20 U.S. state parks rival national parks with fewer crowds

Key facts

• 20 U.S. state parks are highlighted as alternatives to crowded national parks.
• Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada features Aztec sandstone formations and petroglyphs.
• Custer State Park in South Dakota has a bison herd of 1,300 animals.
• Antelope Island State Park in Utah is home to a bison herd and high-salinity beaches.
• Dead Horse Point State Park overlooks a gooseneck bend in the Colorado River.
• Goblin Valley State Park in Utah is an International Dark Sky Park with hoodoos.
• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California is the largest state park in the state.
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas is the second-largest canyon system in the U.S.
• Smith Rock State Park in Oregon is considered the birthplace of American sport climbing.
• Silver Falls State Park in Oregon has the Trail of Ten Falls with four walk-behind waterfalls.
• Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan protects old-growth hardwood forest.
• Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin has quartzite bluffs and rock climbing.
• Tettegouche State Park in Minnesota features High Falls on the Baptism River.
• Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio has sandstone gorges and rock shelters.
• Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee has a 256-foot waterfall.
• Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky is known for its moonbow.
• Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia has wild ponies and high-elevation balds.
• Watkins Glen State Park in New York has 19 waterfalls in a gorge.
• Letchworth State Park in New York is called the Grand Canyon of the East.
• Baxter State Park in Maine protects Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
• Chugach State Park in Alaska covers nearly 495,000 acres near Anchorage.