My Top 10 National Parks: Recap

I wrapped up my Top Ten National Parks List last week. I enjoyed making the list and continuing my weekly countdown. I would like to thank those who followed along and especially those who provided some comments or feedback along the way. I follow a lot of other bloggers who travel all over. Many of them have visited a lot of National Parks and enjoy hiking in the parks like I do. I have really enjoyed interacting with like-minded individuals on the subject and with my Top Ten National Parks list. It has gotten me thinking that maybe I’ll have to do a similar list of my favorite National Parks hikes (if I can possibly narrow it down).

You may be wondering why some National Parks have been left off my list. There’s Denali, Redwood, Mount Rainier, and Joshua Tree among many others. I have a very simple answer for that. I haven’t been to those parks… yet. I hope to visit them and many others eventually. So far I have made it to twenty National Parks in the U.S. and three in Canada. I have returned to several of my favorites. Here is a list of the parks I’ve been to so far.

The National Parks I have visited so far:

1. Yellowstone

2. Grand Teton

3. Rocky Mountain

4. Shenandoah

5. Zion

6. Grand Canyon

7. Death Valley

8. Yosemite

9. Badlands

10. Acadia

11. Great Smoky Mountains

12. Crater Lake

13. Olympic

14. Glacier

15. Cuyahoga Valley

16. Arches

17. Canyonlands

18. Capitol Reef

19. Bryce Canyon

20. Petrified Forest

 

Canadian National Parks:

1. Banff

2. Jasper

3. Yoho

 

Some of my rankings were easy (like my top 3) but others were pretty difficult, like the bottom of the list. I’m happy with how my list ended up, but would give Honorable Mention to Rocky Mountain, Crater Lake, Jasper, Arches, and Acadia National Parks. Once my kids are a little older I want to return to the great National Parks of the west. I hope to visit many National Parks that I haven’t yet seen. Over time I’m sure my Top Ten list will change many times.

I don’t want to sound too ignorant and imply that National Parks are the only places that are hope to magnificent landscapes. I may focus on the parks, but I have seen some other awesome places, too. I’ve been to Monument Valley, Havasu Canyon, Niagara Falls, Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, the Adirondacks, Mount Rushmore, Sedona, and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness among others.

 

Here again is the list of my Top Ten National Parks with links to each park:

10. Grand Canyon

9. Yoho

8. Zion

7. Bryce Canyon

6. Yosemite

5. Olympic

4. Banff

3. Yellowstone

2. Grand Teton

1. Glacier