The U.S. National Park Service preserves 58 national parks, 390 parks, historic sites, memorials, and recreation areas that attract nearly 300 million visitors every year. Our U.S. national parks are repositories of the nation’s biological diversity and contain some of the last ecosystem remnants that are found nowhere else in the world. Explore US Parks Online

Shenandoah National Park is a beautiful, historic national treasure which includes the 105-mile long Skyline Drive, a National Scenic Byway. The Park covers the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains for over seventy-five miles. The Appalachian Trail roughly parallels the Skyline Drive and 101 miles of this trail run through the Park. (more…)

There are four national parks in the State of Colorado:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National ParkBlack Canyon of the Gunnison National Park protects a quarter of the Gunnison River, which has dark canyon walls from the Precambrian era. The canyon has very steep descents, and it is a site for river rafting and rock climbing. The narrow, steep canyon, made of gneiss and schist, is often in shadow, appearing black.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Great Sand Dunes National ParkGreat Sand Dunes National Park contains the tallest dunes in North America, which  are up to 750 feet (230 m) tall and neighboring grasslands, shrublands and wetlands. They were formed by sand deposits of the Rio Grande on the San Luis Valley. The park also has alpine lakes, six 13,000-foot mountains, and ancient forests.

 

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park has over 4,000 archaeological sites of the Ancestral Pueblo, who lived here for 700 years. Cliff dwellings built in the 12th and 13th centuries include Cliff Palace, which has 150 rooms and 23 kivas, and the Balcony House, with passages and tunnels.

 

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National ParkRocky Mountain National Park contains sections of the Rocky Mountain ecosystems varying in elevation from the over 150 riparian lakes, to Montane and subalpine forests, to the alpine tundra. Large wildlife including mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, and cougars inhabit these igneous mountains and glacier valleys. Longs Peak and Bear Lake are popular destinations.