The Craggy Gardens trail located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway a short distance from the bustling town of Asheville, North Carolina, offers hikers an enormously satisfying view of the Black Mountain range with very little sweat. The visitors center at the trailhead even offers a bathroom. What can be better than that?
Category: National Park
When traveling through the southwest, one of my favorite national parks by far was the Petrified Forest National Park. This park located in northeastern Arizona is naturally and culturally significant and quite beautiful. This area is strewn with colorful fossilized logs that date back to the Late Triassic Period. About 2,000 years ago, humans settled in and built little communities here.
Meandering trails take you throughout the park, giving you glimpses of trees that look like works of art and pueblos from hundreds to thousands of years ago show you how these prehistoric people lived. There’s even one home that looks like it was made from precious stones, which it kind of is.