There are also other tracts of land designated as National Monuments, National Forests, National Wilderness Areas, and other open public lands managed predominantly by the Department of the Interior, The Food and Drug Administration, The Department of Agriculture, and The Environmental Protection Agency. As well, when you go down one level of governance, most of this oversight is replicated for even more lands at the state level, with State Parks and State Monuments being most common. Some State Parks are every bit as grand as National Parks, generally not as large, though there are many exceptions.

My wife and I did a little 6,000 mile road trip last year. Hoping for 7,000 miles this fall. I have seen the Grand Canyon in books, movies and documentaries my entire life. Nothing....Repeating nothing....Prepared me for walking to the South Rim of the Canyon at Mathers Point. It is breath taking. We made a point of hitting sunrise and sunset each day while visiting for photography. There was a thunderstorm the evening of the second day. My wife convinced me to drive to the canyon. As we pulled into the parking lot, the clouds broke and the sun came out. The short walk to the rim, revealed a partial rainbow, stretching half way down into the canyon. It remained for nearly an hour. Because of the storm, we nearly had the canyon to ourselves. It was magical. Zion, magical. Glenn Canyon, wow. Goose Necks State Park, unreal...8 people in the entire park. Valley of the Gods, gorgeous Arches, incredible.

The National Parks as stated in this video encompass 85 million acres (roughly). The area of the UK is 60 million acres (approximately), which gives you an idea of the scale.

Redwood Forest was used as the planet Endor in Return of the Jedi

I’m not from there, but pound for pound and dollar for dollar… The most beautiful part of the country is the Pacific Northwest…whether you go to a National Park or not: I always recommend to international visitors, fly into Los Angeles, and drive along the Pacific Coast Highway all the way up to Washington (the state). You can then drive back south through Idaho, Nevada, Arizona…or go even further east and catch some of Montana, Wyoming or Utah. Because the country is so big, this route covers a lot of ground. You simply have to leave other parts of the country for subsequent trips.

National parks--state parks-city parks something for everyone everyone

When the scenery looks like a Bob Ross painting you know its good

The Redwoods can be over 400 ft tall. Amazing.😊

It snows in the winter in the Grand Canyon. It also snows in many Utah National Parks even though they can get very hot in the summer.

Wrangell St Elias National Park in Alaska is 41% of the size of England, 68.5% of the size of Scotland, and 256% of the size of Wales. It's a massive park.

If you like the lakes, Forrests,, mountains, and ocean. I Highly suggest the Olympic national park. I'm a bit partial to it,being it's my back yard. It's amazingly beautiful here in the pacific northwest.

On the passport issue: Before the increased security restrictions brought on by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, American citizens did not need a passport to enter Mexico. That has changed since 2002. American citizens do not need a passport to enter Canada. They have never needed one. There are guard-checks at the border, certainly, with a glance at drivers' licenses and that type of scanning, but no "official papers" are warranted. Also, there was (and still is) the sun and sand of the Caribbean. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, as are the U. S. Virgin Islands and St. John, St. Croix, St, Thomas, among others outlying territories. No passport is required at any of those destinations, of course. These destinations accept the U.S. dollar as currency. Some nations in the neighborhood, like Ecuador and Panama, use the U.S. dollar as their official currency. There are many others. There are 11 nations that have officially pegged their currency to the U.S. dollar and use it as their official currency, and there are 65 nations globally (nearly one-third) where American currency is gladly accepted as payment. No currency exchange required. That includes the member-states of the European Union (especially at hotels.) Because of the exchange rate(s), I have purchased items using the American dollar while traveling in Canada and have actually received money back . . . So, nearly the entire North American continent, the Caribbean, great swaths of South America and elsewhere where American citizens either do not require a passport to travel or do not need to exchange currency. Do you want to bury your toes in the sand in a Caribbean or Pacific resort, or go skiing at a world-class lodge, or visit sand dunes and surf or quaint mountain villages or picturesque farming towns or historic districts or a gambling haven or amazing theme parks and studios and libraries and museums and outrageous restaurants as well as stunning city-life and more, all of that can be experienced not just within the Western Hemisphere but within the United States itself; each of the 50 states is, culturally, its own country . . . If you have a hankering to see the Eifel Tower or the Great Wall of China, get a passport, and visit Europe and/or Asia. *But you don't need to fly to the rest of the world to have a WORLD of travel opportunities at your footsteps.* Before the creation of the European Union, Europeans had no choice but to hold passports to travel in order to experience different climates and cultures. I wonder what the percentage is currently, since the advent of the European Union . . . and are they truly necessary within that arena?

