Top 10 National Park Activities

Top 10 National Park Activities : American National Parks

Our national park system invites visitors to choose their own adventures in the most beautiful spots in the US. Here's our selection for the most exciting and unusual national park activities including sandboarding, spelunking and more.

Rock-Climbing
Yosemite, California
Yosemite is a climber's paradise with craggy outposts, sustained crack climbs and multiday dome excursions. Since 1969, the Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service has been training newbies and accompanying seasoned climbers on trips in the park's many climbing areas. Full-day classes are available from April through October in Curry Village or Tuolumne Meadows, while specialized programs like Girls on Granite cater to women looking to scramble and scale up the rocks.

Snorkeling
Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, USVI
You'll want flippers, a mask and snorkel to explore the best trail in St. John because it's actually underwater. The snorkeling trail at Trunk Bay is a 225-yard swim lined with signs describing the fish, coral and plants that live in the warm turquoise waters. After exploring the sea, relax on the crescent-shaped beach and appreciate the scenery at one of the country's most idyllic national parks.

Orienteering
Prince William Forest Park, Virginia
Set off on a modern-day treasure hunt at Prince William Forest Park. Leave the GPS system at home for an orienteering adventure using just a map and compass to follow clues around one of the park's 30 courses. You can choose to set your own pace, whether it's a slowpoke family stroll while the kids master the compass or a competitive jaunt to race to the final clue.

Hiking
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
Hikers can set off on a great adventure on foot any time of year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With more than 800 miles of trails, there are plenty of options including scenic strolls through fields of wildflowers and strenuous climbs to the top of the park's glorious waterfalls. A popular day-hike is a strenuous 8-mile trip to Charles Bunion along the Appalachian Trail. The 3-mile trip to Baskins Creek Falls follows an accessible trail with footbridge crossings to a 25-foot waterfall while the 8-mile roundtrip to Ramsay Cascades is a moderately strenuous trek through old-growth forest.

Horseback-Riding
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Experience the wild badlands on a horseback ride through Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The former president galloped through these vast prairies himself in the late 19th century. The park's trail system is open to horses, and some visitors choose to ride in on their own steed. For the rest of us, Peaceful Valley Ranch organizes day-trips all summer long for riders over 7 years old.

Rafting
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
While more than 5 million visitors head to the Grand Canyon every year, many make the mistake of simply peering out over the Rim before climbing back in the car. To truly experience the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, set off on a white-water-rafting adventure on the Colorado River. Float down smooth water on half- or full-day trips, or check out a longer excursion and spend 3 to 18 days riding the rapids in the shadows of the canyon's towering red walls.

Spelunking
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Mammoth Cave National Park is the world's longest known cave system with spacious chambers and twisted labyrinths beneath Kentucky's Green River Valley. Serious spelunkers can descend 300 feet down 670 stairs and narrow passageways and tunnels to explore the underground rooms and hills on the Grand Avenue Tour. It takes over 4 hours to traverse this 4-mile-long stretch of the cave system. Lantern tours of the caves' passageways at Violet City give guests an idea of what it was like for the early cave explorers in the 1800s. And children over 10 can join in the fun on the Introduction to Caving experience, which teaches participants how to crawl, shimmy and slither through narrow passageways.

Paddling
Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Many visitors take in Glacier Bay's snow-capped mountains and towering glaciers from the deck of a cruise ship. For a more intimate tour of the park, glide through the waters in a low-lying kayak. Kayak trips set off from Bartlett Cove with Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks, the park's tour outfitter. Experienced paddlers may rent a kayak and set out to sea for solo trip while the company's 1-day adventures are perfect for beginners. Paddle alongside seals, porpoises or sea otters, and look toward the shore to search for black bear and moose.

Sandboarding
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
Who says you can't ski in the summer? Rocket down rolling sand dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. You'll need good equipment, such as downhill skis, a snowboard or a flat-bottomed plastic sled, to set off on a wild ride through the sand. The conditions aren't good after rain or when the weather is too dry as the sand may be too soft to pick up some speed. Sandboarding is permitted on any of the unvegetated dunes and is particularly good at the 300-foot slope near the Castle Creek Picnic Area.

