Virtually visit 32 US national parks Posted on 19 March 2020 Tags:national parks, US National Parks With the need to practice social distancing and avoid public places, you can explore 32 American national parks using Google Earth and Google Arts & Culture virtual tours from the comfort of your couch. If Yellowstone, Yosemite the Grand Canyon or Joshua Tree have been on your bucket list, it’s time to tick them off. Alaska 1. Denali National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Did you know that Denali National Park was originally created to protect Dall sheep and other wildlife? If you could create a national park what would you want to protect? 📷NPS photo A post shared by Denali National Park (@denalinps) on Nov 1, 2019 at 1:59pm PDT Maine 2. Acadia National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Bruce Milroy, of Spring Hill, KS, shares a photo from Sept 30 at Scoodic Point. “This was our first trip to Acadia and definitely won’t be our last. We loved the beauty and solitude of the Schoodic peninsula. Definitely worth the drive over from MDI.” (Photo courtesy of Bruce Milroy @bruce.milroy. Used with permission.) More at http://go.nps.gov/YourAcadiaNPS A post shared by Acadia National Park (@acadianps) on Mar 7, 2020 at 5:12am PST Utah 3. Arches National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Double Arch has the tallest opening of any arch in the park. The southern span soars 112 feet above ground level. See the tiny person beneath the arch? That span is also the second-largest arch in the park, at 144 feet across. A post shared by Arches National Park (@archesnps) on May 3, 2018 at 9:20am PDT 4. Bryce Canyon National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram What a beautiful planet we live on! Gotta enjoy it while it lasts 😂❤️🌎 • Absolute scenes at Bryce Canyon in Utah yesterday. Mad that places like this even exist! @visittheusa @brycecanyonnps_gov #unitedstoreis #usaroadtrip A post shared by Jonny Mitchell (@jonny_mitchell1991) on Mar 15, 2020 at 11:22am PDT 5. Canyonlands Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram We were greeted by an inch of fresh snow on the mesa top and down in the canyons this morning. #canyonlandsnps #canyonlandsnationalpark #canyonlands #nps #nationalparks #snow #winter #winterwonderland A post shared by Canyonlands National Park (@canyonlandsnps) on Jan 12, 2020 at 8:43am PST 6. Zion National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram What is your favorite time of year to go hiking? Whether you enjoy a temperate spring stroll or a chilly winter trek, it is important to prepare for the season and stick to the trail. Over the course of a year a trail can be covered in mud, water, snow, and more. While it may be tempting to go around a muddy or inconvenient area of the trail, it can damage vegetation, widen the trail, and cause increased erosion. Protect the trail and the surrounding area by staying in the center of the path and walking through mud, snow, and other obstacles. This will help keep our trails and wild areas beautiful for every season. This photo is from the Kayenta Trail, which is one of many trails in Zion that will be muddy in the spring. If you would rather avoid the mud, choose a trail that is paved. Trail descriptions are available on our park info sheet: https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/news/newspaper.htm NPS Photo / Brian Whitehead A post shared by Zion National Park (@zionnps) on Mar 14, 2020 at 7:48am PDT Hawaii 7. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Where only rocks grow 🌋 Roaring winds, freezing temperatures, and hard fields of lava prevent most plants from establishing themselves at the 13,600 foot (4,145 m) summit of Mauna Loa. But while plant life struggles, new earth bursts forth. It is estimated that 90 percent of the volcano’s surface has been covered with flows that erupted within the past 4,000 years. NPS Photo/A. LaValle #FindYourPark #Hawaii #MaunaLoa #Volcano #HawaiiVolcanoes A post shared by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (@hawaiivolcanoesnps) on Feb 27, 2020 at 11:41am PST California 8. Death Valley National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Reminder that our annual Dark Sky Festival begins this Friday! There are too many details to share here, so follow the link in our bio to our webpage for a detailed schedule of events. Photo courtesy of @mikeshawphotography who will be both speaking and co-leading astrophotography sessions. See you all there! #saveournightsky #nasa #seti #ames #jpl #astronomy #stars #dark #deathvalleylove A post shared by Death Valley National Park (@deathvalleynps) on Feb 18, 2020 at 6:37pm PST 9. Channel Islands National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Sometimes referred to as the “North American Galapagos”, there are 145 animals and plants totally unique to this area. 