Your Outdoor Personality: Land Rover
Ground control to Major Tom: Make a trip to one of these otherworldly landscape, and you'll feel like you're on another planet.
Hawai'i Volcanoes, Hawai'iThis part has two of the world's most active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. That means you can see live steam vents lava-formed black rock, and a glowing "lava lake" at night.
Badlands, South Dakota
This supernatural landscape, filled with eroded buttes and pinnacles, has rich mammal fossil beds and is surrounded by prairie that's home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, wildflowers, and birds.
Petrified Forest, Arizona
The trees here are horizontal: This national park is one of the world's largest concentrations of petrified logs--trees that turned from wood to multi-hue stone millions of year ago. Stop at the overlooks to see the vibrant rolling hills of bentonite clay and sandstone sediment called the Painted Desert.
Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Formed from eight eruptive periods out of the Great Rift (cracks in the earth that stretch 52 miles), this NPS site preserves an expanse of ancient lava flows that cover 618 square miles.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
You can explore the unique natural amphitheaters, plateaus, and "hoodoos"--eroded pillars of rock created by rain, snow, and frost--by foot, car (take the 18-mile scenic drive), or horseback.
Yellowstone, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana
Geysers, yes (Old Faithful is one of about 500). But also waterfalls, canyons, lakes, mountains, and hot springs--all resting on an active volcano.
Your Outdoor Personality: Desert Explorer
You'll take the dry heat any day to see the forests of cacti and wildlife that thrice in harsh environments.
Grand Canyon, ArizonaExperience this American icon from all vantage points: Explore the South Rim, then the 1,000-feet-higher (and less crowded) North Rim. For a more challenging trip, hike, walk, or boat the inner canyon.
Big Bend, Texas
Even though you get a wide contrast of terrains--mountains, rivers, volcanic highlands--most of Big Bend is the Chihuahuan Desert.
Joshua Tree, California
Be sure to visit the high and low elevations of this desert, where you'll find creosote bushes, Mojave yuccas, ocotillo, and cholla cactus--and maybe catch a glimpse of the endangered desert tortoise.
Death Valley, California and Nevada
It's a land of extremes: Death Valley has the highest-recorded temperature on Earth and the lowest spot in North America (Badwater, 282 feet below sea level), and yet Telescope Peak is snow-covered much of the year.
Saguaro, Arizona
Part desert, part mountains: Walk the Desert Discovery Nature Trail to see the saguaro cacti, then head to the Rincon Mountain District for hiking and scenic overlooks.
Zion, Utah
These majestic 2,000-foot sandstone cliffs are home to 1,000 plant species and 207 bird species, including the endangered California condor.
Your Outdoor Personality: Tree Hugger
Just imagine: You're wandering down a shady path of ancient sequoias. Or surrounded by towering redwoods. Many parks have forests, but these are must-see landmarks.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon, CaliforniaThis national park was established to protect the largest tree on earth, the sequoia, from logging. Also on hand: Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.
Congaree, South Carolina
Boardwalks and canoe trails offer easy access to the largest expense of old-growth hardwood forest in the United States.
Olympic, Washington
Walk in this rain forest--initially protected because of its elk herd--among conifers, bigleaf maples, Douglas firs, western hemlock, and red cedar, and you'll experience the earth's greatest density of living organisms in a given area (aka biomass).
Redwood, California
The main attraction here are the 350-foot-tall redwood trees, and you can pick your path to see them, whether it's hiking, biking, or paddling down the Smith River.
Muir Woods National Monument, California
Located 11 miles north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, this monument preserves an old-growth redwood forest in honor of naturalist and environmental conservationist John Muir.
Shenandoah, Virginia
Combine a scenic drive with walks through the forest as you make your way up 105-mile Skyline Drive through the heart of the park.
Your Outdoor Personality: Mountaineer
Give me peaks, lots of peaks, and elevation, too. You want your head in the clouds with your feet on the ground to experience the thunderous waterfalls and crystal lakes.
