7 Exhilarating Water Features for National Park Visitors - Atlas Obscura Lists
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7 Exhilarating Water Features for National Park Visitors

These rushing waters can offer visitors an inviting diversion from the parks.

7 Places

Water features often evoke images of peace and tranquility, but in the national parks across the United States, water offers just as much excitement as it does serenity. As you travel from coast to coast, you will pass by towering trees, hilly landscapes, and among the most unforgettable: open waters.

From icy lakes to blistering hot springs, thundering waterfalls to churning rapids; these water features are not easy to access, but they are worth the effort. 

Take Fall Creek Falls, located near Grand Teton National Park in Idaho, for example. This is not just any roadside attraction; reaching the falls requires embarking on a hike or navigating in a boat. The Old Faithful Geyser, located in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, though not as difficult to access, erupts several times a day, shooting boiling hot water over 100 feet into the air. You can always count on it for an exhilarating show. 

Near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in the Greenbrier area near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, several water features collide. This includes waterfalls, rapids, and places to take a dip; offering both moments of calm and opportunities for great adventure.

These are not just scenic stops you can view easily on a cross-country roadtrip. Each destination is its own immersive experience, each from a different place across the nation, where water features are both the landing place, as well as the journey.

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Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Greenbrier Area

Waterfalls, rapids, and top-notch swimming spots await in this densely forested corner of the Smokies.
Diana Hubbell Added by Diana Hubbell
Moab, Utah

Mill Creek

A small oasis not far from downtown Moab.
nho245 Added by nho245

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