The Best National Parks in the U.S.

Located on the southern tip of Florida, the Everglades National Park consists of 1.5 million acres of marshes, mangrove swamps and forests. It is home to multiple endangered species of animals such as the Florida panther and the American crocodile. Kayaking the Wilderness Waterway is a favorite activity of outdoor enthusiasts who visit this park. Angling for fish like tarpon and redfish is a common pursuit, as is hiking and bird-watching.

On the other end of the Eastern seaboard is Acadia National Park in Maine. Acadia is a series of islands off the rugged Maine coast. There are more than 120 miles of hiking trails as well as Cadillac Mountain, the East Coast's highest point at 1,528 feet. Porcupines, beaver and moose and more call Acadia home.

Another top park found in the eastern portion of the nation is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. This park has more than 800 miles of trails for backpackers and hikers, as well as mountain biking. Smoky Mountains is renowned for its outstanding variety of plant and wildlife, abundant wildflowers and animals like black bear and deer.

The Badlands National Park in South Dakota is 244,000 acres of prairie mixed with geological formations such as buttes, canyons, ravines and gullies. The soft rock, which that has been eroded and shaped by wind and water, is a beautiful variety of colors. The Badlands attracts hikers, bikers and backpackers. There is a herd of as many as 600 bison that inhabit this park, and roads into this rugged terrain offer excellent viewing of both the wildlife and the scenery.

The Isle Royale National Park in Michigan is the opposite of the Badlands. It is a densely forested region and cannot be reached by an auto. Ferries and seaplanes provide the only access to this wilderness on the northwest portion of Lake Superior. Fishing, hiking and diving among the many shipwrecks that lay on the lake's bottom are popular activities. Moose, wolves, lynx and bobcat are the leading species of wildlife that inhabit the largest island in the world's biggest lake of fresh water.

The American West is home to such top spots as Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and Yosemite National Park in California. The Grand Canyon is a gorge carved by the Colorado River that is 18 miles wide, a mile deep and more than 270 miles long. The Grand Canyon in northwest Arizona is among the world's greatest natural wonders.

Yellowstone was the first of the national parks designated in the United States, and is in northwest Wyoming as well as small portions of Montana and Idaho. Wolves, elk, bears, cougars and antelope are among the wildlife that can be found here. Yellowstone National Park contains more than half of all the geothermal geysers on Earth, including the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

Yosemite offers breath-taking scenic panoramas of rock cliffs, waterfalls, mountains, giant sequoia trees and sparkling streams, all within the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Yosemite attracts those that are interested in hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing, rock climbing and viewing wildlife.