🏝 • • • #estoric #wildernessculture #roamtheplanet #theglobewanderer #visualsofearth #simplyadventure #keepitwild #stayandwander #artofvisuals #ourplanetdaily #theoutbound #visualscollective #thegreatoutdoors #neverstopexploring #beautifuldestinations #traveldestinations_ig #discoverearth #travelstoke #lifeofadventure #livetoexplore #destinationearth #optoutside #collectivelycreate #folklore #interestingthings #historylover #adventure #livebravely A post shared by @ estoric.luna on May 1, 2019 at 9:26am PDT 10. Joshua Tree National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Joshua Tree is a dark night sky park, but how do we keep these skies dark for future generations? By practicing Leave No Trace stewardship with the night sky! Follows these simple steps to reduce your light pollution impacts:⠀ ⠀ 🌌Turn off all the lights in and outside your house when going to bed. This will not only conserve energy, but it will help keep skies dark.⠀ ⠀ 🌠 Make sure your energy-saving lightbulbs are shielded down and not pointing up towards the sky. ⠀ ⠀ 🌟 Continue the conversation: talk to friends, family, and your social media followers to encourage your network to take steps in reducing their impacts. One conversation could go a long way!⠀ ⠀ What are other ways you are reducing your light pollution impacts? ⠀ ⠀ Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk A post shared by Joshua Tree National Park (@joshuatreenps) on Mar 3, 2020 at 8:47am PST 11. Redwood National and State Parks Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram The Redwoods 🌲 Which pic is your favourite? By @alberthbyang A post shared by LOCATIONS (@planet_locations) on Feb 24, 2020 at 8:29am PST 12. Sequoia National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram 😍❤❤❤ #photographer #life #beauty #forest #outdoors #explore #green #wanderlust #summer #animals #canon #sun #beach #happy #travelgram #trees #snow #macro #sea #tree #clouds #natur #wildlifephotography #a #nikon #india #mountain #naturaleza #of #amazingview A post shared by H A N N A N Ü B A E F (@shaiy_bin_hamza_07) on Mar 18, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT 13. Yosemite National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram “No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied — it speaks in silence to the very core of your being.” –Ansel Adams #Yosemite #NationalPark A post shared by Yosemite National Park (@yosemitenps) on Feb 15, 2020 at 4:43pm PST Virginia 14. Shenandoah National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Hey, remember me? The star of the show? Just because I’m hibernating doesn’t mean I’m not still large and in charge! Sleeping is how animals like black bears adapt to the scarcity of their natural food sources that occur in the winter. Usually in Shenandoah, a black bear’s food source, like berries and nuts, begins to dwindle in late October and November. But if there is plenty of food available, bears may not den up at all and could continue to forage for food all winter. Some bears might even mosey around when winter temps run mild. Bears really begin to emerge from dens, hollow trees, brush piles—you name it—in March and April. 🐻 And the black bear year will start all over again. A post shared by Shenandoah National Park (@shenandoahnps) on Feb 26, 2020 at 5:16am PST Ohio 15. Cuyahoga Valley National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Can someone let us know how many photos of the sunset at the Ledges is too many? Because we CAN NOT get enough! 🌄 – – Photo cred: @gabe_leidyphoto – – #cvnp #ledgesoverlook #sunsetsofinstagram #nationalparksunset #ohioexplored #hikeohio A post shared by Cuyahoga Valley National Park (@cuyahogavalleynps) on Feb 15, 2020 at 3:06pm PST Colorado 16. Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Cloudy days bring out the color in the canyon, and the Painted Wall has been looking better than ever! With 12 overlooks in the park, you can spend several hours soaking up the different views and experiencing the wild place that is Black Canyon. A post shared by Black Canyon of the Gunnison (@blackcanyonnps) on Aug 12, 2019 at 8:53am PDT 17. Mesa Verde National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Mesa Verde National Park is focusing on the health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers and partners and is implementing the latest guidance from the White House, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. As of today, we are suspending all public services in the park through the end of April. Though the park will remain open, we will suspend fee collections, and the Visitor and Research Center and Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum will be closed. Tours scheduled for the month of April have been cancelled. Weather permitting, the Mesa Top and Cliff Palace Loops will remain open. Park Point, Cedar Tree Tower and the Far View Sites will also be available. The park urges visitors to do their part when visiting to follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick. We will be updating information on this situation as it becomes available. