The Top 10 Most Visited National Parks for 2017.

The U.S. National Park Service has announced visitation numbers for America’s national parks in 2017, and as usual these amazing outdoor spaces continue to attract a large audience. According to reports, more than 330 million people filtered through the park system last year, which is down slightly from 2016 when the NPS celebrated its 100th anniversary.

If you’ve seen the list of most visited parks in the past, you’ll probably be able to tell which ones made the cut. But, there has been some shuffling around of the parks with perennial favorite Yosemite dropping from number 3 down to number 5, while Zion moves up to take its spot in the top five.

Here’s what the top ten looks like:

1. Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee
2. Grand Canyon in Arizona
3. Zion National Park in Utah
4. Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado
5. Yosemite National Park in California
6. Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming
7. Acadia National Park in Maine
8. Olympic National Park in Washington state
9. Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming
10. Glacier National Park in Montana

In total there are 59 national parks in the entire system, but 417 “sites” that include monuments, battlefields, historic places, and so on. If you include those into the mix, the visitation picture looks a bit different. Here are the top ten most visited places that the National Park Service oversees:

1. Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia
2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the San Francisco Bay Area
3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee
4. Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey
5. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
6. Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and Arizona
7. George Washington Memorial Parkway in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
8. Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee
9. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

None of these are bad places to have on your bucket list if you haven’t seen them.

Autor : Kraig Becker

* source: – The Top 10 Most Visited National Parks for 2017

** see also: – Trekking – posts on my site :

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : GOKYO, KALA PATTAR and EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK (19 days).

– Everest Base Camp – CLASSIC treks. / Version polish and english /

– Trekking in Nepal Himalaya : EVEREST HIGH VALLEY – Travel Guide. /Version english/

50 Parks to Visit in 50 U.S. States.

The U.S. has always been at the forefront of creating public lands for its citizens and foreign visitors to explore. After all, the country was the first to designate a national park when Yellowstone was first created way back in 1872. Today, there are fantastic parks to explore in every state in the Union, and Popular Mechanics wants to help you discover the best ones.

In a slideshow entitled “50 States, 50 Parks” readers will go through each state in alphabetical order, with the individual slides providing some information on the absolute best park to visit at that particular destination. So, for example, in Alaska you’ll learn that Denali National Park has earned a spot on the list, which is no small feat when you consider the fantastic national parks that exist there. The slide not only contains a brief explanation for what makes Denali special, but an epic photo from the location as well.

Other great parks that make the cut include Grand Canyon (Arizona), Yosemite (California), Starved Rock State Park (Illinois), and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I’ll leave the remaining 45 parks for you to discover, as it is a lot of fun to see what choices were made for each state.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the national parks, but there are some pretty spectacular state parks to be found as well. Thankfully, this list doesn’t count them out and you’re likely to discover plenty of new places to add to your “must visit” list. Check out the entire slideshow here.

Autor : Kraig Becker

* source: – 50 Parks to Visit in 50 U.S. States

** see also: –

Video: A Relaxing Hour in Yellowstone.

Have you had a rough start to your week? Did Monday come way too quickly? Perhaps this video can help. It comes our way courtesy of National Geographic and is just over an hour in length. I’m sure that sounds way too long, but it is an hour of life in Yellowstone National Park, which is always a place worth visiting, either virtually or in real life. So, if you’re in need of a bit of relaxation, sit back and soak it all in. You won’t be disappointed.

Autor : Kraig Becker

* source: –Video: A Relaxing Hour in Yellowstone

** see also: –  https://himalman.wordpress.com/category/video/

Nat Geo Celebrates National Parks Week With 10 Big Adventures.

This week is National Park Week here in the U.S., which is dedicated to recognizing the amazing places that have been set aside as protected spaces for the public to enjoy. Those locations include iconic destinations like Yosemite and Yellowstone, as well as some lesser known spots like the Dry Tortugas and Isle Royale. To help us celebrate the occasion, National Geographic has posted a list of the top 10 national park adventures, giving readers a seres of challenges and epic activities, all of which take place inside one of the parks.

Some of the adventures that Nat Geo recommends include searching for a great stargazing spot in Death Valley, scuba diving in the Channel Islands, and camping in the backcountry in Denali. Other options include climbing, hiking, horseback riding, and paddling through other top parks in the U.S. system, including some of most famous and popular places that the Park Service oversees. Of course, I won’t spoil them all, and let you find out for yourself, with each adventure paired with an equally great photo from a National Geographic photographer.

As a huge fan of the national parks, I always enjoy reading lists like this one. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a lot of these places, but there are still a few more that I need to get to at some point. If I had to choose a favorite, for me it would probably be Yellowstone. My recommendation for a big adventure there would be to go in winter, when it is peacefully empty, the landscapes are covered in snow, and the wildlife has all come down from altitude. There won’t be any bears, as they’re all in hibernation, but it is time when you can truly enjoy the primal nature of the park.

What is your favorite national park? Do you have any major adventures to share from your time there? I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment below!

Autor : Kraig Becker

* source: – Nat Geo Celebrates National Parks Week With 10 Big Adventures

** see also: –  https://himalman.wordpress.com/category/video/