Containing the tallest trees on Earth, the country’s first treetop trail, and acreages bigger than some national parks, America’s state parks are staggering. These lands shine in summer and glow in the fall. In the winter, though—with blankets of snow and frozen waterfalls or hushed tropical rivers and snow-white sands—these underrated landscapes shimmer. During the quieter season, winter affords its own distinct tranquility, via snowshoeing through a ghost town or hiking among soaring cacti. Whether you prefer snowy magic or sunny shores, these are the best state parks across the United States to visit this winter.
Catalina State Park in Tucson, Arizona
Swap snow and ice for sand and cacti at Tucson’s Catalina State Park. In the sunniest state in the country, the dog-friendly park offers a welcome reprieve from winter darkness, with 11 trails that weave through forests of mesquite and saguaro cacti and into Coronado National Forest, in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. In addition to hiking, biking, and horseback-riding, the park offers regular events, like the Music in the Mountains concert series, star parties, and guided bird walks.
For reliable snow, March is a fine time to visit Chugach State Park, where you can ski a 21-mile Arctic to Indian backcountry traverse.
Photo by Paxson Woelber/Unsplash
Chugach State Park in Anchorage, Alaska
The defining winter wonderland, Alaska’s vast Chugach State Park—one of the largest in the USA—boasts nearly half a million acres of glaciers, a vast array of wildlife, aurora borealis tours, and jagged, snow-packed peaks. With snowshoeing, hiking, fat-tire biking, and tubing, the park ticks all the boxes for quintessential winter fun, along with cross-country skiing and downhill skiing at Arctic Valley. Self-service cabins and yurts are available to book for winter “camping,” where guests provide their own sleeping bags and food. There are also annual winter events like the Icy River Rampage bike race in the Eagle River Nature Center, a quick 20-minute drive from downtown Anchorage via Glenn Highway.
Myakka River has the first publicly accessible treetop trail in the nation.
Photo by Shutterstock (L); photo by Laurel A Egan/Shutterstock (R)
Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida
On the opposite side of the country, where the winter temps average about 50 degrees warmer than Anchorage, Myakka River State Park offers a serene reprieve from the frost. Winding through untouched wetlands, prairies, and old-growth hammocks, the park is Florida’s first state-designated Wild and Scenic River (which has ensured preservation for 34 miles of river since 1985). Its shores are lined with ancient oaks, sun-basking alligators, and ospreys gliding over kayakers. About 25 feet above, the Myakka Canopy Walkway—the first publicly accessible treetop trail in the country—lets visitors traipse high above it all on a trail extending 100 feet through the canopy. Launched this year, Sarasota Vortex Tours is a new local outfitter that leads small groups through these same landscapes.
Midway, Utah, has Olympic snow trails and a hot spring inside a crater.
Photo by MichaelRitucci/Shutterstock
Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway, Utah
As the site of the 2002 Olympic Nordic skiing events, Wasatch Mountain State Park is a world-class haven for winter sports, including groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and the longest snow tubing lanes in Utah, clocking in at 1,200-feet. Head inside to the communal Wasatch Mountain Sauna, an automated retreat where guests can book a time slot online and receive a sauna door code via email. The park also offers cabin camping, with two that can sleep up to six people each, or, for more upscale accommodations, the Homestead resort is three minutes away and contains a geothermal spring in a 10,000-year-old-crater, where guests can swim, snorkel, and even scuba dive in 96-degree water.
Go waterfall ice climbing in Illinois.
Photo by Nicola Patterson/Shutterstock
Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois
Come winter, visitors to Illinois’s Starved Rock State Park—a 2,630-acre network of bluffs, glacier-carved canyons, and bald eagles—stop chasing waterfalls and start climbing them. In the warmer months, the wooded park flows with more than a dozen waterfalls, but once Illinois’s infamously cold winters sink in, the waters are transformed to super-size icicles. While rock climbing is not permitted on the canyons’ delicate sandstone, ice climbing is permitted in four canyons, on falls like the 20-foot Bridal Veil in LaSalle Canyon or the 60-foot Dual falls in Tonti Canyon. After, warm up at Starved Rock Lodge, a historic stone-and-log structure with an indoor pool, hot tub, 69 rooms, and 21 fireplace-equipped cabins.
Take in wide open spaces—larger than many national parks—in Custer.
Photo by Brizio/Shutterstock
Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota
The granite spires, azure lakes, and thunderous bison herds of South Dakota’s Black Hills are staggering enough during the warmer months, but draped in snow, this rocky paradise reaches another level of majestic. In the heart of it all, Custer State Park is renowned for its scenic byways, pristine lakes, tallest peaks in the state, and ponderosa pine forests that seemingly stretch to infinity. At 71,000 acres, it’s larger than many national parks, with all the wow factor of America’s grandest spaces. Come winter, bundled travelers can have Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, and Black Elk Peak practically to themselves. Along the way, watch for bison herds, and stop to catch the mountain-carving progress at the snow-swept Crazy Horse Memorial, a massive 641-foot-long sculpture that’s been underway since 1948.
Maybe you’ll find ghosts of Christmas past in this ghost town state park.
Photo by Sue Smith/Shutterstock
Bannack State Park in Dillon, Montana
Is cross-country skiing through a ghost town on your winter bucket list? It should be, thanks to Bannack State Park. Home to Montana’s first major gold discovery in 1862, Bannack is among the state’s best-preserved ghost towns and the first territorial capital. While the population has long since ebbed, more than 50 log buildings still harken to a bygone era. During winter, travelers can cross-country ski right through town or skate on a frozen dredge pond. (Skis are BYO, but skate rentals, along with hot drinks, are available at an on-site warming house.)
You can view the tallest trees in the world beyond national parks.
Photo by R. Alan Meyer/Shutterstock
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville, California
What some parks lack in acreage, they make up for in height. In the Sonoma County town of Guerneville, where vineyards make way for redwoods along the Russian River, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve showcases the majesty of the world’s tallest trees, all within easier driving distance from the Bay Area than Redwood National and State Parks further north. This 805-acre temperate rainforest preserves the mighty—yet vulnerable—coast redwoods, which rise more than 300 feet and once abounded in this region before logging nearly decimated the forests. The park contains a visitor center, outdoor amphitheater, and 9.2 miles of trails under a sky-scraping canopy. Minutes away, the artsy and queer-friendly town of Guerneville features unique accommodations like a cannabis-equipped B&B and Dawn Ranch, a cabin-style resort that offers flower-pressing workshops and bird-watching with Swarovski binoculars.
Perhaps you’ll spot a majestic moose in this quiet state park.
Photo by NSC Photography/Shutterstock
State Forest State Park in Gould, Colorado
Marked by yurts, moose, and more than 70,000 acres of aspens, pines, and snow-capped mountains, State Forest State Park has all the ingredients for wintry adventure. Located in northern Colorado, the park offers endless miles of snowshoeing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing trails, and, as the “Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado,” ample opportunity to spot some serious wildlife. Visit the Moose Visitor Center to learn more about the iconic animals, and keep your eyes peeled. For lodging, Yonder Yurts has seven hard-sided yurts and huts, each outfitted with full kitchens, bunk beds, and wood stoves.
