If there's no other hike you do at Lassen Volcanic National Park -- and hiking to the park's roof atop 10,475-foot Lassen Peak is not for everyone -- the nice walk to Bumpass Hell is the one to do.

Glacier National Park is often described as a "hiker's paradise," and over 700 miles of trails offer plenty of choices for what the park describes as "adventurous visitors seeking wilderness and solitude." Glacier also offers some fine shorter hikes that offer a taste of the backcountry with only moderate physical demands, and one of the most popular is the combination boat trip/hike to Grinnell Lake.

Often overlooked by visitors seeking memorable experiences at Utah's iconic "Mighty Five" national parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, and Zion), the lesser-known Natural Bridges National Monument showcases three stunning natural bridges: Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo.

Gold deposits, many of us assume, are found in the Rocky Mountains or Sierra Range, not along the Eastern Seaboard. But there was a time when gold fever reigned along the Chesapeake and Ohio towpath.