Our "To Do" List

Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands
18.33°N 64.73°WAugust 2, 195615,052.33 acres (60.9 km2)323,999This island park on Saint John preserves pristine beaches surrounded by mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. It also has Taíno archaeological sites and the ruins of sugar plantations from Columbus's time.[110]

Lake ClarkAlaska
60.97°N 153.42°WDecember 2, 19802,619,816.49 acres (10,602.0 km2)18,278The region around Lake Clark features four active volcanoes, including Mount Redoubt, as well as an abundance of rivers, glaciers, and waterfalls. Temperate rainforests, a tundra plateau, and three mountain ranges complete the landscape.[83]

Kobuk ValleyAlaska
67.55°N 159.28°WDecember 2, 19801,750,716.16 acres (7,084.9 km2)11,540Kobuk Valley protects 61 miles (98 km) of the Kobuk River and three regions of sand dunes. Created by glaciers, the Great Kobuk, Little Kobuk, and Hunt River Sand Dunes can reach 100 feet (30 m) high and 100 °F (38 °C), and they are the largest dunes in the Arctic. Twice a year, half a million caribou migrate through the dunes and across river bluffs that expose well-preserved ice age fossils.[82]

KatmaiAlaska
58.50°N 155.00°WDecember 2, 19803,674,529.33 acres (14,870.3 km2)24,764This park on the Alaska Peninsula protects the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, an ash flow formed by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, and the stratovolcano Mount Katmai. Over 2,000 grizzly bears come here each year to catch spawning salmon. Other wildlife includes caribou, wolves, moose, and wolverines.[75]

Indiana DunesIndiana
41.6533°N 87.0524°WFebruary 15, 201915,349.08 acres (62.1 km2)3,177,210Previously designated a national lakeshore, parts of this 20-mile (32 km) stretch of the southern shore of Lake Michigan have sandy beaches and tall dunes. The park includes grassy prairies, peat bogs, and marsh wetlands home to over 2,000 species.[71]

​Glacier Bay Alaska
58.50°N 137.00°WDecember 2, 19803,223,383.43 acres (13,044.6 km2)89,768Glacier Bay contains tidewater glaciers, mountains, fjords, and a temperate rainforest, and is home to large populations of grizzly bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles. When discovered in 1794 by George Vancouver, the entire bay was covered by ice, but the glaciers have since receded more than 65 miles (105 km).[53] (WHS)[54] (BR)[55]

American SamoaAmerican Samoa
14.25°S 170.68°WOctober 31, 19888,256.67 acres (33.4 km2)8,495The southernmost national park is on three Samoan islands in the South Pacific. It protects coral reefs, rainforests, volcanic mountains, and white beaches. The area is also home to flying foxes, brown boobies, sea turtles, and 900 species of fish.[16]

​Channel Islands California
34.01°N 119.42°WMarch 5, 1980249,561.00 acres (1,009.9 km2)319,252Five of the eight Channel Islands are protected, with half of the park's area underwater. The islands have a unique Mediterranean ecosystem originally settled by the Chumash people. They are home to over 2,000 species of land plants and animals, 145 endemic to them, including the island fox. Ferry services offer transportation to the islands from the mainland.[30] (BR)[31]

Dry Tortugas Florida
24.63°N 82.87°WOctober 26, 199264,701.22 acres (261.8 km2)83,817The islands of the Dry Tortugas, at the westernmost end of the Florida Keys, are the site of Fort Jefferson, a Civil War-era fort that is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. The park is home to undisturbed coral reefs and shipwrecks, and is only accessible by plane or boat.[42] (BR)[43]

Gates of the ArcticAlaska
67.78°N 153.30°WDecember 2, 19807,523,897.45 acres (30,448.1 km2)7,362The country's northernmost park protects an expanse of pure wilderness in Alaska's Brooks Range and has no park facilities. The land is home to Alaska Natives who have relied on the land and caribou for 11,000 years.[46]