DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK If you’re looking for solitude, then Dry Tortugas National Park is the place. With only 60,000 visitors a year, this is the place to get away from it all. Seventy miles west of Key West, the only access to this park is ferry, seaplane, or chartered boat. A cluster of islands and their surrounding water is called the Dry Tortugas, aptly named Tortugas (Spanish for turtles) for the five types of turtles that inhabit the islands. The most famous sight, and open for tours, is Fort Jefferson, a fortress built in the 1800s and touted as one of the most significant structures in the Western Hemisphere with over 16 million bricks. What else to do? Enjoy the park’s unparalleled beauty and white powder sand. You can swim, sunbathe on its white powder sand, snorkel, dive, birdwatch, kayak or have your adventure and camp out on the mostly uninhabited Garden Key island.
Dry Tortugas National Park
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK
Shenandoah National Park
Virginia Just a quick trip from the nation’s capital, these 196,000 acres of historic mountain landscape are where most D.C. locals go to unwind and catch a breath of fresh air. Enjoy breathtaking vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains from 75 overlooks along the 105-mile scenic Skyline Drive, go fishing in one of 70 pristine mountain streams, or take your pick of over 500 miles of hiking trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Park highlights include the Rapidan Camp, President Hoover’s Summer White House, Hawksbill Mountain (the highest point in the park), and Dark Hollow Falls, a popular walk to a 70-foot waterfall. Accommodations are plentiful: Lodges, cabins, and campgrounds accommodate nearly 1.5 million annual visitors.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK North Carolina/Tennessee Most people assume that the country’s flagship western parks, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon, attract the most crowds. But it’s the Great Smoky Mountains that top the charts as the most-visited national park. Why do so many people love these mountains? Well, there are dozens of reasons that make this 522,419-acre stretch of magnificent wilderness. First and foremost, the park is within easy distance to several towns and major cities in North Carolina and Tennessee. For variety, the park has over 800 miles of hiking trails, 2,900 miles of fishing streams, several geological wonders, cascading waterfalls, and ample wildlife, not to mention the 70 miles of the worldfamous Appalachian Trail. Each autumn, the park puts on a majestic display of foliage, with the hillsides painted in vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange. And if that’s not enough, the nation’s most treasured park offers free admission. That’s right—you can drive right in. 52 | OUR CITY, YOUR LIFE | JUNE 2021
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
