Celebrating the US National Parks Centennial

The US National Parks marks its Centennial this August celebrating all the grandeur, scenic beauty and historic conservation of over 84.9 million acres for all to enjoy and explore. You can easily visit and experience all the National Parks within a reasonable drive or even a fantastic road trip to discover many of the national parks that are within easy driving range to each other. With the inclusion of national forests, national monuments and federal wilderness areas, the total amount reaches over 13.9 of American land that is protected nationwide – an amazing amount that have been preserved for everyone to enjoy.

Here are some of my favorite national park journeys in photographs

 

Yosemite National Park

“There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods…and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.”

– President Theodore Roosevelt, 1905

 

The grandeur of  Yosemite in Black and white

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Yosemite below

Scenic hike to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite in black and white

Yosemite photos – key attractions and landscapes

Yosemite history and Indian culture

Ahwhanee Hotel in Yosemite

 

Point Reyes National Seashore

“To cross this valley to the peninsula (Point Reyes) is to leave modern California and enter an island of wilderness, forgotten by progress, a quiet land misplaced in a noisy world.”
–Stephen Trimble

 

 

The beauty of Northern California at Point Reyes

 

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Point Reyes below

Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore – Travel Photo Mondays

Visiting Point Reyes Station

The Grand Canyon

“The glories and the beauties of form, color, and sound unite in the Grand Canyon – forms unrivaled even by the mountains, colors that vie with sunsets, and sounds that span the diapason from tempest to tinkling raindrop, from cataract to bubbling fountain.”
― John Wesley Powell

 

 

Morning scenes of the Grand Canyon

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on the Grand Canyon below

The Grand Canyon morning tour

American Southwest road tour

Popular train destinations in the USA

 

Glacier National Park

“Glaciers are almost gone from Glacier National Park. “

-Donella Meadows

 

Showcase of wildflowers in bloom at Glacier National Park

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Glacier National Park below

Northwest National Park road trip

 

Yellowstone National Park

“Life has evolved to thrive in environments that are extreme only by our limited human standards: in the boiling battery acid of Yellowstone hot springs, in the cracks of permanent ice sheets, in the cooling waters of nuclear reactors, miles beneath the Earth’s crust, in pure salt crystals, and inside the rocks of the dry valleys of Antarctica.”
– Jill Tarter

 

 

 

Vivid landscapes and colors of Yellowstone National Park

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Yellowstone National Park below

Northwest National Park road trip

Wildlife tour at Yellowstone National Park

The Grand Tetons National Park

“One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature — inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice and exult in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last.”

 

-John Muir

 

Dramatic views of the Grand Teton mountain range

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Grand Teton National Park below

Wildlife tour at Grand Teton National Park

 

Zion National Park

One of my favorite national parks is located in Southwestern Utah and just under a three hour drive from Las Vegas.  Zion National Park is approximately a 15 mile canyon in length made mostly of red and tan colored Navaho sandstone carved millions of years by the Virgin River which runs through the bottom of the canyon.   The park covers a lower elevation of 3,666 feet to the tallest elevation at 8,726 making this a cooler mountain area in between mostly desert landscape.  The park includes many fascinating natural features to include: arches, buttes, canyons, waterfalls, mesas, monoliths, rivers and slot canyons.

 

 

Dramatic colors and landscape at Zion

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Zion National Park below

American Southwest road tour

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Every time, I visit San Francisco, I’m always drawn to visiting some of the open coastal areas of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The largest urban recreation area in the city, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area also comprises of five national historic landmarks. They include the following sites: Alcatraz Island, the Presidio of San Francisco, Fort Point National Historic site, San Francisco Port of Embarkation, San Francisco Bay Discovery Site. Along with the historic Presidio of San Francisco, the recreation area also contains four additional forts that originally protected the entrance of San Francisco Bay to include: Fort Point, Fort Barry, Fort Cronkhite and Fort Baker, the later three being located across from the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin headlands and Bay front. The wonderfully preserved headlands on both the Marin and San Francisco coastal areas are filled with coastal trails, beaches and magnificent vista points of natural landscape and combined city views for all to enjoy while spending a day at the recreation area.

 

 

 

Lands End and Baker Beach

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area

San Francisco in black & white

San Francisco in Springtime

Gardens in Golden Gate Park

 

 

Bryce Canyon National Park

 

“Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.”      

– John Muir

 

 

Exploring the rim trail at Bryce Canyon

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Bryce Canyon National Park below

American Southwest road tour

 

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Established in 1916, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is comprised of two active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa and is the home of the Goddess Pele who lives in the crater of Kilauea called Halema’uma’u. The park is blessed with magnificent rain forests, extensive lava tubes, calderas and vast lava fields of Pahoehoe and A’a lava formations. Ancient Hawaiians also came to visit the caldera to honor Pele and create Petroglyphs down the Chain of Craters road in a sacred area called Pu’u Loa. The park is filled with spiritual energy or Mana of supernatural power in which native Hawaiians and even holistic practitioners are drawn to the many energy fields of the area.

 

 

Lava entering the ocean from Kilauea

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Travel Photo Mondays

Hawaii Island – top places to visit on the East side

 

 

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

“Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.”

-John Muir

Covering over 1,254,429 acres of mostly desert landscape, this recreation area also borders the national parks of Canyonlands, Capital Reef and The Grand Staircase – Escalente National Monument. The park was created primarily for recreation purposes with Lake Powell and preservation of historic, scenic and scientific features including Glen Canyon and the Glen Canyon dam which was created in 1966.

 

 

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon dam

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

American Southwest road tour

 

 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The only national park located in Central Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley was established as a national monument and then a national park in 2000. The name comes from Native Americans living in the area and calling the water in the valley below “Kahyonhá:ke or crooked river. Popular attractions include the steep narrow ravines with trails leading down to the bottom and the main waterfall called Brandywine falls, the Ledges overlook and a variety of other waterfalls in the park.

 

 

Impressive falls at Cuyahoga Valley National Park

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cleveland Metro parks

Hinkley Reservation in Ohio

 

Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park

This small 182 acre national historical park was considered a place of refuge as well as a spiritual center and residence for Hawaiian royalty. Hawaiian citizens who broke the Kapu or Hawaiian laws created by the local rulers were automatically severely punished. But normal citizens could avoid punishment by going to these places of refuge to be pardoned by the spiritual leaders at this sanctuary and allowed to return home safely.  Beautifully restored, the park contains historic replicas of temples, boat canoe houses and storage areas, resting grounds, rock walls and other monuments fronting a small harbor area typically filled with honu (sea turtles).

 

 

The Place of Refuge on the Big Island of Hawaii

 

 

Check out some of my favorite posts on Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park

The Place of Refuge

Hawaii Island, key attractions on the west side

 

 

I still have a lot of national parks, monuments and forests to visit and enjoy for the rest of my life and I’m looking forward to spending more time to explore and enjoy these amazing US National Parks.

 

Thanks for visiting today and checking out this post on Celebrating the US National Parks Centennial, hopefully this post will inspire you to visit some of the magnificent US National parks for the centennial celebrations. If you enjoyed the images and post, could you please share it with any of the social media buttons located around the post.

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