Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado encourages you to follow your wild spirit and see what’s over the horizon. In any season, the views are epic and the experiences are unforgettable. Stopping to take a picture of one of the most beautiful sunsets he’d ever seen, photographer Brandon Sharpe noticed “an elk doing his thing” and snapped this incredible image. Photo courtesy of Brandon Sharpe.

Located in northern California, Lassen Volcanic National Park is a true winter wonderland. Silent, snow-covered volcanoes hide magma beneath their calm surfaces – clues to the area’s three million years of volcanic activity show up in steam vents, boiling springs and bubbling mudpots. Even in winter, these hydrothermal (“hot water”) features melt nearby snow and ice. Photo by Mike Matiasek, National Park Service.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia is one of the most visited refuges in the United States, providing visitors with opportunities to enjoy wildlands and wildlife. The refuge includes more than 14,000 acres of beaches, dunes, marsh and maritime forest. Established in 1943 for migratory birds, the refuge today provides habitat for amazing plants and wildlife – including the famous Chincoteague ponies. Photo of Swan Cove by Ben Spires (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).