They are places of wonderment. They spark our curiosity, help us relax, and can keep us in shape. They offer thousands of miles of hiking trails, majestic vistas, deep woods, rushing streams, and quite literally an open-air zoo of wildlife that relies on these landscapes to thrive and, in some cases, merely survive.

Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska is renowned for its brown bears, as Contributing Photographer Rebecca Latson found when she captured our cover photo. It’s just as well-known for its Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, which is still steaming, the aftermath of a 1918 volcanic eruption.

On the other end of the continent, Biscayne National Park is famous for its watery underworld. In a feature, Jameson Clifton caps his internship with the Traveler by looking at efforts to rebuild fisheries and coral reefs. Miri Gubler, who also spent the past semester as an intern, gives us an update on efforts to establish a national park in Maine’s heavily wooded interior—an effort with no small amount of controversy.

In our Essential Park Guide, Summer 2015 you will also read what it takes to explore the sunny side of Mount Rainier National Park, and how to celebrate Rocky Mountain National Park’s centennial. Michael A. Lanza’s walk along the John Muir Trail might inspire you to start making your own plans for this magnificent trail.

With walking in mind, we also have our list of classic park hike in this summer guide. It’s not complete by any means, but hopefully will give you an excuse to get out on the trail.

And make sure you read our latest 3 Days feature, which has some suggestions for visitors with limited time in Grand Teton National Park. Summer can be short, but hopefully it won’t be so short that you can’t include a national park vacation.

To help plan your summer national park travels, add this Essential Park Guide to your digital library for just $1.99.