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Red-colored badlands, blue-banded rock formations, a section of Historic Route 66, Native American sites and fossilized trees make up the remarkably varied landscape of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

Named for its huge density of petrified logs, this is one of the world’s best places to see fossils from the Late Triassic. Petrified Forest National Park allows you to walk where dinosaurs roamed and to stand where ancient forests fell.

These arid landscapes may seem desolate and empty, but a closer look reveals an age-old geological and natural experiment that’s still ongoing to this day.

Most Dog-Friendly National Parks in the U.S.

More often than not in America’s national parks, your dog is only allowed in campgrounds, on and near paved roads, and/or in some accommodations. Only in developed areas, in other words. Some parks, however, also welcome dogs on hiking trails. Here are the most dog-friendly national parks of them all.

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Awe-Inspiring Overlooks and Viewpoints in the National Parks

Besides wildlife and outdoor adventures, many people visit America’s national parks to see some of the country’s greatest landscapes. While some views require several miles of hiking, there are also many spectacular, easily accessible overlooks and viewpoints in the national parks.

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16 Best U.S. National Parks for Stargazing

Preserving some of America’s last remaining pristine night skies, many national parks offer amazing stargazing and Milky Way viewing opportunities. From Mesa Verde and Death Valley to Glacier and Voyageurs, these national parks have the most spectacular star-peppered night skies. “Half the park is after dark!”

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10 Best National Parks and Monuments for Dinosaurs and Fossils

If you’d like to put on your paleontology hat, learn about prehistoric fossils and dinosaurs, and maybe even look for them yourself, the national parks and monuments in this post can’t be beat. From Badlands and Petrified Forest to several Fossil Beds National Monuments, they’re the absolute best National Park Service sites for fossil hunting.

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10 Amazing National Parks Along Route 66

In its heyday, Historic Route 66 was the most popular road to the west, both for traveling families and migrants, and it still is to some extent. “America’s Main Street”, as it’s often called, still brings road trippers to many of the best national parks in the Midwest, Southwest and California.

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