If you like Mountains and cold I would recommend the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Visit Rocky Mountain National Park. And, Colorado has some of the best ski resorts in the world. The other place I would recommend is northern New England. Visit Acadia National Park in Maine. The best time to visit Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont is during fall foliage in October, when the leaves change color.

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

And Colorado has highest sand Dunes in US!!! WE GOT the Pikes Peak hillclimb over 200 turns many with no guardrails

I love the Colorado Rockies(snow, beautiful mountains), Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns(my personal favorites), then go-on to the other great national parks. Besides national parks, there are all the state parks that are good as well. I've traveled a bit out of the U.S., but for vacationing, I have enjoyed my 74 years in this country. ❤

ALL 63 USA NATIONAL PARKS BY SIZE Wrangell-St Elias [Alaska] 33,682.6 sq km Gates of the Arctic [Alaska] 30,448.1 sq km Denali [Alaska] 19,185.8 sq km Katmai [Alaska] 14,870.3 sq km Death Valley [California] 13,793.3 sq km Glacier Bay [Alaska] 13,044.6 sq km Lake Clark [Alaska] 10.602.0 sq km Yellowstone [Wyoming] 8,983.2 sq km Kobuk Valley [Alaska] 7,084.9 sq km Everglades [Florida] 6,106.5 sq km Grand Canyon [Arizona] 4,862.9 sq km Glacier [Montana] 4,100.0 sq km Olympic [Washington] 3,733.8 sq km Big Bend [Texas] 3,242.2 sq km Joshua Tree [California] 3,217.9 sq km Yosemite [California] 3,082.7 sq km Kenai Fjords [Alaska] 2,710.0 sq km Isle Royale [Michigan] 2,314.0 sq km Great Smoky Mountains [North Carolina/Tennessee] 2,114.2 sq km North Cascades [Washington] 2,042.8 sq km Kings Canyon [California] 1,869.2 sq km Sequoia [California] 1,635.2 sq km Hawaii Volcanoes [Hawaii] 1,395.4 sq km Canyonlands [Utah] 1,366.2 sq km Grand Teton [Wyoming] 1,254.7 sq km Rocky Mountain [Colorado] 1,075.8 sq km Channel Islands [California] 1,009.9 sq km Badlands [South Dakota] 982.4 sq km Capitol Reef [Utah] 979.0 sq km Mount Rainier [Washington] 956.6 sq km Petrified Forest [Arizona] 895.9 sq km Voyageurs [Minnesota] 883.1 sq km Shenandoah [Virginia] 811.2 sq km Crater Lake [Oregon] 741.5 sq km Biscayne [Florida] 700.0 sq km Zion [Utah] 595.9 sq km White Sands [New Mexico] 592.2 sq km Redwood [California] 562.5 sq km Great Sand Dunes [Colorado] 434.4 sq km Lassen Volcanic [California] 431.4 sq km Saguaro [Arizona] 375.9 sq km Guadalupe Mountains [Texas] 349.5 sq km Great Basin [Nevada] 312.3 sq km Arches [Utah] 310.3 sq km Mammoth Cave [Kentucky] 293.3 sq km Theodore Roosevelt [North Dakota] 285.1 sq km Dry Tortugas [Florida] 261.8 sq km Mesa Verde [Colorado] 212.4 sq km Acadia [Maine] 198.6 sq km Carlsbad Caverns [New Mexico] 189.3 sq km Bryce Canyon [Utah] 145.0 sq km Wind Cave [South Dakota] 137.5 sq km Haleakala [Hawaii] 135.5 sq km Cuyahoga Valley [Ohio] 131.8 sq km Black Canyon of the Gunnison [Colorado] 124.6 sq km Congaree [South Carolina] 108.0 sq km Pinnacles [California] 108.0 sq km Indiana Dunes [Indiana] 62.1 sq km Virgin Islands [U.S. Virgin Islands] 60.9 sq km American Samoa [American Samoa] 33.4 sq km New River Gorge [West Virginia] 28.4 sq km Hot Springs [Arkansas] 22.5 sq km Gateway Arch [Missouri] 0.8 sq km

