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National parks have long been known as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 best idea.鈥

And while some observers question who really coined the phrase鈥1972 Pulitzer-winner Wallace Stegner or Edwardian-era diplomat Viscount James Bryce鈥攆ew take issue with the underlying sentiment. In fact, many wonder why we鈥檙e not frantically expanding on our best idea, with The Sierra Club, Earth Island Institute and others calling for more national parklands ASAP.

If Congress were to heed that call, experts say, we could offset everything from the record overcrowding that plagues our most iconic national parks to the biodiversity loss that threatens all manner of habitat. A recent study published in Nature goes so far as to suggest that we could cut land animals鈥 risk of extinction in half by protecting the world鈥檚 remaining wilderness areas.

Lofty goals aside, our continued post-lockdown cravings for wide-open spaces make a new national park especially easy to root for right now. It would be the 64th such designation since Yellowstone kicked off the movement 150 years ago. And while no one can be sure which wilderness area congress will crown next, here are nine worthy contenders.

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Misty Fjords National Monument, Tongass National Forest, Alaska
Misty Fjords National Monument, Tongass National Forest, Alaska 漏 Eleanor Scriven / Getty

Tongass National Forest, Alaska

Overcrowding and biodiversity loss aren鈥檛 the only problems that increased parklands might address. If you take potential carbon sequestration benefits into account, as many studies do, new national parks in forested areas could help offset climate change. One prime candidate? The planet鈥檚 largest intact temperate rainforest, which also happens to be the country鈥檚 largest national forest.

At approximately 26,000 square miles, if the Tongass National Forest were a European nation, it would fall right between Lithuania and Ireland, size-wise. And if this vast confluence of old-growth forests, mountainous archipelagos and Misty Fjords were a national park, the Biden administration鈥檚 current efforts to curtail local logging would be strengthened, as would protections for Alaska Native heritage (鈥淭ongass鈥 is actually the name of a local Tlinghit group). That heritage runs deep here, and lives on in everyone from revered storytellers to the next-gen canoe carvers. Don鈥檛 miss your own opportunity to hop in a canoe or kayak鈥攖hese waterways are home to whales, bears and bergs, for starters.

Introducing Alaska鈥檚 national parks

Klamath-Siskiyou Forests ecoregion, Oregon and California

Eco-activists and regional tribes have been looking at environmental stewardship initiatives in these ancient forests for ages. One proposal is an Ancient Forest National Park that would run 230 miles from Oregon鈥檚 Rogue River to California鈥檚 Eel River through one of the world鈥檚 most biologically rich temperate coniferous forests. The park in question would protect the legendary biodiversity of the Klamath-Siskiyou Forests ecoregion, home to cougars, bears and one very special weasel, for starters. The waterways are at least as notable, as there are more federally-recognized Wild and Scenic Rivers and waterways here than anywhere else in the continental US.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the boating and rafting are epic here. But with four mountain ranges running through the area, so is the hiking and mountain biking. Exploring the vast wilderness, you鈥檒l see why advocates want to upgrade it to a national park, but whatever happens with those efforts, the area has already made the World Wild Life Fund鈥檚 Global 200 list of 鈥渢he most outstanding and representative habitats for biodiversity on this planet鈥 for purposes of conservation.

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Chiricahua National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument is known for its spired rock formations 漏 AZCat / Shutterstock

Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona

Taking its name from the ancient Opata word for 鈥渨ild turkey,鈥 the Chiricahua National Monument is still home to the Gould鈥檚 Turkey鈥攁 formerly at-risk subspecies turned conservation success story. Key to the comeback: a local hunting ban, plus the sheer isolation of the birds鈥 mountain aeries mid-desert (鈥渟ky islands,鈥 in the parlance of these US-Mexico borderlands). Still, for all the fascinating wildlife鈥攚hich also includes javelina and coatimundi鈥攖he geologic formations are the real, well鈥ock stars.

Born of volcanism, sculpted by the elements and starkly arrayed along the park鈥檚 17 miles of hiking trails, these super-sized rhyolite pillars look like the handiwork of some cairn-obsessed deity鈥攖hough the reigning Chiricahua Apache god, Usen, is better known for giving rise to the entire universe. Because this landscape remains sacred, one of the congressional bills proposing its re-designation as a national park advises the Secretary of the Interior 鈥渋n consultation with Indian Tribes, to ensure the protection of, and access to, traditional cultural and religious sites.鈥 Separately, a senate bill to make this land a national park passed unanimously at the end of March. To toast to the good news after you鈥檝e explored the area, visit a neighboring Wilcox winery. Yes, there鈥檚 an actual wine region in the Arizona desert鈥攁nd even more surprising to the uninitiated, numerous varietals have won national awards.

Introducing Arizona鈥檚 national parks and monuments

Northwoods, Michigan and Wisconsin

If the Sierra Club鈥檚 proposed North Woods National Park came to pass, the resulting park would be the Midwest鈥檚 largest. Made up of vast, carbon-dense tracts such as the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest鈥攑lus glacial lakes, wild rivers and wetlands鈥攖he total acreage would be three million.

There you may spot not only imperiled species鈥攈arbor wolves, lynx and osprey, for starters鈥攂ut also fellow humans: paddlers, hikers, mountain bikers, anglers and in winter, cross-country skiers. And while snowmobile use in national parks is constantly being reviewed, the current iteration of the Northwoods is such a beloved snowmobiling destination there鈥檚 even a Snowmobiling Hall of Fame and Museum in the town of St. Germain, Michigan.

