Zion National Park, Utah © Yun Gao | Dreamstime
After Yellowstone was designated the first national park in the United States in 1872, several other parks gained the status before the National Parks System was officially created in 1916 to protect the country’s most beautiful spaces. In celebration of National Parks & Recreation Month, here’s a list of the some of the most magnificent parks in the country.

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Experience the rugged shoreline, sheltered coves, offshore isles and thick pines at Acadia National Park in Maine. The 50,000-acre park surrounding Cadillac Mountain is a stunning display of Atlantic seaboard geography, best seen from the 20-mile Park Loop Road and the park’s 57 miles of hiking and biking trails.

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Eleven miles off the southern California coast are the Channel Islands, several of which are designated national parks. The untouched gems jut up from the Pacific Ocean, boasting 150 unique species, grassy hills and stone spires. Visitors can see the largest aggregation of blue whales, kayak through sea caves and hike the coast.

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Experience the subarctic wilderness of the 6 million-acre Denali National Park in Alaska. Spot abounding wildlife, take a backcountry hike or white-water rafting expedition, visit Wonder Lake and experience the sheer grandeur of the tallest mountains in North America.

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Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is home to the world’s most active volcanoes, stretching from the palm-lined coasts south of Hilo to Mauna Lao’s steaming summit. Take Crater Rim Drive past sulfur banks, lava tubes and Halema’uma’u crater, and experience the 500 acres of new land added since Kilauea’s last eruption in 1983.

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Much of Olympic National Park’s landscape, from its mountains and rainforests to its Pacific coastlines, has been the same for hundreds of years. This old Washington State park features complex ecosystems and pristine beauty, with snowcapped mountains towering above waterfalls, crystal-clear lakes and flower-laden meadows.

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Named after the saguaro cactus – a symbol of the Old West ¬– Saguaro National Park in Arizona is home to the largest concentration of the unique cacti. In addition to these iconic, photo-worthy species, summer visitors can see wildflower displays, white-tailed deer, Mexican spotted owls, black bears and the rare kudamundi.

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There are several national parks in Utah, but Zion was the first and the most popular for good reason. Visitors come from around the world to see the orange-red rock formations expanding in every direction, to explore the slot canyons and valleys and to see stone arches that defy gravity over Zion Canyon.