There's more to "Black Canyon", specifically, "of the Gunnison" (River). Crater Lake is what's left of Mt. Mazama, which blew its top thousands of years ago, much like Mt. St. Helen did, leaving a crater that eventually filled with snowmelt and rainwater, which means there are no rivers in or out: the reason for the brilliant blue of the water. After Glacier Bay was Grand Canyon, but they forgot to label it.😒 Interesting fact here about Death Valley: it holds the world record for the highest recorded temperature: somewhere around 130F, but there's also a 12,000 ft./3658m mountain there, which more than enough altitude to have a constant snow cap on it. The Star Wars scene was the speeder bike chase in #3--Return of the Jedi. I'm not certain that all 8 of Alaska's national parks. They are Denali, Kenai Fjords, Lake Clark, Katmai (CAT-my), Wrangell--St. Elias (3rd. largest in the world), Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic, and Glacier Bay.

The national parks are the American answer to the European cathedrals. In addition there are hundreds of state parks throughout the country. My hometown has many parks. One quite impressive. I used to run in it, frequently alone or with few people.

Oh so many beautiful parks to visit. I would definitely start with the national parks but when you’re visiting the national park also go to the many many state parks which may be smaller but just as beautiful. I know a lot of Americans that spend their whole life just traveling to the national and state parks on their yearly vacations. Some fly to all the parks but many just drive all around the country either staying in the beautiful bed and breakfast lodgings or hotels and you wouldn’t believe all the travel campers/ Rv’s on the roads going to these wonderful places. I know along the coast where I live there’s a whole life style of people and families that sail up and down the coastline and living on their boats all around the coastal communities of this country. My relatives would sail their sailboat all the way from Maine where they would live in the summer in their house and sail down to the Caribbean to stay every winter on their boat. The opportunities are almost endless here.

I did white water rafting in that West VirginiaGorge once….we went right under the bridge pictured.

There are also over 10,000 State parks in the U.S. as well.

Just remember that wildlife is free in the parks. Nothing is truly tame in them!

I've been to a couple parks but the best was Grand Canyon in Arizona which is one of the 7 wonders of the world, I also hiked it before and camped out in the bottom of the canyon

I am currently on a cross country road trip right now and by the end of it, I will have visited 9 of the 63 and it is already a pretty massive undertaking

@mikehermen3036

19 күн бұрын

Just counted for myself - I have been to 21 so 1/3 done. But it has taken decades; I need to pick up the pace.

It cost to go into the parks but it's better just to pay i believe it is $82 to get what they call a Passport. And it's good for the whole year. You'll go in and out of all the national parks just with that Passport and a also stamp it to let you know where you've been.

Olympic National Park is absolutely awesome. Personally i believe it is the best park of them all🤘🇺🇸🏴‍☠️especially the rainforest & Sasquatch 🤙

@MagsonDare

24 күн бұрын

I've seen on other videos that Olympic is surprisingly "unvisited" despite being only about a 2-hour drive from the Seattle metro area. For you non-Americans... that's considered "practically next door" to folks west of the Mississippi. :P

Grand Canon is worth it if you contact the tourist company that takes you in to the canyon via helicopter and then gives you a boat ride inside the canyon. Otherwise you’re at a lookout point peeking over the edge. There are also tours with guides inside the canyon, haven’t done that but I did a small 5 person plane from Sedona and flew over the canyon then to a helicopter that took us down in to the canyon to a boat. Oddly enough the pricing for the Copter and Boat portion was very reasonable. They make the helicopter ride straight through the canyon pretty fun too. I also did the view from the lookout point that I’ve mentioned. I would use my money for Utah or most definitely Yosemite. Not red rock but just an amazing place. Remember there are also very large and amazing State Parks on top of the National parks to explore. I would make it a point to pick places with really good hiking paths, and make sure to take hiking polls with you. There’s never been a hike I’ve regretted going on no matter how hard it was. It’s truly what will make your parks experience the most memorable.

@mikehermen3036

19 күн бұрын

Grand Canyon has many viewpoints over its hundreds of miles. And several trails down into it. You do not need a guide. Although the Rim - to Rim hike are very tough. 24 miles of linear hiking with a vertical mile down and then a vertical mile back up.

We know the fastest land animal is the cheetah in Africa. But the US has the 2nd fastest land animal in the world. The prong horn antelope, and it can reach speeds in excess of 60 mph.

