Debate is currently raging over America’s national parks and when they should — and shouldn’t — be free to enter. Perhaps it’s a good time to step away from the noise and discover the unsung heroes of the country’s outdoor landscape: its state parks.
They’re home to some of the USA’s most beautiful terrain, many are free to enter, and they’re generally far less crowded than their national park counterparts.
In Ohio there is a stunning gorge system waiting to be discovered, and in Pennsylvania hiking trails that weave past 22 waterfalls. A thundering “black water” cascade awaits in West Virginia, while Arkansas offers a park perched on top of a mountain, and in Missouri there’s an extraordinary series of chutes and plunge pools carved through volcanic rock…