Take a walk through a winter wonderland at Yellowstone National Park. While it looks a light coating of snow at Tangled Creek, the landscape is covered in hoar frost, which forms when water vapor freezes quickly creating delicate, feather-like crystals. Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service.

What a view! The blue-green waters of Lake Superior stretch out from the gray cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Lake Superior is the largest, coldest and most pristine of the Great Lakes. It has the largest surface of any freshwater lake on earth and it is the third largest lake by volume. Storms, snow, fog, humidity, temperatures and wind generated from the lake impact every park ecosystem, causing dramatic seasonal changes. Photo by Gregory Lloyd (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Located just an hour’s drive from Fairbanks, Alaska, the one-million-acre White Mountains National Recreation Area offers stunning scenery, peaceful solitude, and outstanding opportunities for year-round recreation. Summer visitors to the White Mountains pan for gold, fish, hike and camp under Alaska’s midnight sun. In winter, visitors travel by ski, snowshoe, dog team and snowmobile to enjoy the 12 public-use cabins, 250 miles of groomed trails and the spectacular sight of the Northern Lights dancing overhead. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, @mypubliclands

The rugged beauty of Badlands National Park in South Dakota is undeniable. From hiking past unique rock formations and fossil beds to watching bison run across the grasslands and the surprise of a swift storm moving in, outdoor adventures abound. Photo by Christina Laws (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

First light streaks across the sky, chasing away the stars over Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The orange dawn quickly reveals the mountains, forests, rivers and lakes scattered across this epic landscape. With beauty like this, it’s an experience you’ll never forget. Photo by Kim Dessoliers (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

There are so many incredible sights along the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument. As it flows from Colorado into Utah, the river passes rugged canyons, Native American petroglyphs, a historic ranch and numerous fossil sites. The Jurassic fossils helped develop the science of paleontology and gave the park its name. Photo by Nancy Danna (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

The ocean mist floats on a breeze smelling of pine and birch. The sunset sparkles across the water as waves crash over the rocky shoreline. The views at Acadia National Park in Maine have inspired artists and dreamers for generations. Isn’t it time for you to see it for yourself? Photo by Nick Stasilli (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. The area boasts miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, is rich with natural and historic features, and provides visitors with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities including hunting, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, horseback riding and whitewater paddling. This time of year, you can also enjoy the stunning fall colors. Photo by National Park Service.

The strange rock formations at Joshua Tree National Park in California are the results of magma flows and millions of years of erosion. Many of the unique boulders in the park haven earned names. The large stone pictured here is Heartbreak Rock. Can you guess why? Sunset photo by Hannah Schwalbe, National Park Service.

Eat too much for Thanksgiving and just want to lay around this weekend? Looks like these cute little foxes feel the same way. Ben Kuropat snapped this pic a few years ago while visiting Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. Here, visitors can explore 40 miles of pristine sandy beach, wild cranberry bogs and lighthouses – and if you are lucky, you might see some of the wildlife that call this park home. Photo by Ben Kuropat (http://ift.tt/1cqMdZc).