I love the grand canyon, however, most people just stay on the top rim. It's a beautiful site, but most people only stay for a couple of hours. Where most other national parks you can camp, hike, and fish

@mikehermen3036

19 күн бұрын

You can hike on 600 miles of trail and camp at the top or the bottom (7 campgrounds). You can also whitewater raft and fish in the river. Pretty much like any other park.

Yellowstone is cold at night even in the summer.

I wish they would have actually shown you Mt. Rainier National Park itself, rather than a view of the mountain from downtown Seattle. The mountain is surrounded by a huge park.

Yellowstone is really good for visiting the Buffalo, Faithful geyser.

The combined area of all U.S. National Parks is 212,000 square kilometers (more than half the total is in Alaska). For comparison, the land area of the UK is 242,741 sq. km.

There's no way a video can capture the true scale of all the parks. First, this only scratches the surface as there are HUNDREDS of STATE parks in addition to these national ones, and for any one of these parks they could create thousands of photos to show you the enormity of that park. Take the Metroparks system in Ohio that was in this video, for example. I live in that area, and there are so many parks within that single park that one could spend two decades exploring all that there is to see, and that's just one corner of the state of Ohio! The Mammoth cave you saw in that video? Do you know? The KNOWN (i.e., mapped out) area of Mammoth is the size of Scotland!!

Right az has alot of state parks that are nicer then grand cayon. Petrified Forest ( trees so old they stone); painted desert, meteor canyon where meteor hit the earth plus nasa museum there. Montazemu castle old pueblo city in the cliff the list goes on

Where I live in the US, I can be in three different national Parks in less than 20 minutes.

I have been to 37 of the National Parks , To me the best one by far was the US Virgin Islands , So pretty & peaceful , i want to move there , The National Forest are awesome too Great camping

If you like cayons four conors winslow az you can hit all in utah, Colorado,and az . Four conors the only place where four states met,az,utah,new mexico, Colorado

@catherinelw9365

21 күн бұрын

Corners.

Yosemite. Hike to Nevada falls.

Look up yosemite national park tours

I am 60 and I don’t have a passport. I can go to Hawaii Florida any where

3 in my state of Washington.

I also recommend renting a RV to make the drive.

There is this little bit of misinformation Brits have regarding Americans lacking passports and not traveling abroad. First of all the US is only second to China in outbound tourism expenditure worldwide from 2019 to 2021 followed by Germany, France, and Great Britain respectively. For Americans that do not care to travel abroad, there's reasonable explanation as to why. The United States is a huge country with an incredible climate diversity. Here you find large temperate forests, arid grasslands, deserts, and large mountain ranges. There are areas that exhibit Mediterranean climate as well as tropical regions. The US has a more diverse climate than Europe, China, Australia, or Russia and compromises several different regions each with its own rich history and cultural identity. Any country in Europe would be size equivalent to a state in the US with its land mass occupying a little less than the whole continent of Europe. traveller. I would say very few Americans would ever be able to visit even half the states in one lifetime. There's almost just too much to see and do.

Come to the Texas Panhandle. We can hike Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the U.S. And I will buy ya'll the biggest, best steak you ever had.

Idk how our founders made their way through this country to discover and map it all

Y'all need to watch Unreal Earth. 😊

You can live an entire lifetime in the US and never explore everything. Not even close.

Does anyone ever watch these videos and think….”What country would be crazy enough to travel through ours in an attempt to Invade”? Lmao. Our land is too rugged and full of people too familiar with the land….anyone attempting to invade would have to seek life support from the elements of nature alone. 😂

Jedi.

There are many State parks to visit also. As an example the Florida Park Service is one of the largest in the country with 175 State parks, trails and historic sites spanning more than 813,000 acres and 100 miles of sandy white beach.

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

But Florida sucks

@user-qp8jh9vl7v

3 күн бұрын

@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN you are entitled to your mistaken opinion. Enjoy your day.

The Top 5, most popular NP you should visit, IMO, are in no order, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, those 3 ranks in the top 3. Then, after that, chose what you want, trees and forest and streams and wildlife, go to Alaska, If you want tropical beaches, hot weather, pick one in Florida....