Grand Teton, WyomingSo many ways to take in the snow-capped peaks: Drive the Teton Park Road where you may see the antelope-like pronghorn, hike to one of the lakes, or float down the Snake River.
Glacier, Montana
See the beauty of glaciers through mountains, lakes, and Going-to-the-Sun Road, the world-famous 50-mile highway. Look for mountain goats and bighorn sheep at Logan Pass, the highest point you can get to by car.
Denali, Alaska
You can try all levels of adventures here, including a tour bus trip through the park (look for the caribou!), nature walks, and even mountaineering on Denali, North America's tallest peak.
Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina and Tennessee
These mountains are history. They preserve the living heritage of the Cherokee Indians, log buildings and structures from the pioneer and Depression eras, and the Appalachian Trail.
Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio
You're just outside Cleveland and Akron, but the deep forests and the Towpath trail that follows the historic route of the Erie Canal take you worlds away.
Your Outdoor Personality: Water Baby
Are you just as happy paddling a kayak as you are relaxing on a beach? Is time at the shore your ideal vacation? Bet you didn't realize so many of our beaches are part of the National Parks Services, too.
Everglades, FloridaThis vast, protected ecosystem is home to abundant wildlife, including endangered manatees and crocodiles.
Channel Islands, California
Our own Galapagos, the islands' isolation has allowed endemic fox, lizard, salamanders, and bird species to thrive. Catch glimpses of humpback, minke, gray, and blue whales on your boat trip out.
Acadia, Maine
Part island, part mainland, Acadia's 50,000 acres include Maine's rocky coastline, forests, mountains, and carriage roads. From October 7 to March 6, Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina
On three barrier islands in the Outer Banks, Cape Hatteras offers long stretches of beach, ocean-view camping, a home for sea turtles, and some of the best stargazing on the East Coast.
Biscayne, Florida
Shore up your sea legs so you can kayak, cruise, or snorkel in the blue waters to see butterfly fish, parrot fish, sea turtles, and all the creatures in the coral reef.
Fire Island National Seashore, New York
No cars allowed! You'll take a ferry to Fire Island, where you can mix hiking and biking with beach days.
Favorite Hikes from Park Rangers
Echo Canyon Loop (Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona)Half a mile from the trailhead, you'll reach the grotto, an amazing rock formation, including a big boulder suspended between two rock spires. you'll continue to walk through oak and pine trees mixed with cacti and agaves, so you'll get to see plants from all four ecosystems. The 3.3-mil loop is long enough to fee like you've done something without taking all day.
Au Sable Lighthouse Trail (Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan)
You'll walk along the Lake Superior shoreline for 1.5 miles, passing remnants of a 19th-century shipwreck, before reaching 10 acres of historic red-brick structures surrounding the lighthouse, which you can go into. Along the way, listen for songbirds, which migrate south for more than 100 miles over water to get here in late summer.
Dingmans Creek Trail (Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania)
It may be short, but this .8-mile out-and-back is packed with scenery. You'll pass Silverthread Falls almost immediately, then end at a viewing platform overlooking Dingmans Falls, the second highest waterfall in Pennsylvania. Since the trail is a boardwalk almost the whole way, it's stroller- and wheelchair-accessible. And the dense foliage and cool stream help keep the temperature down.
Cheeseboro Canyon Trail (Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California)
The trail follows an old ranching road and passes through a valley with golden grass-covered hills on either side. You'll likely see woodpeckers, but you'll definitely see their acorns stashed away in perfectly drilled holes in the oak trees. The trail extends 4.6 miles from the trailhead, but I recommend turning around the near the picnic area, about 1.6 miles from the trailhead.
Trillium Gap Trail (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee)
To get to the trailhead, you drive along the 6-mile Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, passing historic cabins and other structures from the late 1800s. Once on the trail, you'll walk through an old-growth forest. You can turn around after a mile and a half at Grotto Falls, a waterfall you can walk behind, or continue to the top of Mount Le Conte. Watch for the llamas carrying supplies to the lodge!
