My Most Anticipated National Parks

By Jacob

So far I have been to 18/62 national parks in the United States. My goal is to visit all of them so I thought I would share some of the parks that I am looking forward to most visiting. First I should list the parks that I have been to so you know what I have not been to.

1. Yellowstone

2. Grand Teton

3. Badlands

4. Glacier

5. Arches

6. Bryce Canyon

7. Canyonlands

8. Zion

9. Capitol Reef

10. Rocky Mountain

11. Mesa Verde

12. Haleakala

13. Hawaii Volcanoes

14. Great Smoky Mountains

15. Sequoia

16. Kings Canyon

17. Yosemite

18. Death Valley

In truth, I am looking forward to all the national parks I have not visited but these are a few I am looking forward to the most.

1. Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park is located in the state of Maine along the Atlantic Coast. The park was created off of donated land on Mt. Desert Island. The park contains a beautiful shoreline as well as the tallest mountain along the Atlantic coast. Cadillac Mountain is where the first rays of sunshine touch the continental United States. It would be really cool to experience the first rays of sunshine in the country. Another attraction of the park is the famous Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse that is the first thing you see when you look at images of Acadia. The park is also the first created east of the Mississippi River.

2. Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park is located in the central part of Kentucky. Mammoth Cave is one of three cave national parks. I am really looking forward to visiting all three but Mammoth Cave is the biggest of them all. In fact, it is the largest known cave in the world. The place looks huge and would be really cool to see. I have never been to any of the cave parks so I do not know what to expect. I hope I get to visit this park soon.

3. Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park has been described as a hidden gem because of its beauty and lack of crowds. It is located in Northern California east of Redding. Sounds like the place for me. The park's main feature is the volcano Mount Lassen, it resembles the cascade peaks to the north like Mount Rainier and Mount Hood. It may be shorter than the other cascade volcanoes, but it is just as spectacular. The park also has thermal areas that can be described as a mini Yellowstone, my favorite national park. This park may be the one I am looking forward to visiting the most.

4. Katmai National Park

After seeing the pictures of Brooks Falls in this Alaskan national park I was ready to leave. Brooks Falls is a small waterfall that salmon have to jump up to give birth upstream. At this waterfall are more than a dozen bears that catch the salmon as they jump up the waterfall. The whole park is bristling with brown bears that frequently roam into the only civilized part of the park. This is one of the most wild national parks and one I look forward to seeing in the future.

5. Saguaro National Park

Back south in the state of Arizona is the two units on either side of Tucson. The two units of the park contain the largest type of cactus in the world, the Saguaro. This park looks absolutely amazing, standing in the desert with millions of the biggest cacti on earth. There is scenic driving and lots of hiking opportunities. It is also easy to access as it surrounds the city of Tucson.

I hope you enjoyed my list. It is in no particular order and I look forward to seeing them all.

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Planning & Packing