands National Park
National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Utah United States
Canyonlands National Park protects an immense landscape of colorful canyons, mesas, sandstone towers, arches, cliffs, and desert wilderness carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers in southeastern Utah. Located near Moab, the park offers a more remote and adventurous experience than many other Southwest destinations, with each district revealing a different side of the Colorado Plateau. Island in the Sky is the most accessible district and the easiest introduction for first-time visitors. A paved scenic road leads to overlooks high above the surrounding canyon country, including Grand View Point and other dramatic viewpoints. Short hikes provide access to additional scenery, while longer trails descend from the mesa into increasingly rugged terrain. The Needles offers a very different experience. Named for its distinctive sandstone spires, this southeastern district is especially popular with hikers and backpackers. Trails wind through colorful rock formations, narrow passages, open desert, and remote backcountry landscapes. The Maze is the park’s most isolated district and requires considerably more planning, time, self-reliance, and appropriate four-wheel-drive transportation. For experienced travelers, it offers one of the most remote national park experiences in the lower 48 states. There are many things to do in Canyonlands beyond hiking. Visitors can explore backcountry roads by 4WD, photograph sunrise and sunset, camp beneath exceptionally dark skies, bike designated routes, or experience the park from the water. Flatwater trips on the Green and Colorado Rivers and whitewater adventures through Cataract Canyon reveal Canyonlands from an entirely different perspective. There is little commercial development inside the park, so nearby Moab is the primary base for hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants, outfitters, rafting trips, 4WD tours, and other visitor services. Whether you spend a few hours exploring Island in the Sky or several days hiking, rafting, and traveling through the backcountry, Canyonlands National Park rewards careful planning. Its scale and remoteness make it a destination best experienced one district at a time.
Managing agency National Park Service
Capitol Reef National Park
National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Utah United States
Capitol Reef National Park reveals one of Utah’s most fascinating desert landscapes, where colorful cliffs, sandstone domes, narrow canyons, natural bridges, and rugged mountains stretch along the remarkable Waterpocket Fold. Located in south-central Utah, the park combines classic red-rock scenery with historic orchards, remote wilderness, scenic drives, and outstanding hiking. The Fruita district is the natural starting point for many first-time visitors. Set along the Fremont River beneath towering cliffs, this historic area preserves orchards and reminders of an early farming community in the heart of canyon country. Depending on the season, visitors may even have opportunities to experience the park’s historic fruit-growing tradition. Capitol Reef’s Scenic Drive provides an easy introduction to the surrounding geology. The paved route travels south from Fruita beneath enormous sandstone formations, while side roads lead into Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge. Hiking trails throughout this central area range from shorter walks to longer routes overlooking the Waterpocket Fold. Hickman Bridge, Grand Wash, and trails around Fruita are among the many options for exploring on foot. More adventurous travelers can discover the quieter Waterpocket District in the south or Cathedral Valley in the north. These remote landscapes offer backcountry hiking, dramatic rock formations, unpaved roads, and a much greater sense of isolation. There are many things to do in Capitol Reef beyond hiking. Scenic driving, photography, stargazing, camping, rock climbing, horseback riding, cycling, ranger programs, and backcountry exploration provide different ways to experience the park. Camping is available inside Capitol Reef, while nearby Torrey and surrounding communities provide hotels, cabins, restaurants, and other visitor services. The park also fits naturally into a longer Utah national parks road trip. Whether you spend a few hours exploring Fruita and the Scenic Drive or several days hiking through remote canyon country, Capitol Reef National Park rewards travelers who venture beyond the highway and discover the remarkable landscapes hidden along the Waterpocket Fold.
Managing agency National Park Service
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
National Park

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

New Mexico United States
High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife—treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert. Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes.
Managing agency National Park Service
Channel Islands National Park
National Park

Channel Islands National Park

California United States
Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was.
Managing agency National Park Service

Discover America's National Parks and Protected Places

America's national parks and protected places preserve some of the most extraordinary landscapes, wildlife habitats and historic landmarks in the world. From the geothermal wonders of Yellowstone and the immense granite walls of Yosemite to the desert scenery of Arches, the coastal wilderness of Acadia and the deep canyons of the Southwest, every destination offers a different way to experience the natural and cultural heritage of the United States. National Parks Explorer brings these remarkable places together in one easy-to-browse collection. Whether you are planning a family vacation, a national park road trip, a weekend hike or a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor adventure, you can use this directory to discover destinations that fit your interests. Explore famous national parks, national monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, scenic parkways and other protected landscapes while learning what makes each place unique. Our goal is to make the first stage of trip planning easier by helping you compare destinations, find new ideas and move quickly from inspiration to practical visitor information.

