While National Parks have become more popular in recent years, there are also some extremely beautiful state parks that need to be on your radar.
Here are my must dos:
1. Valley of Fire SP, NV – this underrated gem is just an hour from the bright lights of Las Vegas & probably my fav in the entire US. Driving into the park is mind blowing amongst the winding road carved between the otherworldly red rocks. Hitting the 3 mi Fire Wave is a must do, as well as the White Domes slot canyon loop trail (don’t rush it & take some time to scale up some of the tempting rock overhangs).
2. Snow Canyon SP, UT – this one wasn’t even on my radar but a weekend based out of St. George changed that. This park is a blast, as I combined butterfly, petrified dunes, whiptail, red sands for 5.6mi of bliss, which also included exploring 2 lava tubes. Jenny’s canyon slot was very short, but a must see & ending with Scout cave prior to sunset is stunning.
3. Hocking Hills SP, OH – don’t sleep on this amazing spot in southwestern Ohio. The Rock House is extremely fun to climb into, while I combined a bunch of trails into a 7.5 mile marathon because I was just having too much fun (Cedar falls to Whispering Cave to Broken Rock Falls to Old Man’s Cave to Lower Falls).
4. Custer SP, SD – this one was a whirlwind but I remember how deeply the serenity at Lake Sylvan swept over me as I circled the lake amongst all the rock ledges & crevices watching the kayakers. Driving the tight Needles highway (just 8 ft wide x 9 ft 9 in tall clearance) was a blast amongst the towering spires, tight tunnels & epic black hills views!
5. Goblin Valley SP, UT – it’s worth the miles into nowhere Utah to visit this wonder. I snagged a last minute campsite & had 2 days to get lost in all the crazy hoodoos. But my highlight was making the trek to the backside of the Goblin’s Lair & scaling down into a remote cave!
BONUS: while it’s not technically a SP, Garden of the Gods, CO is a free park in Colorado Springs that is 100% addictive. The red rocks rival those in southern Utah & keep me coming back for more.
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