National Parks in the USA II

Welcome to this new blog post! A few weeks ago I posted a blog post about national parks in the United States. This time, I present some more national parks you have to visit.

One National after another

As mentioned in the other blog post (National Parks in the USA – Part I), I have been lucky enough to already visit many national parks in the United States. Since every park is unique in its own way, it is not easy to decide, which ones I should present in the blog post. After this blog post there will still be many national parks left, but that will provide enough material for future posts on this topic.

National Parks – general information

There are 63 national parks in the USA. In total, these parks cover about the size of Great Britain and have over 33,000 kilometers of hiking trails. National parks help to protect endangered animals and plants. In addition, numerous visitors come every year to see those beautiful natural landscapes with their own eyes. Let us now turn to three highly recommended national parks.

Zion

The Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah. Canyons made of sandstone that are around 170 million years old run through the landscape. Indians also once settled here.

There is is also a relatively large amount of vegetation and many animal species that live here. Among other things, you can encounter some chipmunks. There are many hiking routes that lead into the various canyons.

In the first few months of the year the weather is relatively cold and rainy. The summer months up to October are the most suitable for visiting Zion National Park.

Above all, I can recommend the Riverside walk. As the name suggests, the path leads along the river and in some places you can also hike in the river. A hike there is very relaxing, especially in late summer or fall. It is an unforgettable experience in this beautiful landscape – and the path in the river in particular is also very adventurous.

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier National Park is located in Washington state. The park was named after the volcano Mount Rainier. The volcano is over 4000 meters high and can be easily seen from afar. Most of the time its summit is covered in snow. There are visitor centers and many hiking trails across the mountain landscape. The park has wide grassy areas and countless fir trees.

Due to the numerous hiking trails and the wide open spaces, you won’t encounter many tourists and you can hike in peace without being disturbed by large crowds of people. Most of the paths are a little wider, although they become a little narrower on the mountain slopes. You can really hike for hours in this national park, there are easier and more difficult hiking trails. You can also find snow-covered areas in between.

However, Mount Rainier National Park has a lot of precipitation. Because of the high humidity, Mount Rainier is often covered in clouds for long periods of time. There are also frequent long periods of rain. Peak season is from June to September. July and August are the driest months with many days of good weather, but sudden changes in the weather are also possible during this time.

White Sands

Let’s move on to one of my favorite national parks in the USA: White Sands. This snow-white desert is located in New Mexico.

This sand-like mineral is gypsum. Over time, the mineral was dissolved from rocks in the mountains by precipitation and was deposited as sediment in the Tularosa Basin. Because there is no outlet in the Tularosa Basin, the sediments are trapped within the valley. After the water evaporated, the gypsum crystallized out. The crystals shattered into grains, which were piled up by the wind into huge white, dusty dunes.

In the valley there is also a dry lake that sometimes fills with water: Lake Lucero. Otherwise the conditions there are desert-like. In the evening it starts to get cooler again.

In this national park you feel like you are in another world: sand dunes stretching to the horizon. If you’re ever in the area, don’t miss this park.