The Best State Park in Each State

Overview of state parks in the US and which is the best one in each state. I examine parks that showcase something unique about the state or parks that highlight a physical feature that is not normally expected in that state.

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Sturgill Simpson - "High Top Mountain" (2013)

[greenrich]

As many things that seem to divide us, can we all agree that we live in a beautiful country?

[PeterWiernicki]

Learned a new term from this video: Karst topography - (def:) A landscape that is characterized by numerous caves, sinkholes, fissures, and underground streams. Karst topography usually forms in regions of plentiful rainfall where bedrock consists of carbonate-rich rock, such as limestone, gypsum, or dolomite, that is easily dissolved.

[Alex-txdh]

Some channels are gems, yours is a gem mine. As us city people are realizing how disconnected we are from the natural beauty of our country, you give us better advice/tools than most and it’s really invaluable. My nuclear family has kids which are grown and adults that aren’t retired yet but taking more time off… and when you helped me plan our southern road trip not only did you help provide awesome family memories for us but you also helped my parents respect the southern part of our country, which before they held very strong contempt for. Thank you

[andrewodonnell]

As an Upstate NY resident, I would like to give an honorable mention to Letchworth State Park. Might be the most "western US scenery" type of place in the east

[tquist]

A wonderfully compiled list of amazing state parks! A few I would add for consideration: For Indiana, Turkey Run State Park. For Nevada, Valley of Fire State Park. For Ohio, Hocking Hills State Park. For Illinois, Starved Rock State Park, and for Pennsylvania, Ohiopyle State Park. These parks may have a more crowds, but they are all spectacular. I've found the secret to avoiding crowds is to go during the week if possible, and getting there as early as possible.

[gurf]

Great video! While the Oregon Coast is beautiful, I personally would have chosen Silver Falls State Park as my top choice, just because of how unique it is. Being able to hike behind multiple gigantic, beautiful waterfalls in just a couple hours is truly an unmatched experience.

[luxembros]

I think Devil’s Lake is Wisconsin’s best. Super pretty, great (dangerous) hiking, great climbing, and very fun to swim. It’s super pretty in fall and winter too.

[ELIJAHSWRLD]

Loved the mentions of the driftless region of the Midwest! Would be cool to see a whole video dedicated to the amazing geography of the area.

[lilflo]

As an IL resident near Chicago…I’d like to highlight Starved Rock State Park. The SP has at least a dozen canyons and waterfalls in the spring along with a massive sandstone bluffs overlooking the Illinois River! It’s the state most popular state park for a reason, and it’s only about 1.5 hours from most of Chicagoland!

[lyndseyliebrecht]

You should check out Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri. I’m from vermont and went in the fall. I’ve never seen such beautiful foliage in my entire life as I did there. It’s not just the foliage though, it is just so beautiful regardless.

[Wilderness-Will]

Part of the reason for Arizona's lack of state parks is because many of its most prominent geographic features are either NPS or National Forest units; I completely agree with Tonto Natural Bridge! It's small even by AZ State Park standards, but it's an awesome place. For Illinois and Wisconsin I personally would've gone with Matthiessen and Devil's Lake respectively, but those are probably too obvious!

[michaelburt]

This is a fantastic idea for your channel. It is hard to do cross-country road trips for many, but a few hours of driving to see stunning scenery within one's own state, or a nearby state, is doable for most. I've been in NC almost half my life but never been to Gorges, but I'll make a point of going there now.

[Jjjaaahhnn]

This may be an unpopular request, but I think it'd be cool to watch a video on the old tornado alley part of the country in eastern Colorado, western Nebraska, western Kansas, the panhandle of Oklahoma, north Texas, and even parts of eastern New Mexico and Wyoming. I've driven through all those areas in each of those states and they're just such desolate, quiet, unpopulated, and wide open plains that I feel have such a bleak future and are very forgotten about. Really mesmerizing to drive through though.

[bob_._.]

I think most Ohioans would give the nod to Hocking Hills State Park. The Hocking River cut a canyon through this mass of sandstone hard enough to stop the Laurentide Ice Sheet in its tracks and did so in a very artistic manner and at a very human scale, running through dense pre-Ice Age climax forest. The park consists of several separate areas, each noted for its natural beauty and easy hiking; the most spectacular of the attractions is even accessible. There's many other State parks, forests and recreation areas in the region and a well-developed owner-operator vacation recreation industry. And you can't find a place to stay that doesn't have a hot tub.

[someone]

Lime kiln is a very underrated park in CA, I stumbled across it by accident, literally pulling off highway 1 on my motorcycle to stretch my leg and beat a leg cramp. I feel spoiled in CA with all of our great parks. Emerald Bay at Tahoe used to be one of my favorites as a kid with how breathtaking the views were and hiking down to a secluded part of the lake but now it’s very overcrowded and I haven’t been in years.

[RemnantCult]

I really appreciate this. This will give me some good ideas for spots to visit whenever I go on my next road trip.

[nightninja]

Growing up my family never really took vacations, but instead went tent camping at state parks around the midwest, mainly Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and a little bit of Michigan. Some of the best trips I've taken and still love to go back to them in the spring and fall

[snarrwarschannel]

For Utah I was totally expecting to see Snow Canyon or Goblin Valley but was pleasantly surprised to see Kodachrome. It's a very nice lesser-known choice which tells me you know your way around Utah. Thank you for the great video and great list.

[Sdawggy]

Huge fan! I watch a lot of your videos at home and my wife tolerates the nerdiness to a point… but- she said this is the video that finally won her over as a fan!! Thanks for the great content

[Caddeus]

For my favorite state park in New York, I would've gone with Letchworth State Park aka the "Grand Canyon of the East." The massive gorge located there along the Genesee River is amazing plus you get to see multiple massive falls.