Wildlife Viewing
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
Enjoy a wild safari a bit closer to home at Yellowstone National Park, home to more than 60 types of mammals and 318 species of birds. Black bears and grizzlies make their home in forests while coyotes, gray wolves and bobcats frolic in the meadows. Bison, elk and moose roam the grasslands while bighorn sheep meander along the mountainside. Bald eagles soar overhead and trumpeter swans make their nests alongside the park's rivers. Bring a pair of binoculars and a camera, and join a ranger tour to learn more about these fascinating residents.

Zion National Park, Utah

Zion National Park Utah

With more than 2.5 million visitors a year, Zion National Park is easily Utah's most visited natural landmark. Yet the park's 229 square miles encompass such a rugged, twisting and cavernous terrain that there is always someplace new to explore, a cave or a trail barely touched by human hands.

The colorful canyons and rock formations that have made Zion so attractive to tourists were shaped over time by the Virgin River, which can appear deceptively tranquil at times. As one of the last mostly free-flowing river systems on the Colorado Plateau, the Virgin, with its explosive, erosive power, shaped these looming sandstone walls, scarring them with waterlines and carbon deposits. The majesty of the landscape is truly awesome, and was once home to the ancestral Puebloans, known as the Anasazi, who appeared in the area some 2,000 years ago, long before Mormon settlers arrived in the 1860s.

Exploration of Zion National Park will unearth the richest diversity of plant life in Utah - nearly 800 species are fostered by "microenvironments" created by variances in elevations, water, temperature and sunlight. Also calling the park home are 400-plus species of mammals, reptiles, fish and birds, including the endangered peregrine falcon and the Mexican spotted owl.

Extraordinarily visitor-friendly, the park offers a shuttle system stopping at various trail heads, including the Temple of Sinawava at the edge of the infamous Narrows - a looming cavernous stretch along the Virgin River, narrowing to widths of less than 30 feet and heights of more than 2,000 feet. Leaving any of the park's 30 miles of paved trails, hikers will be greeted by grottos, natural springs and sandstone walls striped with pinks and oranges. Zion's backcountry is a perfect venue for climbing, canyoneering or bouldering.

Geological History
For hundreds of millions of years, the enormous power of water, wind and the freeze-thaw cycle has worn down the beds of sedimentary rock in Zion National Park. Zion is located along the edge of a region called the Colorado Plateau. Over time, the rock layers in this area have been uplifted, tilted and eroded, creating canyons, hoodoos, towers and domes.

Park Activities
Visitors should begin their explorations at either Zion Canyon or Kolob Canyons visitor centers, both of which offer orientation videos, books, maps and backcountry permits. Zion Canyon is also the starting point for the park loop of the Zion Canyon Shuttle, which stops at eight main trail heads. Scenic drives include Zion Canyon, Zion-Mount Carmel Highway and Kolob Terrace Road. Popular day hikes include Zion Narrows, Emerald Pools, Weeping Rock, Angels Landing and Hidden Canyon. Other popular activities include climbing, canyoneering and bouldering, which require permits available through the visitor centers.

Where to Stay
Unique, homey lodging near a national park is often a rarity, but O'Toole's Under the Eaves B&B sets the standard. Built in the 1930s, the main house is intimate in size, and with its pointed eaves could have been transported from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Partially constructed of sandstone blocks from the walls of nearby canyons, landscaped with terraced gardens and decorated with the owner's personally handcrafted Adirondack furniture, this inn is the perfect place to unwind and soak in views of the park's looming canyons.

Side Trips
Gain an unforgettable perspective of southern Utah's carved and rugged landscape with a chartered aerial tour from Aero West. Located just 45 miles from the park in St. George, Utah, Aero West allows patrons to charter flights at almost any time and, if intrigued by the land viewed from above, stop at certain locations to hike. The sprawling vistas of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion are all within an hour's flight.
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