Cool Green Science: 10 Great National Parks You’ve Never Heard Of

1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
2. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
3. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
4. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
5. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
6. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
7. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
8. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
9. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
10. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

We’ve been to half of these parks:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Went there in 2005, but only on a brief visit. We had planned one or two longer hikes there, but André sprained his ankle a few days before so anything more than a few yards of hobbling around were out.

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Visited in 2002 while traveling around Arizona and New Mexico.

[I don’t have a photo of this because back in 2002, we still used slide film instead of a digital camera.]

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

We spent a few days there in 2005 and went on a cave tour and a guided hike, among other things. We were the only two people who showed up for the guided hike, so we got a very exclusive tour. We also enjoyed the evening meetings around the campfire. Highly recommended!

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

We briefly visited during our first trip to the US in 1999 and returned for a longer stay in 2012. Recommendations: the trail through Cohab Canyon (plus two Fruita overlooks), and the freshly-baked fruit pies you can buy at the Gifford homestead.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

We also visited this park in 2005 and loved walking around in the dunes.