Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the largest protected areas in the Eastern United States. World renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, and the depth and integrity of its wilderness sanctuary. Ridge upon ridge of endless forest straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee,

Yosemite National Park embraces almost 1,200 square miles of scenic wild lands set aside in 1890 to preserve a portion of the central Sierra Nevada that stretches along California's eastern flank. The park was established on October 1, 1890.

Joshua Tree National Park is immense, nearly 800,000 acre. Two deserts, two large ecosystems whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation, come together at Joshua Tree National Park. Below 3,000 feet, the Colorado Desert encompasses the eastern part of the park and features natural gardens of creosote bush, ocotillo, and cholla cactus. The higher, moister, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the Joshua tree

Sequoia National Park - many groves of the remarkable giant sequoia are found scattered along the moist, west-facing slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, between elevations of 5,000 and 7,000 feet. The scale and grandeur of these reddish giants is quite stunning, and there are many easy foot trails that wind through the woody groves leading to quiet undisturbed places, ideal to contemplate the ambience of the forest.

Shenandoah National Park lies astride of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains between Pennsylvania and Georgia. The oldest rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains were created over a billion years ago as magma deep within the earth's crust moved upward. Around 10,000 years ago, but seconds in geologic time, the first traces of humans were recorded on the land that would become the park. Native Americans seasonally visited the area to hunt, to gather nuts and berries, and to find sources for and to make their stone tools. In the valley to the west is the Shenandoah River.

Yellowstone National Park: Long before any recorded human history in Yellowstone, a massive volcanic eruption spewed an immense volume of ash that covered all of the western U.S., much of the Midwest, northern Mexico and some areas of the eastern Pacific. Yellowstone's name is historically credited to Native Americans Minnetaree tribe called the river "Mi tsi a da zi," which means "Rock Yellow River." The name is basically derived from the Yellowstone River.

North Cascades National Park: Native people have lived along the Skagit River for many centuries. Many different bands have traditionally occupied the Skagit valley. Today these bands are represented by the Upper Skagits, the Sauk and Suiattle tribes, and the Swinomish. Archeologists have found evidence that the Upper Skagit band lived in the area now called Ross Lake National Recreation Area at least 8,000 years ago.