August is National Parks Month, which is the perfect excuse to get out and see some summertime beauty, as well as the majesty of the onset of fall.
In addition to our list of 10 National Parks Not To Miss, here are some other facts you may have not known about our country’s most precious natural resources.
- The United States has 58 protected areas known as national parks, which are operated by the National Park Service, and almost 400 national park sites (including monuments and battlefields).
- The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 13.2 million acres, it is larger than each of the nine smallest states in America.
- Twenty-seven states have national parks. Alaska and California have the most, each with eight, followed by Utah with five and Colorado with four.
- The most-visited national park is Great Smoky Mountains, with more than 9 million visitors in 2011.
- Visitors can only reach Alaska's Kobuk Valley National Park by foot, dogsled or snowmobile.
- The National Park System covers more than 84 million acres of land in U.S. states and territories.
- The largest living thing is the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park.
- Denali National Park, in Alaska, has the highest elevation of any US National Park – Mount McKinley, at 20,320 feet.
If you can’t make it to a national park in August, the National Parks Service offers several free dates to see the sites.
Whether you are heading out for a family hike or a week long rugged camping expedition, you’ll need the right gear. Check out Bass Pro Shops for hiking boots and all of the camping gear you need.
Photo credit: iriskh
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