Southwest

Southwest National Parks

Explore 12 national parks in this region

Arches National Park

Utah

Arches contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches, with more than 2,000 cataloged formations sculpted by millions of years of erosion.

76,679 acres

Big Bend National Park

Texas

Big Bend encompasses the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert in the United States, where the Rio Grande carves dramatic canyons through ancient mountains.

801,163 acres

Bryce Canyon National Park

Utah

Bryce Canyon's crimson-colored hoodoos rise like a forest of stone spires, creating one of the most otherworldly landscapes on Earth.

35,835 acres

Canyonlands National Park

Utah

Canyonlands preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, where countless canyons and mesas carved by the Colorado River create a rugged, remote landscape.

337,598 acres

Capitol Reef National Park

Utah

Capitol Reef protects the spectacular Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile wrinkle in the Earth's crust, along with historic orchards where visitors can pick fresh fruit.

241,904 acres

Death Valley National Park

California

Death Valley is a land of extremes: the hottest, driest, and lowest national park, where ancient salt flats, towering sand dunes, and colorful badlands reveal millions of years of geologic history.

3.4M acres

Grand Canyon National Park

Arizona

One of the world's most awe-inspiring landscapes, the Grand Canyon exposes 2 billion years of Earth's geological history in its layered bands of colorful rock.

1.2M acres

Joshua Tree National Park

California

Where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, Joshua Tree's twisted trees and giant boulder piles create a surreal landscape beloved by rock climbers, stargazers, and desert seekers.

790,636 acres

Mesa Verde National Park

Colorado

Mesa Verde preserves over 5,000 archaeological sites including 600 cliff dwellings, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of Ancestral Puebloans.

52,485 acres

Petrified Forest National Park

Arizona

Petrified Forest contains the world's largest concentration of petrified wood, scattered across a colorful badlands landscape from the age of dinosaurs.

221,415 acres

Saguaro National Park

Arizona

Saguaro protects the iconic giant cactus of the Sonoran Desert, where these towering sentinels can live 200 years and grow 50 feet tall.

91,716 acres

Zion National Park

Utah

Zion's massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red rise into a brilliant blue sky, creating one of America's most dramatic canyon landscapes.

147,243 acres