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility. A post shared by Mesa Verde National Park (@mesaverdenps) on Mar 17, 2020 at 4:59pm PDT 18. Rocky Mountain National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram 😍🌲love at first sight. #rockymountains #rmnp #rockymountainsnationalpark #lake #clouds #outdoorlife #nature #coloradoliving #colorado #coloradolife #coloradotography #adventure #hiking #everytrailconnects #climbing #golive #liveauthentic #relativityoutdoors #keepitwild #liveoutdoors #rei1440project A post shared by 📍coloRADo (@janicesu_) on Nov 7, 2016 at 6:09pm PST Washington 19. Mount Rainier National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Happy 121st Birthday, Mount Rainier National Park! “To foresee the beauty of Mount Rainier one must know many things —rivers, tumbling from boulder to boulder…a tiny fawn nestling under a shrub… flower fields that stretch unending distances… glaciers grinding and tearing at the high mound of rock… All of these things are separate, but all are a part of the story of Mount Rainier.” -John Barnett, former park naturalist, 1978 On March 2, 1899, Mount Rainier National Park was established as the 5th national park. Since time immemorial, the timeless presence of the mountain has inspired people to explore, to recreate, to connect with their heritage, and to fight for the preservation of this iconic mountain. How does Mount Rainier inspire you? ________ #findyourpark #mountrainiernps #mrnp #mountrainier #pnw #nps #encuentratuparque #happybirthday JD Hascup photo of Mount Rainier and a colorful sunset taken in July 2015 from Silver Forest near Sunrise ~pw/kl A post shared by Mount Rainier National Park (@mountrainiernps) on Mar 2, 2020 at 12:32pm PST 20. Olympic National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Today our friends in @finnishparks are celebrating Kalevala Day! The Kalevala is the Finnish National Epic. “Many runes the cold has told me, Many lays the rain has brought me, Other songs the winds have sung me. Many birds from many forests, Oft have sung me lays in concord Waves of sea, and ocean billows, Music from the many waters, Music from the whole creation, Oft have been my guide and master.” Excerpt from the Kalevala, by Elias Lonnrot, 1835. English translation by John Martin Crawford. Complemented by beautiful photos by @bubsflexxn taken in the Hoh Rain Forest, in the ancestral homeland of the Hoh and Quinault people. A post shared by Olympic National Park (@olympic_nps) on Feb 28, 2020 at 11:59am PST South Dakota 21. Badlands National Park, South Dakota Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram “Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive, and even spiritual satisfaction.” -E. O. Wilson How do you find satisfaction at the national parks? 📸:@katpapera A post shared by Badlands National Park (@badlandsnps) on Mar 27, 2019 at 10:03am PDT 22. Wind Cave National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Some people claim to have unexplained experiences in Wind Cave. It’s a surreal feeling to be in total darkness, detached from any sense of time. What memories do you have walking through Wind Cave? #windcavenationalpark #caves #speleology #findyourpark #nps #midwestnps #memories #preserve #happyhalloween A post shared by Wind Cave National Park (@windcavenps) on Oct 31, 2019 at 9:11am PDT Texas 23. Big Bend National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram The waters of the Rio Grande have been cutting through Santa Elena Canyon for over millions of years, slowly carving 1,500 foot tall walls. The walls are made up of layers of limestone, which was deposited during Big Bend’s submerged past. In the early Cretaceous period (130 million years ago), Big Bend National Park’s location was underwater, covered up by a shallow sea. There, layers of mud and the remains of marine organisms were deposited and over time turned to limestone. The Rio Grande has slowly eroded this rock away, forming magnificent canyons, like Santa Elena. Image credit / Krystina Carpenter A post shared by Big Bend National Park (@bigbendnps) on Jan 11, 2020 at 9:32am PST 24. Guadalupe Mountains National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram For a brief moment at approximately 1:32 PM MT on March 17th, 2020 the highest point in Texas was us A post shared by Shelly Saville (@shelly.saville) on Mar 18, 2020 at 4:45pm PDT Florida 25. Dry Tortugas National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram What’s on your bucket list for 2020? How about a trip to the Dry Tortugas to explore a 19th century fort and snorkel crystal clear water with incredible marine life? #2020ParkVision Photo by Javier Figueroa (@javifigs) #DryTortugas #DryTortugasNationalPark #USInterior #NationalParkService #NPS #Florida #SouthFlorida #FloridaKeys #TheKeys #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque #VisitFlorida #Ocean #Travel #Outdoors A post shared by Dry Tortugas National Park (@drytortugasnps) on Jan 13, 2020 at 2:52pm PST 26. Everglades National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram “Hey! Get out of the way, I’m trying to fish here!” We’re not sure if Green Herons are clever enough to recognize their own reflection, but there’s no doubt that they are indeed clever birds. Did you know that Green Herons are one of the world’s few tool-using bird species? They often drop twigs, insects, feathers, and other items on the surface of the water to create fishing lures and entice small fish. Photo by @plantmeat #WildlifeWednesday #GreenHeron #Birding #Birds #Birder #Ornothology #AmericasEverglades #EvergladesNationalPark #Everglades #USInterior #NationalParkService #NPS #NationalPark #Florida #VisitFlorida #SouthFlorida #Miami #Travel #Outdoors #Wildlife #BirdPhotography A post shared by Everglades National Park (@evergladesnps) on Mar 4, 2020 at 2:36pm PST Wyoming 27. Grand Teton National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram #sunset 🌄 A post shared by Grand Teton National Park (@grandtetonnps) on Dec 22, 2019 at 4:10pm PST 28. Yellowstone National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram This #ValentinesDay we wanted to share the love with our park partners! Thanks for all the support! Who out there can name this thematic spring? #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork @ynpforever @ynplodges @delawarenorth @medcorclinics Yellowstone Park Service Stations – YPSS A post shared by Yellowstone National Park (@yellowstonenps) on Feb 14, 2020 at 7:01am PST Tennessee 29. Great Smoky Mountain National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Oh! I love this! Great shot, despite those storm clouds! Morton Overlook By @detroitdj #easttn #easttennessee #tennessee #tennesseeisbeautiful #tennesseemountains #greatsmokymountainsnationalpark #greatsmokymountains #smokymountainsnationalpark #smokymountains #greatsmokeymountainnationalpark #greatsmokeymountains #smokeymountains #mountains #instagramtennessee #everythingtennessee #865life #mortonoverlook #beautifuleasttennessee #beautifulcolors A post shared by Beautiful East Tennessee (@beautiful_east_tennessee) on Jun 20, 2019 at 9:35am PDT Montana 30. Glacier National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram Climate and weather are often confused as the same thing, but they are different on a very large scale. Climate is the pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods. In contrast, weather describes the present condition of these variables over short time periods. ⛈ . Warmer and more variable winter and spring air temperatures have caused more precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow and has led to earlier snowmelt. As this trend continues, loss of winter snowpack and glacial loss could greatly reduce the major source of groundwater recharge and summer runoff, resulting in a lowering of water levels in streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands during the growing season. As water levels are lowered, the amount of habitat in streams for invertebrates and fish will be reduced. Without glacial melt water, summer water temperatures will rise and may cause the local extinction of temperature sensitive aquatic species. 🐟 . #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #weathervsclimate #climatechange #glacierlove #protectglacier A post shared by Glacier National Park (@glaciernps) on Apr 29, 2019 at 9:53am PDT Arizona 31. Grand Canyon National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram A post shared by ГНБ Казань (@hdd_kazan) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:25pm PDT Caribbean 32. Virgin Islands National Park Click here for the virtual tour View this post on Instagram #seaturtle #greenseaturtle #underwaterphotography #nationalpark #virginislandsnationalpark #virginislands #nationalparkgeek #naturelovers #turtle #nps #findyourpark #nationalparkphotography A post shared by Kim (@sailpepper) on Mar 12, 2020 at 1:41pm PDT Image: Instagram/ @janicesu Related Posts Cape Town’s sustainability: Leading the way in environmental initiatives 1 June 2023 As National Environmental Month commences in South Africa, Cape Town stands proudly at the forefront... read more Kapama to host Safari Guide of the Year Awards 2023 1 June 2023 Kapama Private Game Reserve near Hoedspruit will host this year’s Safari Guide of the Year... read more Blood Lions relaunches for public viewing on YouTube 1 June 2023 Award-winning documentary feature film Blood Lions has been relaunched on YouTube for public viewing, creating... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
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