Crater Lake National Park taken from the International Space Station
Olympic National Park taken from the International Space Station
Yellowstone National Park taken from a satellite
Grand Canyon National Park from a satellite
Bear Glacier in Katmai National Park taken by a satellite
Katmai National Park taken from the International Space Station
Biscayne National Park taken from a satellite
Grand Teton National Park taken from a satellite
Acadia National Park taken from a satellite
Badwater, Death Valley National Park taken from the International Space Station
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park taken from a satellite
Great Smoky Mountains National Park taken from a satellite
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Crater Lake National ParkSeen from the International Space Station, the vibrant blue waters of Oregon's Crater Lake fill a dormant volcano.
Photograph by NASA

See extraordinary photos of national parks from space

It might be hard to resist planning a trip to these parks once you see them from above.

ByMarie McGrory
April 17, 2018
2 min read

There are plenty of things you cannot see from outer space: your home, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal. Most man-made structures are hard to enjoy from beyond the edges of low Earth orbit (save for, debatably, the Great Wall of China). Nature, on the other hand, takes on a whole new kind of beauty from the edges of our atmosphere.

In 2017 the National Park Service saw over 330 million visitors across its 84 million acres. On the ground level, those numbers are huge. From space, the numbers seem a bit more manageable. While considering your next trip, explore some of these iconic sights the way our national bird might: from above.

Check out some of the most popular parks or our favorite lesser-known parks.
autumn in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
people laying in a clearing in the forest
a kayaker enjoying the peak fall colors in Chocorua lake, New Hampshire
the New Croton reservoir in Westchester County, New York
a fresh water spring in Michigan
a train seen from above
forest in mid-autumn in Transylvania, Romania
a turn in the road in the mountains of Colorado
a tractor mowing the lawn seen from above
the Holmes River
frost-covered trees
someone floating in a pond in Sweden
Kettle pond in Vermont
an aerial view of Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan
an aerial shot of Metasequoia trees in winter
a kayaker enjoying the sunrise at Chocorua lake, New Hampshire
Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand
autumn in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
an aerial view of a forest surrounded by mountains
winter in Bujoreni Monastery, Romania
a kayaker enjoying the Autumn Colors in a lake in New Hampshire
a river in Sweden
an aerial view of Alaska
a pond surrounded by trees
trees in Richmond Hill, Ontario
a curving road seen from above
forest around Bujoreni Monastery, Romania
a road on the south end of Harstine Island in south puget sound
a road near Cluj-Napoca, Romania
an aerial view of Schäffer Lake
a mountain pass in Colorado
trees in autumn
a pond surrounded by trees
a river in Siberia
a pond surrounded by trees
a road leading to Lake Mashu, Hokkaido, Japan
two trees seen from above
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Dixville Notch, New Hampshire"Aerial view of Autumn in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. I love driving on these roads during fall. I used a drone to capture the fall colors that cannot be seen from the road." This photo was submitted to the Nature Photographer of the Year Contest 2017.
Photograph by Manish Mamtani, National Geographic Your Shot

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