Use the filters above to search for places by name, place type, country or state and subdivision. This makes it easy to find national parks in a particular part of the country, explore destinations near an upcoming road trip or discover protected places that you may not have considered before. Visitors often begin with celebrated destinations such as the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain, Zion or Olympic National Park, but the National Park System also includes battlefields, seashores, memorials, historic parks, preserves and many smaller sites with important stories to tell. Exploring by place type can reveal a wider range of experiences, from mountain trails and desert arches to historic buildings, scenic drives, islands, caves and waterways. The collection will continue to grow as additional destinations and visitor information are added. By keeping the search tools simple and placing the most important information in a consistent format, National Parks Explorer helps travelers spend less time searching across disconnected pages and more time deciding where their next adventure should begin.

Each destination page is designed to support practical trip planning. Depending on the information available, you may find park descriptions, maps, directions, weather guidance, current alerts, operating information, fees, reservation requirements and suggestions for things to do. This can help you understand whether a destination is suitable for a short visit, a full day, a multi-day stay or part of a longer national park itinerary. Conditions and access requirements can differ greatly between parks and seasons. Mountain roads may close during winter, desert temperatures can become dangerous in summer and popular trails or scenic areas may require timed entry, permits, lotteries or advance reservations. Reviewing these details before traveling can help you prepare more confidently and avoid preventable surprises. National Parks Explorer organizes planning information into clear sections so visitors can quickly identify what deserves extra attention. You should still confirm essential details with the official managing agency before departure, especially when your plans depend on road access, permits, opening hours, weather conditions or availability.

National park travel can take many forms. Some visitors are looking for challenging hikes, wildlife watching and remote backcountry experiences, while others prefer scenic overlooks, accessible trails, historic landmarks, photography locations or relaxed family activities. A successful trip does not require visiting only the most famous parks. Smaller monuments, historic sites and recreation areas can provide memorable experiences with fewer crowds and may fit naturally into a regional itinerary. Consider combining well-known destinations with nearby protected places, allowing enough time for travel, changing weather and unexpected discoveries along the way. Always respect posted regulations, wildlife safety guidance, trail closures and Leave No Trace principles so these places remain protected for future visitors. National Parks Explorer is built for travelers who enjoy discovering America's public lands and want a clear starting point for their research. Browse the destinations above, refine the results with the available filters and open any Place Card to continue exploring. Your next memorable park experience may be a world-famous landscape, a quiet historic location or a hidden destination that you discover here for the first time.

Planning a national park journey often begins with choosing the right region and understanding how several destinations can fit together. The western United States is known for dramatic mountain ranges, desert scenery and large wilderness areas, while the eastern states offer forested parks, historic landscapes, coastlines and scenic drives. Alaska and Hawaii provide entirely different experiences, from glaciers and remote wildlife habitats to volcanic landscapes and tropical ecosystems. Travelers can use National Parks Explorer to compare these regions and identify places that match their available time, preferred season and style of travel. A carefully planned itinerary may combine a major national park with nearby monuments, historic sites or recreation areas that are sometimes overlooked. These additional stops can add variety to a journey and provide a deeper understanding of the landscapes and communities surrounding the best-known destinations.

Seasonal timing can have a major influence on the national park experience. Spring may bring waterfalls, wildflowers and cooler hiking conditions, while summer offers longer daylight hours but can also bring crowds, heat and limited availability. Autumn is popular for changing colors, wildlife activity and comfortable temperatures in many regions. Winter transforms some parks into quiet snow-covered landscapes, although roads, facilities and trails may be closed or difficult to reach. The ideal season depends on the destination, elevation, climate and activities you hope to enjoy. Before finalizing a trip, review current conditions, transportation options, reservation rules and operating schedules. Flexible planning is especially valuable when weather, wildfire activity, flooding or temporary closures affect access. Having alternative places and activities in mind can help keep an itinerary enjoyable even when plans need to change.

Responsible travel helps protect national parks and historic places for future generations. Visitors should remain on designated trails where required, store food safely, observe wildlife from an appropriate distance and follow all local regulations. Carrying sufficient water, preparing for changing weather and understanding personal limits are essential parts of outdoor safety. In busy destinations, arriving early or using park transportation can reduce congestion and improve the experience. In quieter locations, visitors may need to be more self-sufficient because services and mobile coverage can be limited. National Parks Explorer provides a convenient starting point for researching destinations, but final decisions should always be based on current information from the official managing agency. Explore the collection, compare different types of protected places and continue building an itinerary that reflects your interests, available time and sense of adventure.

Official information

National Parks Explorer strives to present accurate and up-to-date information collected from official and trusted sources, including the National Park Service. While we make every effort to keep this information current, access requirements, permits, reservations, operating hours, alerts, fees and other visitor information may change at any time without prior notice.

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Always verify the latest information on the official website before making travel plans or visiting a park.

National Parks Explorer is an independent information platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service or other data providers. We cannot accept responsibility for decisions made based on the information presented on this website.

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