posted by Catherine on May 11
Why not experience the true wilds of the US – and escape the hectic city life!
There are currently 58 designated National Parks in the US, with the most northerly mainland park being Kobuk Valley, Alaska; and the most southerly being Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys. There are 2 in Hawaii as well – but not really somewhere you can drive to!
So, Why A National Park?
Well, they are truly a site to behold and they are eco friendly in terms of local, vacations! No more long-haul flights, no more feeding your money into the hands of other countries and multi-nationals! Why not buy US products, pay for US services and support your very own country and promote their beautiful sites.
After all, if things don’t get used – they get lost! If people don’t visit these great, protected sites – it won’t be worth keeping them, and they will no longer be protected.
However, there is no reason not to visit them! The landscapes in these places are amazing, and even the townies among you can’t fail to be made speechless by the sheer size, majesty and wildlife in these places.
By their very criteria, the National Parks Trust have made sure that these areas of wilderness really are untouched and as natural as they come. And with 34,000,000 hectares land under their belt so far – they are saving all these areas for the future.
The US had the first National Park EVER in the entire world with Yellowstone National Park in 1872, and it is still going strong!
There are also 1,822,155 hectares of ocean, lake and reservoir to explore as well as 136,873 kms of river to kayak down (or up depending on your type of vacation!)
What Else?
National Parks also include 68,561 archaeological sites and 27,000 historic structures for visitors to hunt out amongst the woodlands, mountains and valleys! 16 out of the 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are also managed by the National Park Service.
And don’t think it’s all mud and trees when you get there! The National Park Service maintain over 27,000 kms of trails, all have clear sign posts with easy to understand pictogram’s.
And, there are also 16,000 kms of roads as part of the sites. This way, you can still enjoy the beauty of these sites on your way to the campsite – and again on your way home!
Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Virginia is the most visited US site! It gets around 16,300,000 visitors a year!
Plenty of people are making a longer trip of it these days and overnight stays top 13.8 million people – and are headed up by RV campers now, whereas last year the most popular accommodation was in Lodges!
Most of the sites are towards the Pacific coast and across the Rockies, including Death Valley and Yosemite, Crater Lake. Glacier & Yellowstone! Several in the east include Arcadia in Maine, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Great Smokey Mountains National Park in N. Carolina & Tennessee.
Which ones have you been to?
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