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By their very nature, national parks are incredibly scenic places. The old saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" doesn't seem to apply. You get a beautiful view just about everywhere you look. Sunsets? Parks virtually have a monopoly on the breathtaking ones. Purple mountain majesties? Got 'em by the truckload. Forests by the Brothers Grimm? Yep, you find these, too. The parks have so many wonderful views that you don't even need to get out of your car to enjoy them — but do pull over and get out. Take a short walk, pull up a rock or downed tree trunk, and look around.
Badwater, Death Valley National Park
Imagine Badwater in August: The sun's glare off the dazzlingly white salt pan pains your eyes, and while you peer upward at a sign on a cliff indicating sea level 282 feet above you, the 120-degree Fahrenheit temperature slowly bakes your body. Pretty intense, eh? This spot is great for photographers any time of year. Just as the temperatures are unusual on the bottom floor of North America in summer, so are the lighting conditions year-round. Early mornings and late afternoons are perfect for experimenting with the play of light across the salt pan's jigsaw puzzle construction. (And it's a heck of a lot cooler at these times than at high noon, too!) Even if you're not a shutterbug, the chance to inspect the ornate fractures that riddle the salt pan and to gaze up at 11,049-foot Telescope Peak is worth a stop.
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park
Curving gracefully over the redrock landscape, Delicate Arch seems to defy gravity. Even in this land of sandstone cliffs and fins, the arch that long has graced Utah's license plates seems utterly out of place. How can you explain the freestanding arch that is perched near the edge of a cliff? Okay, a geologist could offer some technicalities, but that doesn't stop you from marveling at this setting in Arches National Park. Adjacent to one leg of the arch is a massive sandstone sinkhole, a whirlpool time has frozen in place. Although it takes a mile-and-a-half hike to reach the arch, you'll agree the effort is certainly worth it when you're standing at Delicate's base.
Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park
Big, bigger, and biggest. That pretty much sums up the trees in this corner of Sequoia National Park. How do you measure up in comparison? Not even the word tiny accurately describes your diminutive size when you stand next to these trees that soar more than 300 feet and have waist lines measured in tens of feet, not inches. Want even more perspective? Compare your own age to the age of one of these wooden giants, which can live to be 3,200 years old. You won't find just one mighty sequoia in the Giant Forest, but nearly 9,000 of them standing tall over 1,800 acres.
Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park
The drive from the Yosemite Valley floor to the top of Glacier Point is long, and the hike is even longer, but the view is awesome. To the east, the thin ropes of white that seem to dangle from a cliff are Nevada and Vernal falls. Just a bit north of them stands the rock structure known as Half Dome, which resembles a huge loaf of bread. A few thousand feet below your toes is the valley floor, which is not-so-neatly divided by the Merced River, The Ahwahnee hotel, and Curry Village. Keep scanning the horizon, and you find Yosemite Falls and, way off to the northeast in Yosemite's backcountry, the mountain called Clouds Rest. If you want some isolation, check out the view in the winter, when cross-country skis or snowshoes are about the only means of travel to the overlook.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park
Whether you stand on the lip of one of the two waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone or simply view this majestic crack in the earth from one of the numerous observation points, you experience a thing of beauty. When the sun shines, it tints the mist of the falls with rainbows. In winter, the icy setting is enchanting (and dangerous, so watch your footing!). Any time of year, add the falls' frothy might to the yellows, buffs, oranges, chalky whites, and tans of the deep and rugged canyon, and you get an incredible setting. Most visitors get their initial view of the canyon from North Rim Drive (found near Canyon Village), but a more-spectacular view is from Artist Point on South Rim Drive. And don't be shy about walking beyond Artist Point on the South Rim Trail, because most folks usually return to their cars after snapping some pictures from the point's overlook. By taking a short walk, you can enjoy the canyon with a bit more solitude.
Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park
The Hoh Rain Forest doesn't have hobgoblins or fairies, but you may feel that something eerie is watching your every move from a hiding spot in this densely vegetated realm. Lush, dark, and green, this corner of Olympic National Park is North America's largest undisturbed temperate rain forest. Each year, 12 to 14 feet of rain drench the forest, producing trees of astounding size. And blankets of vegetation not only coat the forest floor but also hang like veils from the canopy high overhead. Spongy mosses, ropelike vines, and delicate ferns add to the dazzling scenery.
Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton National Park
A beer commercial was filmed at Oxbow Bend, so you know the setting has to be stupendous. Snow-capped Tetons are off in the distance, and thick forest is all around, but to me, the view of wildlife is the big attraction. Moose, bald eagles, osprey, trumpeter swans, white pelicans, playful river otters, and oodles of ducks crowd this stretch of the Snake River that meanders below Jackson Lake Dam. Plenty of overlooks allow you to pull over in your car and take in the setting, although the best view is from a raft or canoe drifting slowly downstream. Photographers will want a long lens to capture the river corridor's critters (especially the eagles hauling fat trout out of the river) on film.
Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park
Paradise isn't lost in Mount Rainier National Park, where a nicely paved road leads to the Paradise Inn. If you agree that a rustic inn backed up to a snow- and ice-covered mountain has something special, you'll understand what makes this place one of the most gorgeous settings in the park system. Paradise is beautiful in late spring, when wildflowers blossom in the meadows surrounding the inn, or in fall, when the forest blazes with orange and red leaves. (Summer is pretty, too, but with all the people milling about, the natural beauty can be difficult to fully appreciate.)
Point Sublime, Grand Canyon National Park
My high school track coach often told me that nothing worthwhile is ever easily attained. That's definitely the case with Point Sublime, which is located off the beaten path so you won't run into throngs of camera-toting tourists. The view south and southwest into the many-colored gorge of the Grand Canyon is unforgettable, particularly when far-off thunderstorms are rocking and rolling over some distant corner of the canyon. The sunsets imprint themselves on your memory (in case you forget your film).
Zion Canyon Narrows, Zion National Park
There are slot canyons and then there are slot canyons. Zion Canyon Narrows is one of a kind. Walking even a little way into this cliff-lined passage is sort of like entering the bowels of a mountain; in some areas, the sandstone walls tower 2,000 feet overhead, and the passage is only 20 feet wide. What created these dramatic slots? Lots of water and time. Over the course of centuries, the Virgin River cut through the Navajo sandstone and into the Kayenta sandstone. In some places, the polished sandstone was delicately fluted. And the river hasn't finished its job. The water nourishes beautiful hanging gardens and continues to carve away the canyon walls. To truly appreciate the entire slot, you need to make a 16-mile trek that takes you through the canyon. But if you're pressed for time, you can see stunning vistas on a short, 2-mile round-trip walk into the slot from the Temple of Sinawava.
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