A Guide to East Coast National Parks, From Maine to Florida

The East Coast has 13 national parks east of the Mississippi River, according to Condé Nast Traveler. The magazine's travel guide highlights several of them.

In Maine, Acadia National Park is known for its photogenic lighthouses. Visitors can also stop at Jordan Pond House, an antique teahouse inside the park.

Further south, Shenandoah National Park sits in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is about an hour and 20 minutes from Washington, DC. Its scenic mountain drives include Skyline Drive, which is 105 miles long.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches across North Carolina and Tennessee. It is the most visited park in the United States, receiving roughly 12 million visitors each year.

In South Carolina, Congaree National Park contains the largest remaining expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest (old trees that grow in low, wet ground near rivers). Its Boardwalk Loop Trail is 2.6 miles long.

In West Virginia, New River Gorge National Park is home to the New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge is the longest steel-span arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Between Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park offers a 20-mile-long cycling path for riders.

In Florida, Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres. Biscayne National Park is more than 95% water and has a subtropical marine ecosystem (a sea environment with warm-climate plants and animals).

Emily Pennington has visited every US national park. She wrote about her experience in Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America's National Parks, which was published in 2023.