Swift, powerful strokes carry the osprey and its meal away from the river. Winging through the trees that line the Snake River, the raptor carries a fat, protein-rich fish -- a trout, maybe a sucker -- that its talons moments ago had plucked from the swirling river.

Great Basin National Park in Nevada, with its 77,180 acres (31,234 hectares), may be just the ticket if you crave a national park within the Lower 48 out in the middle of nowhere, with far fewer summer crowds than those entertained by the larger national parks.

When you were a child, did you enjoy playing in the sand box? Child or adult, do you enjoy a sandy beach in which to sink your toes? Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is home to the world’s most extensive Permian fossil reef, the four highest points in Texas, various ecosystems, and historic stories of bloodshed and survival all waiting to be explored. From forested mountains and desert dunes, Guadalupe Mountains offer various ways to explore the area through hours of hiking and backpacking trails not for the faint of heart, or via beautiful settings of flora and wildlife within reach of  families.

Haleakalā National Park, on the island of Maui, Hawaii, is both a lush, green paradise and a colorful, high-altitude, landscape of cinder cones and lava flows.

Picture a high-elevation national park nestled within the tropical paradise of Hawaii – a park that is constantly changing its looks by way of the active geologic processes just beneath its basalt-rock surface. This is what you’ll get with a visit to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on Hawai’i’s Big Island.

If you truly want to get away from it all without having to travel out of the Lower 48, then you might want to consider visiting Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, with an annual visitation number just below 30,000. Per park staff, it’s “rugged, remote, and far from connected communities.” The only way to access this park is by ferry, private boat, or seaplane.

The National Park Service (NPS) protects and preserves so many unique environments and landscapes, including caves. Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota is one such cave system within the NPS purview. At 220 mapped miles (354 km), Jewel Cave is considered one of the longest caves in the world and worth a visit for both exploration both above and below ground.

North-central Oregon is not only one of the most geologically interesting and beautiful parts of the state, but of the nation, really. A visit to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a great introduction to Oregon’s geology and interior landscape.