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Mount Katahdin reflected in a lake at Baxter State Park, Maine
Mount Katahdin reflected in a lake at Baxter State Park, Maine 漏 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine

Though Maine is home to at least a couple of potential new national parks, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was recently called out by the chair of the senate subcommittee on National Parks鈥攏one other than Maine鈥檚 own Angus King鈥攁s a likely candidate. The state鈥檚 tallest mountain, the nearly mile-high Mount Katahdin, serves as a backdrop to these 87,000 wooded acres, where multiple rivers and streams interlace a landscape of forests and wetlands.

As befits a place with the word 鈥淲aters鈥 in its name, the kayaking and canoeing ops are plentiful and beautiful here, but the hiking and mountain biking trails are epic, too. Or simply stock up on homemade blueberry and whoopie pies at Katahdin General Store and drive along the monument鈥檚 17-mile scenic loop, where you鈥檒l find plenty of scenic overlooks. Sightings that may include moose, lynx, black bears or other famed residents.

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The Delaware Water Gap between Pennsylvania and New Jersey
The Delaware Water Gap between Pennsylvania and New Jersey 漏 Andrew F. Kazmierski / Shutterstock

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, New Jersey/Pennsylvania

Despite its name, the Delaware Water Gap straddles New Jersey and Pennsylvania and stands to become the first national park in both states. At around 67,000 acres, the current National Recreation Area is home to 150 miles of leafy Pocono Mountain trails, a 40-mile stretch of the Delaware River and a whole series of waterfalls. Don鈥檛 miss Raymondskill Falls, whose three-tiered drop almost adds up to the height of Niagara鈥攐r Dingmans Falls, where you鈥檒l hike along a boardwalk to the lower section, then do a more rugged climb for views of the upper falls.

Among those advocating for national park status here, it鈥檚 not just about preserving bucolic beauty. Some see this as a social justice issue, too, given how few national parks are withing easy reach of millions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York City dwellers. The access provided by a new Delaware Water Gap National Park would start to turn those tides.

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Craters of the Moon National Monument in Arco, Idaho
Stairs descending into lava tube cave Indian Tunnel at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Arco, Idaho 漏 Anna Gorin / Getty Images

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Idaho

While the American West is far more endowed with national parks than the east, there鈥檚 one state in the region that comes up short: Idaho. Granted, Yellowstone spills over the border from Wyoming, so if you鈥檙e going to lay claim to only some of a national park, a sliver of the granddaddy of them all isn鈥檛 bad. But among those who believe Idaho should have its own national park, Craters of the Moon is a top contender, especially if the footprint were expanded to include the neighboring sagebrush steppe鈥攈ome to the at-risk sage grouse and rich, carbon-storing soil.

But the centerpiece of the park would be the namesake lunar landscapes, all formed by ancient volcanic activity. You鈥檒l find views for days, especially atop the Inferno Cone, where you鈥檒l see the Great Rift, the Snake River Plain, the Pioneer Mountains and if you鈥檙e lucky, the Tetons. One rival panorama? The view you鈥檒l get of the legendary local night sky from the Lava Flow Campground.

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Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park 漏 Jeffrey M. Frank / Shutterstock

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Georgia

Georgia is another state that doesn鈥檛 yet have its own national park, but once the National Park Service wraps up a special resource study of the Ocmulgee River Corridor between Macon and Hawkinsville, things may change. The potential park has been a longtime goal of local conservationists and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, whose displaced ancestors once called these lands home. Actually, there are thousands of years鈥 worth of Indigenous history in the area, as you鈥檒l find at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park鈥攐nce the scene of the largest archeological dig in the US You鈥檒l want to wander the entire site, but at a minimum, see The Great Temple Mound Complex, the most imposing remnants of the Mississippians who lived here in the 10th century.

The prospective national park would fuse the archeological park and riverside stretch into a new mega-park that could run for almost 60 miles through 70,000 or so acres of environmentally and culturally significant lands鈥攁ll within easy reach of downtown Macon. Needless to say, you won鈥檛 want for amazing refueling stops in town, but two of the most iconic are Fish n鈥 Pig and the Bear鈥檚 Den.

12 great things to do in Macon, Georgia: celebrate this music-loving small town

Big Bend, Florida

Yes, the US already has a Big Bend National Park in Texas. But advocates of a Floridian counterpart along the state鈥檚 panhandle say we need to protect the longest stretch of undeveloped (and barely developed) coastline in the lower 48. If a proposed 1.9 million-acre Florida Big Bend National Park comes to pass, it will also include forests, wetlands, rivers, springs, estuaries and a major swath of seagrass鈥攁n essential habitat, erosion mitigator, food source and 鈥渂lue carbon鈥 storehouse. Among the region鈥檚 most famous and imperiled residents are manatees, but you may also encounter leopard frogs, grey wolves and all manner of bird in your explorations by boat, bike or foot.

Indeed, the area鈥檚 83,000-acre St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge was designated an avian habitat almost a century ago and has since been home to not only bald eagles, osprey, woodpeckers and huge numbers of seabirds鈥攂ut also alligators, deer and monarch butterflies. If these last winged are your thing, visit in October, when monarchs, Viceroy, Queen, American Painted Beauty and Gulf Fritillary butterflies will set your heart aflutter.

Sun, sea and swamp: introducing Florida鈥檚 national parks

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