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Ganesh Raam
WorkWild
National parks

All sixty-three, eventually.

16Visited
15In the portfolio
63In the system
Where they areHover or tap a park
U.S. Virgin IslandsAmerican SamoaPacific NorthwestCaliforniaand the SierraRockies and Great BasinColorado PlateauDesert SouthwestNorthern PlainsMidwest and the EastFlorida & CaribbeanAlaska
Photographed · 15Visited, photographs coming · 1Not yet · 47
In the portfolio
Overlook Canyon, ZionZionA slot canyon that runs north-south, which means the good light is bounced rather than direct and the season is set by water temperature and flow, not by air temperature.Utah · best Oct – NovBryce Canyon, Bryce CanyonBryce CanyonThe rim sits at 8,000 to 9,100 feet, so Bryce runs a full month behind the Utah parks below it and stays tolerable through a summer that flattens the rest of the state.Utah · best Jan, OctDelicate Arch, ArchesArchesA low desert park with no shade and very short trails, which makes it entirely a temperature question.Utah · best Apr, OctMesa Arch, CanyonlandsCanyonlandsThree districts that do not connect by road, each with its own character and its own driving commitment. Island in the Sky is a day; the Needles is a trip; the Maze is an expedition.Utah · best Apr, OctCapitol Gorge, Capitol ReefCapitol ReefThe quietest of the Utah five, built around a hundred-mile fold in the earth and a pioneer orchard.Utah · best OctSouth Rim, Grand CanyonGrand CanyonTwo rims with different seasons entirely. The South Rim is open every day of the year at 7,000 feet; the North Rim sits 1,000 feet higher and is shut by snow for half of it.Arizona · best Feb, OctBadlands in Late Light, Petrified ForestPetrified ForestA gated park on a high windswept plateau, which means the operating constraint is the closing time rather than the season.Arizona · best Mar, OctBadwater Basin, Death ValleyDeath ValleyThe lowest, driest and hottest place in North America, which inverts the normal calendar completely.California, Nevada · best Feb, NovHalf Dome from Glacier Point, YosemiteYosemiteA valley whose headline subject is water, so the season follows the snowpack.California · best May, OctGeneral Sherman, SequoiaSequoiaThe subject is scale, and scale needs either diffused light or snow. The Giant Forest sits at 6,500 feet, which keeps it comfortable through a summer that ruins the valley below.California · best OctPinnacles, PinnaclesPinnaclesA small chaparral park whose season is set by heat and by bats.California · best Mar – AprQuinault Rainforest, OlympicOlympicThree separate parks under one name.Washington · best Jul, SepAlpine Ridge, Rocky MountainRocky MountainThe most accessible high alpine in the system, reached by a paved road above 12,000 feet.Colorado · best Sep – OctHolei Sea Arch, Hawaii VolcanoesHawaiʻi VolcanoesAn active volcano where the headline subject may or may not exist on the day you arrive, which makes this the one park where the eruption status matters more than the month.Hawaii · best Feb – MarAlaskan Mornings, Kenai FjordsKenai FjordsA tidewater glacier park where almost everything worth seeing is reached by boat from Seward, so swell and fog decide the day more than season does.Alaska · best Sep
The road so far16 parks · 3 of them twice · hover a dot for the park
First park
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          ’2616 parks
          Rock and iceCanyon and lavaDesertForestHigh countryRed rockReturn visitParks so far
          All 63 · by region● In the portfolio○ Visited· Not yet
          Colorado Plateau
          Desert Southwest
          • ·Saguaro
          • ·Joshua Tree
          • ●Death Valley
          • ·White Sands
          • ·Carlsbad Caverns
          • ·Guadalupe Mountains
          • ·Big Bend
          California and the Sierra
          Pacific Northwest
          • ●Olympic
          • ·Mount Rainier
          • ·North Cascades
          • ·Crater Lake
          Rockies and Great Basin
          • ·Yellowstone
          • ·Grand Teton
          • ·Glacier
          • ●Rocky Mountain
          • ·Great Basin
          • ·Great Sand Dunes
          • ·Black Canyon of the Gunnison
          Northern Plains
          • ·Badlands
          • ·Wind Cave
          • ·Theodore Roosevelt
          Midwest and the East
          • ·Voyageurs
          • ·Isle Royale
          • ·Indiana Dunes
          • ·Cuyahoga Valley
          • ·Gateway Arch
          • ·Hot Springs
          • ·Mammoth Cave
          • ·Great Smoky Mountains
          • ·Shenandoah
          • ·New River Gorge
          • ·Congaree
          • ·Acadia
          Florida, Caribbean and the Pacific
          Alaska
          • ·Denali
          • ●Kenai Fjords
          • ·Katmai
          • ·Glacier Bay
          • ·Wrangell-St. Elias
          • ·Lake Clark
          • ·Kobuk Valley
          • ·Gates of the Arctic

          Planning a trip? Parks by Month ranks all 63 for every month of the year.