Photo: National Park Service
Summer is upon us as temperatures rise and the travel season heats up. If you are still deciding where to vacation this year, consider visiting one of the five national parks established in June.
Photo: Matt Benson
These parks represent some of our most beautiful places. Each offers something unique with scenery and activities. Let’s explore the national parks with a June birthday.
Photo: Kevin Dunlap
Big Bend National Park turns 79 this June. Nestled in far west Texas, it has the darkest skies of any national park in the Lower 48. Big Bend National Park houses iconic temple-like canyons and diverse desert, mountain, and river ecosystems.
Photo: NPS/Ann Wildermuth
Great Smoky Mountains National Park turns 89 this June. America’s most-visited national park got its name for its smoky aura from fog lingering in its forested mountain ridges. The park spans over half a million acres, straddling the North Carolina and Tennessee borders.
Photo: National Park Service
Biscayne National Park turns 43 this month. One of America’s best east coast national parks, it sits about 15 miles offshore from Miami. Often described as a watery wonderland, it comprises turquoise waters, emerald islands, coral reefs, and colorful tropical fish.
Photo: National Park Service
Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado turns 117 this month. The park spans more than 52,000 acres. It houses more than 5,000 known archaeological sites and cliff dwellings, including some of the best-preserved sites on the continent.
Photo: National Park Service
Olympic National Park turns 85 this year. It spans over 922,000 acres in the northwest corner of the United States in Washington. The park comprises diverse ecosystems of glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rainforests, and rugged, wild coastlines.
Photo: NPS/ Danielle Archuleta
Photo: National Park Service