For the Love of State Parks
National Parks get all the love—and for good reason. But the 10,234 state parks in this country also have rugged good looks and outdoor adventure in spades—and they’re often less crowded. That’s what we’re all about these days, right? So we talked amongst ourselves. We talked to a handful of outdoor experts. And we pulled together a mix of totally off-the-grid parks, green spaces within a quick drive of major urban cities, and dozens that are perfect for a late-season fall getaway. So whether you’re looking to zoom-school on the road or dreaming about 2021, here’s a slightly biased, but always impassioned, guide to 50 of our favorite state parks. —AFAR editors
West
From Washington to New Mexico, 13 Great Parks in the West
There are so many reasons to go park-hunting out West. Under-the-radar rock formations in Utah. Moss-draped rain forest in Washington. Soft sand dunes, not along the coast, but deep in Idaho—perfect for late-season exploring. Read on to learn more about the best state parks in the western states of California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico. And then book a campsite—or maybe a yurt! or a cabin!—whether for a late-fall getaway or as a reason to dream about spring 2021.
AlaskaKachemak Bay State Park
ArizonaCatalina State Park
CaliforniaMontaña de Oro State Park
ColoradoState Forest State Park
HawaiiKōkeʻe State Park
IdahoBruneau Dunes State Park
MontanaMakoshika State Park
NevadaCathedral Gorge State Park
New MexicoCerrillos Hills State Park
OregonSitka Sedge State Natural Area
UtahGoblin Valley State Park
WashingtonBogachiel State Park
WyomingHot Springs State Park
Midwest
From North Dakota to Ohio, 12 Great Parks in the Midwest
The states between the East and West Coasts have long been dubbed “flyover country”—places many only see by air and don’t bother to explore on the ground. But ask anyone familiar with the Midwest, and most will tell you that this designation has its pros: It means fewer people in some of the country’s most scenic state parks. Comprising 12 states—Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri—the region has old-growth forests, million-year-old sandstone gorges, ambling bison, and an abundance of water in the form of rivers, waterfalls, and lakes galore.
IllinoisStarved Rock State Park
IndianaTurkey Run State Park
Iowa Backbone State Park
KansasMushroom Rock State Park
MichiganMackinac Island State Park
MinnesotaGrand Portage State Park
MissouriElephant Rocks State Park
NebraskaPlatte River State Park
North DakotaFort Abraham Lincoln State Park
Ohio Hocking Hills State Park
South DakotaCuster State Park
WisconsinDevil’s Lake State Park
South
From Texas to Florida, 14 Great Parks in the South
The parks here may be bundled beneath one geographic designation—the South—but they couldn’t be more different from one another, encompassing some of the most mind-boggling features of this country. Just try to compare the bayou-like waterways of Louisiana’s Chicot State Park with the otherworldly desert landscapes of Big Bend Ranch in Texas, or the dark lava rock moonscape of Oklahoma’s Black Mesa with the waterfall splendor that is Tennessee’s Fall Creek Falls. The best way to understand them, of course, is to visit. So consider this list of the best parks in the South—Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Texas—your starting line.
Alabama
Gulf State Park
ArkansasLake Ouachita State Park
FloridaJohn Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
GeorgiaRed Top Mountain State Park
KentuckyDale Hollow Lake State Resort Park
Louisiana Chicot State Park
MississippiTishomingo State Park
North CarolinaHanging Rock State Park
OklahomaBlack Mesa State Park
South CarolinaParis Mountain State Park
TennesseeFall Creek Falls State Park
TexasBig Bend Ranch State Park
VirginiaNatural Bridge State Park
West VirginiaBabcock State Park
Northeast
From Maryland to Maine, 11 Great Parks in the Northeast
Wild waterfalls. Wilder horses. The Grand Canyon of the East Coast—sorta. All that and more can be found in the state parks that span the 11 states of the Northeast, which includes New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. A majority of them are less than two hours from a big city, which means a weekend getaway is not only feasible but also recommended. So what are you waiting for?
ConnecticutHarkness Memorial State Park
DelawareCape Henlopen State Park
MaineCamden Hills State Park
MarylandAssateague State Park
MassachusettsNickerson State Park
New HampshireFranconia Notch State Park
New JerseyBarnegat Lighthouse State Park
New YorkWatkins Glen State Park
PennsylvaniaLeonard Harrison State Park
Rhode IslandBrenton Point State Park
VermontSmugglers’ Notch State Park