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

Nope Florida sucks hurricanes gators...totally flat and boring large insects oppressive hear and humidity...Colorado way better...They just plowed out The highest paved road there Trail Ridge Road finally

Thing is about our national parks an Smokey mountain is probably most visited an my home state in Tennessee we have some 52 state parks may not be equal but breath taking as well

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

Nope

Check out a Puerto Rico video. There's a nice rainforest. Its a hour flight from NY. Best beaches in the world

@mattwonder4657

24 күн бұрын

Ny to Puerto Rico is not an hour flight

@MagsonDare

24 күн бұрын

@@mattwonder4657 Since it says "a hour" it looks like s/he meant to type a number (likely a 4 since that's how long it is) but it didn't register.

Next to Alaskan parks, Yellowstone is the best for seeing wildlife.

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

Nope Rocky Mtn National has moose bears and Elk and deer and rattlesnake and Bighorn sheep Mt lions and more

Glacier National Park in Montana is great for mountains and snow... even in the summer when it is warm. Only rich Americans get passports because you have to fly to get out of the country as you don't need a passport to travel to Canada or Mexico where you can drive and it is soooo expensive to live in the US that not many can afford to leave.

@hastings22

24 күн бұрын

I'm a nobody that works in a grocery store. I wanted to go to Europe so I saved for a year I ate Campbell's soup and ramen to save money. It was so worth it!

@catherinelw9365

21 күн бұрын

I’m not rich and I have a passport. That’s absurd.

Just a fact they have to shut grand canyon south gate and north gate on winter because of snow. We have big ski resort near grand canyon Nothing kooler then being on top of storms in grand canyon looking down at rain. Alot of starwars was film in az as we have 2 film studio here especially cowboy film from the 1950

Please look for videos of architect Frank Llyod Wright's falling water home. Also known as the house on the waterfalls. Also look for videos of Ohio Pyle state park.

Don't forget the tropics of Hawaii. Puerto Rico is an American territory as well. Plan your trip for Autumn. Fall, football, food, and the frights. Football from peewee to pros will be rocking. October the leaves change color and fall to the ground, baseball's World Series is going on, "trick or treat/ beggars night", with costumes and candy, the month the US celebrates horror. November is food on Thanksgiving and football. December is snow, Christmas, and you guessed it football.

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

Where??? Nope

Los Ladrones National Park❤❤

@DENVEROUTDOORMAN

3 күн бұрын

Nope

Of the 63 parks, only 16 are free entry all the time. Redwoods in CA is one of them. They do have a few days a year where they make them all free so you'd have to do your research. You should check out a video from THE A & S WAY - Yosemite National Park | Unbelievable First Visit. They are Brits who live here and they did a staycation at Yosemite with some friends and hike around Yosemite. From what I understand, Yellowstone is overrated and it makes sense. Yosemite is way better if you want the views but you have to work for it with the hiking, lol.

@MagsonDare

24 күн бұрын

IMO, the "main loop" of Yellowstone is largely overrated (though still has some breathtaking spots), but if you get out more toward the corners of the park then it gets really nice, and far less crowded since the most tourist-y spots are all on that main loop road. I think Grand Teton NP just south of Yelowstone is prettier overall though. OTOH, it doesn't have the thermal features of Yellowstone, so it really depends on what you're wanting to see.

@tinahairston6383

24 күн бұрын

@@MagsonDare that's true. I'd love to go to Grand Teton and Yosemite but Yellowstone is a must just to see Old Faithful and the Prismatic Spring.

For comparison, Yellowstone is about the same size as Whales in the UK.

@catherinelw9365

21 күн бұрын

Wales.

This is a much better vibe compared to your old days of Andrew Taint’s tantrums about society. You’re looking at The Planet! Humans are about 0.00000001 milliseconds of experiencing it: The entire planet is smaller than a cell in the universe and humans are blip in all of it

Not me I like green. Those rocks and dirt just look so ugly to me.

I hate to break your hearts, but Yellowstone is highly overrated. Yosemite is a good one. Many others on the list are nice, but not Yellowstone.

@Tommytwotimes345

24 күн бұрын

grew up around yosemite very beautiful

@andylipiro3862

24 күн бұрын

Apparently you didn't get out of your car or the parking lots. Yellowstone is incredible!!

@e50s65

24 күн бұрын

Facts glacier eats yellowstone for breakfast

@GregB-uc1ky

24 күн бұрын

Yellowstone is beyond awesome. Spent the weekend there 5 years ago...didn't want to leave

@jamesleyda365

24 күн бұрын

Totally agree with the Yellowstone comment Yellowstone is super overrated🤘

Return of the Jedi....the POV speeder scenes were filmed in the redwoods