6 best united states travel photography

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There's no place on earth like California.

A wise person once said that a culture can be measured by the resources it chooses to protect. If that’s true, then California's preserved lands are a lofty credit to American culture.

California is blessed with a wealth of protected wild land. Within the state’s borders are 36 National Natural Landmarks, 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 280 state parks, and 149 federally designated wilderness areas.

Discover 150 of these amazing places in 150 Nature Hot Spots in California.

About the Author

Ann Marie Brown is a travel and outdoor writer and the author of 14 guidebooks and hundreds of magazine articles about hiking and outdoor recreation. Her work has been featured in Sunset, VIA, Backpacker, California, and many other publications. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Point Reyes Peninsula & Drakes Bay

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

Heart Lake & Mount Shasta

Death Valley National Park

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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

There are no maintained trails on the sand dunes, as this is a very dynamic landscape, but all 30 square miles of the dunefield are open to walking: Have an adventure and walk where and as far as you want… walking up and down in soft sand is very tiring, so set your sights on a reasonable hike. Many hikers start from the parking lot just beyond the visitor center and walk to the 700-foot summit of High Dune, where there are fine views of the dunefield. It took us about 3 hours for this challenging round-trip walk... Star Dune, at 750 feet, is the highest and is about a mile and a half beyond High Dune… Note that zigzagging (traversing) up the sand slopes is less tiring than walking straight up the steep slope, and walking along the ridgetops of the dunes is easier than frequently ascending and descending them. Camping among the dunes is allowed and offers an unusual experience steeped in solitude, quiet, and exceptional night skies; a permit is required.

Redwood National and State Parks

Like just about all the national parks, Redwood National and State Parks in northern California promises a lot and delivers even more. Of course it protects its namesake, the iconic old-growth coast redwood trees, the tallest living things on Earth. Some of these giants have been growing here for more than 2,000 years and can reach heights of 375 feet or more… Though there are many huge redwood trees scattered through the park, a few of the largest and most majestic old-growth groves are easily accessible on relatively short, well-maintained trails. These are the heart of the park… We’ve walked among these groves on several visits to the park and are still awestruck. The Tall Trees Grove has the longest trail (about 3.5 miles) and is thought by some to be the most magnificent, but maybe that’s because it’s the only one that requires a permit from the NPS to enter. Trails through the other groves are considerably shorter.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was the first national park in the nation and, indeed, the world—the first time a nation set aside a large area of its land for the benefit of all its people, not just a privileged elite. Conservationist Wallace Stegner famously wrote that the national parks are “America’s best idea,” a manifestation of our foundational democratic ideals. Yellowstone led to creation of many other national parks, but it remains the most famous, and for good reason. More recently, the park was designated a World Heritage Site, a symbol of its importance to the world community. And what a powerhouse of a national park! Yellowstone is large, even by national park standards; at more than 2 million acres, it’s larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Much of the park sits in the caldera of an ancient and massive supervolcano, the largest on the North American continent; the caldera measures some 30 by 45 miles.

Kenai Fjords National Park

This large and impressive landmass sits hard on the mighty Gulf of Alaska and features a signature system of large fingerlike fjords—narrow inlets with steep sides or cliffs created by a glacier, reminiscent of those found in Norway. But the park is even more than this, containing the largest icefield in the United States (an impressive 700 sq. mi.), nearly forty glaciers (several of which flow directly into the sea), a staggering 545 mi. of wild coastline, towering peaks that rise right out of the sea, and a collection of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife that only Alaska can offer. Yet the park is not well-known, and visitation is relatively low. Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity! Kenai Fjords National Park is located in south-central Alaska, making it more accessible than most Alaskan national parks; it’s just a 2.5-hour scenic drive from Anchorage. At about 700,000 acres, the park is small by Alaska standards, though it’s larger than most parks in the Lower 48.