Western USA and National Parks

Just one and a half hours’ drive north of Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park’s claim to fame is its 72 named peaks which stand higher than 12,000 feet tall, the park justifiably tagged the “roof of the world”. A must is a drive along Trail Ridge Road, one of the highest roads in America offering spectacular views of the majestic scenery of Rocky Mountain National Park. The gorgeous alpine scenery is the habitat for wildlife such as moose, bighorn sheep and elk, any of which you may see as you travel through the park, and although you are far less likely to spot black bear, mountain lions or bobcats, they also have their home in the magnificent Rocky Mountains.

The world’s first national park, Yellowstone flaunts more than 10,000 thermal features, these including mud pots, hot springs, fumaroles and, of course, geysers. Iconic Old Faithful is the most famous landmark, a cone geyser that lives up to its “faithful” billing: spouting every 35 to 120 minutes. The magnificent V-shaped Canyon of the Yellowstone, the grandiose peaks of the Rockies, Yellowstone Lake and vast forests, including one of the world’s largest petrified forests, add up to Yellowstone’s singular majesty, all inhabited by the largest concentration of mammals in the continental USA.

Utah is a state rich in natural beauty and offers five of the world’s most spectacular National Parks. Nowhere will you find a greater array of natural sandstone arches than in Arches National Park, where 2,000 geologic formations have formed the backdrop in many Hollywood movies. Zion, the state’s first national park, showcases orangey-red rock walls, slot canyons and hanging valleys towering more than 2,000 feet above the Zion Canyon. Bryce Canyon’s unique landscape is filled with hundreds of tall, crimson-coloured hoodoos, shire-shaped rock formations caused by erosion. The Colorado and Green rivers are the culprits for the erosion caused to Canyonlands, leaving in their wake a stunning desert landscape. Then there’s Capitol Reef, containing the Waterpocket Fold, an alteration in the earth’s crust which took place 65 million years ago and left the largest exposed monocline – a step-like fold in rock strata – in America.

The largest national park outside of Alaska, Death Valley is an almost unfathomable place. The park’s 3.3 million acres encompass mountain-size sand dunes, below-sea-level salt flats, mysterious singing rocks and colourful sandstone canyons. Known as one of the hottest and driest places in America, you need to travel carefully as summer temperatures can reach up to 49°C. Explore the scenic Artists Drive to see multi coloured landscapes, frolic among the dunes at Mesquite Flat and drive to Zabriskie Point for amazing desert vistas at sunset. Death Valley delivers on every part of the scale.

Surrounded by 1.8 million acres of national forest land and buttressed by four wilderness areas and two state parks, this is a landscape built for adventure. Angular formations, high mesas and rocky cliffs define the multi-terraced skyline. Forests are carved by a network of trails and ringed by feisty streams, all beneath a clear azure sky. The beautiful town of Sedona has delightful boutique shops and art galleries, as well as excellent hiking and mountain biking opportunities. Sedona is one of the country’s best places to visit to get a break from everyday life.

Arguably the world’s most famous national park, Grand Canyon gorge measures a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide, and presents a vast panorama as you stand on its edge, peering down to the mighty Colorado River as it carves its way through the rocks below. Most visitors tend to stay along the popular South Rim, but other options include hiking the flat, paved Rim Trail or the more challenging classic nine-mile Bright Angel Trail, spending time at the quieter pine-forested North Rim, or even hopping onboard a raft to admire the canyon from the bottom up, where a night camping along the riverbank under the dark, starry skies will be an experience you will never forget.