Sequoia National Park

Picture unzipping your tent flap and crawling out into a ‘front yard’ of trees as high as a 20-story building and as old as the Bible. Brew some coffee as you plan your day of adventures in this extraordinary park with its soul-sustaining forests and gigantic peaks soaring above 12,000ft. Choose to gaze at dagger-sized stalactites in a 10,000-year-old cave, view the largest living tree on earth, climb 350 steps to a granite dome with soaring views of the snow-capped Great Western Divide or drive through a hole in a 2000-year-old log. All that before you've even walked a trail – where the wild scenes (and brief encounters with black bears) will give you goosebumps, charging waterfalls will leave you awestruck and epic overnight backpacking trips will lead you to deserted lakes and idyllic backcountry camps.