State Scenery Rankings

statesnrates
Nov 13, 2023
5 min read

This week we took a look at some of the natural beauty that the states have to offer. We looked at the overall scenic beauty of each state and ranked the top 10. Then we looked at some of the most unique national parks. Let’s take a deeper look at these rankings!

Top 10 Scenic States

California
Hawaii
Alaska
Utah
Colorado
Washington
Oregon
Michigan
Arizona
Wyoming

Top 10 Scenic States

10. Wyoming

Wyoming might have the smallest population of any state, but that just leaves more room for all that national beauty. Wyoming is home to 7 national parks, one of which is Yellowstone National Park. The state is located within the rocky mountains and has a mean elevation of 6,700 feet above sea level. Nearly 2/3rds of the state lies more than 1 mile in elevation. The state’s landscape consists of mountains and high plains.

9. Arizona

Arizona’s landscape consists of high elevation and low elevation deserts, deep canyons, natural rock formations, and volcanic mountain ranges. Some of the flora includes cactus, yucca, desert marigold, desert willow, and agave. Arizona is home to 3 national parks, the Grand Canyon National Park being the most notable. Half of the state lies above an elevation of 4,000 feet. Arizona is also home to the world’s largest area of evergreen ponderosa pine trees in the world.

8. Michigan

Michigan is the only state from the east side of the country that made our top 10 list. Michigan consists of 2 peninsulas in the Great Lakes, so there is scenic beauty to be seen on all sides of the state. No point in Michigan is more than 85 miles from a Great Lake. Michigan is home to 1 national park: Isle Royale. Besides Alaska, Michigan has the longest shoreline of any state spanning 3,200 miles. Within the state, there are 11,000 lakes. Michigan has a relatively low elevation with the highest elevation point reaching 1,700 feet.

7. Oregon

Orgeon has a lot of natural beauty to behold. The state consists of snow-dusted mountains, river canyons, lush valleys, a rugged coast, arid plains, and fertile fields. Oregon has every type of terrain, including desert. The state contains 6 national parks. The state’s elevation ranges from sea level to 11,239 feet. There are more than 6,000 lakes and 112,000 miles of rivers and streams within the state.

6. Washington

Washington has a diverse range of biomes. Within the state, there are prairies, wetlands, estuaries, rainforests, shrubsteppe, marine waters, and grasslands. The west side of the state has more marine-type biomes, while the east side of the state has more mountainous regions. Snow-capped mountains can be seen year round from downtown Seattle. Washington is home to 3 national parks and multiple volcanoes.

5. Colorado

Colorado stretches from the high plains of the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains. This creates a diverse range of environments and beauty around every corner. Colorado consists of desert basins, desert canyons, mesas, desert plateaus, alpine mountains, and the grasslands of the High Plains. Within Colorado’s bounds are 58 of the nation’s 96 mountain peaks that stand at or above 14,000 feet. Colorado is home to 4 national parks.

4. Utah

Utah contains mountains, plateaus, mesas, river-eroded canyons, glacier-eroded canyons, volcanos, and basins. Utah is home to 5 national parks, all of which are quite popular: Arches, Byrce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. The parks are famous for their natural red rock formations and contain over 1,000 miles of hiking trails. Utah is also home to a 30,000 acre salt flat that is on the edge of the Great Salt Lake Basin.

3. Alaska

Alaska has a landscape quite different from the continental United States. Alaska’s climate zones include the arctic, boreal forests, and coastal forest. Alaska has ice fields, perennial snowfields, alpine glaciers, valley glaciers. The coast of Alaska has fjords, rocky coasts, salt marshes, intertidal zones, and tundra cliffs. Alaska contains 8 national parks and 17 of North America’s tallest mountains. The state has more than 100 volcanoes and volcanic fields. There are more than 3,000 rivers and 3 million lakes. Alaska also has more coastline than the rest of the U.S. combined. The Northern Lights can also be seen from Alaska. The elevation range is from sea level to 20,310 feet.

2. Hawaii

Like Alaska, the scenic beauty of Hawaii is unlike anything found in the continental United States. Hawaii contains beautiful beaches, misty plateaus, craggy ocean cliffs, tropical coastal areas, lava deserts, and fern and bamboo forests. The peak of Mauna Kea is also often snowcapped. The sand of Hawaii’s beaches ranges from white, green, red, pink, and black. Hawaii has 9 national parks. Hawaii’s elevation ranges from sea level to 2,000 feet.

1. California

Like other states on the West Coast, California has a diverse environment. The state includes deserts, mountains, fertile valleys, beaches, forests, and more. California is home to some pretty impressive trees. One of the world’s tallest is the Coast Redwood, the world’s most massive is the Giant Sequoia, and the world’s oldest is the Bristlecone pine. California contains 9 national parks, Yosemite National Park being one of the most popular.

National Parks

This week we also took a look at some of the most unique national parks. Let’s take a deeper look at these and discuss some of their unique characteristics.

Unique National Parks

Sequoia National Park, California
Canyonland National Park, Utah
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Glacier National Park, Montana
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Yellowstone National Park; Wyoming, Montana, Idaho
Grand Teton National Park. Wyoming
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
Yosemite National Park, California

Sequoia National Park | California

This park is known for its massive trees. The giant Sequoia trees range in height from 250 to 300 feet and have a diameter of around 30 feet.

Canyonland National Park | Utah

This park features a dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado River. There are rock formations that look like needles. Within the Horseshoe Canyon, you can see Native American rock paintings.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park | New Mexico

This park has more than 100 caves located in the Chihuahuan desert. The desert wetland attracts reptiles and hundreds of bird species.

Glacier National Park | Montana

This park has a lake with colorful pebbles, stunning mountains, and beautiful valleys.

Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona

This park features a large canyon formed by water erosion from the Colorado River. Millions of years of geological history can be observed in the layers of red rock of the canyon.