Nowadays, a visit to a unit of the National Park System requires at least a minimal amount of planning and preparation. Whether you fly, drive, cruise, or ride the rails, planning your park travel ensures a much more enjoyable stay. Contributing photographer and writer Rebecca Latson shares her own planning and preparation routine for a safe and enjoyable park visit.

There seem to be countless national park stories in the media about "best this" or "best that," or "most underrated" park. More often than not, those stories revolve around the 63 "national parks" that go into the 428 units of the National Park System. What about the remaining 365 units? Let's take a look at some of the most overlooked parks in that universe (and we hope you'll help!).

Beneath South Dakota's Black Hills, just 30 miles from the busy crowds at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, lies a world of deep passages, pristine lakes, and unique geologic features at Jewel Cave National Monument.

Are you ready for that national park trip? Traveling solo, or with one or more people? Is this a spur-of-the-moment choice or have you done a little research into things like the weather, the terrain, and/or the difficulty level of the trails in this park unit? Are you taking what you need for yourself and your camera?