The USA is home to no fewer than 63 national parks, scattered all the way from the icy tundra of Alaska in the north to the coral reefs and mangrove forests of Florida in the south. With so much ground to cover, you need to know where to begin – so to help, we’ve rounded up our top 10 national parks in the USA as a starting point for a tailor-made trip with Red Savannah.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Tucked away in the Sierra Nevada mountains, four hours’ drive from San Francisco, Yosemite is one of America’s most popular national parks, attracting over four million visitors each year. Celebrated for its towering waterfalls, freshwater lakes and sky-scraping, centuries-old sequoia trees, it’s also one of the world’s top rock-climbing destinations, with climbers making pilgrimages to the park to tackle the formidable sheer cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. A haven for hikers, Yosemite’s vast wilderness is laced with walking trails and more leisurely cycling routes, but it’s possible to see a lot of the park from the comfort of your car too. The charming Rush Creek Lodge is an ideal jumping-off point for days exploring Yosemite, but if you’d prefer something a little quirkier, nearby Château de Sureau has made a name for itself with its serious foodie credentials.
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Best-known for its extraordinary sandstone canyons in kaleidoscopic shades of cream, red, pink and russet-orange, Zion in Utah boasts arguably the most spellbinding landscape of all of the USA’s national parks. The park’s otherworldly terrain and dramatic desert landscape – juxtaposed with lush valleys, high altitude forests and the Virgin River slicing its way through – draws everyone from photographers to adventure seekers, who flock here to go canyoneering, abseiling, hiking and cycling. Many visitors make day trips from Las Vegas, but if you’d prefer to linger a while, we would recommend staying at Zion Mountain Ranch, just five minutes’ drive from the park gates. For the ultimate soul-soothing luxury, head a little further on to utterly spectacular Amangiri, squirrelled away in the wind-whipped desert wilderness.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Sprawled across 3,500 miles of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone was America’s first official national park. Today, it’s renowned for having the world’s highest concentration of geothermal features, and due to its location on top of an active super-volcano, the park is studded with colourful hot pools, bubbling mud pots and geysers spewing water high up into the air. But Yellowstone’s extraordinary geology isn’t its only attraction. Over on the parklands of Lamar Valley, great herds of elk, bison, moose and wolves roam freely, making it a prime spot for wildlife watching. The park is easy to explore by road, but we’d recommend hiring a guide to escape the throngs and enjoy wandering along the extensive paths ringing Yellowstone’s broad volcanic plateau.
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
With its beguiling blend of wildlife, alpine vistas and the jagged peaks of the ancient Teton mountain range, Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming makes for a compelling crowd-free alternative to Yellowstone, just 10 miles down the road. This one’s a true all-rounder: the mountains’ snow-capped peaks make the park popular with backcountry skiers in the winter months, while a slew of pristine, glassy lakes coupled with the calm waters of the Snake River make it a honeypot for kayakers, rafters and anglers during the summer. Wildlife safaris add to the park’s offering, and it’s well worth rising at sunrise to try and catch sightings of grizzly bears, bison and pronghorn in their natural habitat. The park’s proximity to Jackson Hole makes finding accommodation nearby a breeze.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK
The Grand Canyon needs no introduction: this extraordinary natural wonder is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions. Stretching 277 miles from end to end and carved out over millions of years by the thundering waters of the Colorado River, the greatest way to take it all in is from the sky. Red Savannah can arrange a helicopter tour from Las Vegas, to include a stop off on the deserted canyon floor where you’ll sip a glass of champagne. Most visitors choose to take in the peerless views from the overpopulated South Rim, but if you’re keen to get a little closer to nature and off-the-beaten-track, a private guide can lead you on a hike into the remote and wild canyon exterior, regaling you with stories of the park’s fascinating history along the way.
CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK
Regarded as something of a hidden gem, deliciously remote Capitol Reef is well worth the detour on a road trip through Utah, a state chockfull of national parks. Steeped in Native American and Mormon history (when early settlers lived off the fertile plains) it’s hard to escape the raw beauty of the park’s long, narrow, desert landscape, a 100-mile wrinkle of rock crisscrossed by ridges, canyons and buttes. Come here for the endless scenic views under Utah’s big blue skies, or if you’re after something a little more active, sign up for a canyoneering trip up and down the park’s huge sandstone cliffs. Stay at Cougar Ridge Lodge for easy access to the park – its seven villas and lodges provide a comfortable base from which to soak up the serene wilderness.
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Bryce Canyon may not be able to content with the sheer scale of Zion, but it certainly offers something different when pitched against Utah’s better-known national parks. While there’s no actual canyon in sight, Bryce Canyon’s famous burnt-orange, steeple-shaped hoodoos are its most defining feature – and they’re more abundant here than anywhere else in the world. The park’s plateau has been gently carved into a series of geologically fascinating horseshoe-shaped natural amphitheatres, while its thickly forested interior is carpeted in juniper trees and centuries-old pines and packed with hiking and riding trails for all abilities. Thanks to its high elevation, it’s a much-welcomed few degrees cooler here than elsewhere in the desert state, making cross-country skiing a possibility in winter too. After a day exploring, head on to the nearby town of Torrey to stay at Cougar Ridge Lodge.
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
A stone’s throw from Utah’s adventure capital of Moab, Arches National Park is famed for its dazzling red sandstone arch formations. The park’s fragile ecosystem has been eroded into form over millions of years, and it’s now home to the highest density of natural stone bridges in the world, dwarfing the visitors who roam underneath them. One, Delicate Arch, is so iconic that it has been immortalised on Utah’s licence plates, and with scenic driving routes edging their way around lofty viewpoints and gentle hiking trails, exploring by car is the best way to get the most out of a visit. Nearby Moab is full of charming B&Bs, but for something a little more luxurious, stay over at Sorrel River Ranch, a 30-minute drive from the park gates.
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK
Photo credit Satoshi Eto
The product of an immense volcanic eruption that took place over 8,000 years ago, Crater Lake National Park is named after the vast lake that sits at its centre. Not only the deepest lake in the USA, it’s also one of the most breathtakingly beautiful. Filled almost exclusively with snowmelt and rainfall, the cerulean waters of the flooded caldera are some of the cleanest and clearest in the world, encircled by jagged mountain peaks and thick evergreen forest carpeted in wildflowers. A 33-mile driving loop around the crater rim promises panoramic vantage points at every turn, and the park feels particularly special in winter when it's dusted in snow and rangers lead snowshoe treks through the forest. Nearby Bend is a convenient jumping-off points for day trips into the park; base yourself at the boutique Oxford Hotel in the city’s historic downtown.
DENALI NATIONAL PARK
Alaska is flush with national parks, but Denali has a trump card: it’s home to North America’s tallest peak. Towering over the Alaskan skyline at over 20,000 feet high, Denali Mountain – or ‘The Great One’ – sits in the heart of six million acres of remote, rugged wilderness and an awe-inspiring landscape of glistening glaciers and desolate tundra. The park provides a natural habitat for Alaska’s very own Big Five, and there are few better places to see moose, grizzlies, bald eagles and wolves in their natural habitat. To be right in the centre of the action, a stay at fully-exclusive Sheldon Chalet – perched on top of a glacier – is true bucket-list stuff. Just south of the park, Winterlake Lodge is only accessible by air – and guests are whisked off on daily heli-hikes to explore the park at its exhilarating best.
