A hike through alder branches, thick vine maple stands, stinging nettle, devil’s club and a moss-covered gully is all worth it to reach this gem-colored lake. Bright and inviting, that first cold plunge into the icy lake re-invigorates like nothing else can. That’s what a trip to North Cascades National Park in Washington is all about. Photo from Trapper Lake courtesy of Crystal Brindle.

The first eastern national park, Acadia’s rugged coast has beckoned visitors for ages. Today people from all over the world come to Acadia National Park in Maine to hike granite peaks, bike historic carriage roads, or relax and enjoy the scenery. Photo of the Bubbles from Jordan Pond by Kristi Rugg, National Park Service.

Labor Day is called the unofficial end of summer, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to hibernate. Take advantage of cooler days to explore public lands across the country. You can see birds migrate, take pictures of changing leaves and enjoy sitting by a campfire. The parks, refuges and wilderness are always there for you. Photo of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska by Saurin Munshaw (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Labor Day is called the unofficial end of summer, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to hibernate. Take advantage of cooler days to explore public lands across the country. You can see birds migrate, take pictures of changing leaves and enjoy sitting by a campfire. The parks, refuges and wilderness are always there for you. Photo of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska by Saurin Munshaw (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Summer makes for some epic thunderstorms. Case in point: this dramatic pic of a lighting strike at Badlands National Park in South Dakota from earlier in August. Photo by Badlands’ Seasonal Park Paleontologist Phil Varela, National Park Service.

The Wilderness Act – enacted on this day in 1964 – defines a wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” In the following 52 years, over 109 million acres of pristine forests, mountains, deserts and wetlands have been protected, giving all Americans the opportunity to escape into nature. Photo of the Steelhead Falls Wilderness Study Area in Oregon by Jeff Clark, @mypubliclands

Walk in the footsteps of fur traders and the Grand Portage Ojibwe at Grand Portage National Monument, located on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota next to the Canadian border. The 8.5-mile Grand Portage Trail winds through history and beautiful scenery like forests and meadows. After hiking through a downpour, photographer Travis Novitsky says, “The gorgeous sunset over the beaver meadow made it all worthwhile!” Photo courtesy of Travis Novitsky.

Why doesn’t sunrise make a sound? A vision so beautiful seems to deserve a musical overture. But maybe, overwhelming your sense of sight is enough for dawn at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Photo by N. Lewis, National Park Service.

There’s something to see in every season at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. Summer brings over 113 bird species to the refuge, where they breed and raise their young. After wildlife viewing during the day, stick around for stellar nighttime scenes like this pic of a stormy summer sky. A 30-second exposure captured the light of the stars and moon, along with lightning coloring the clouds from a passing storm. Photo by Tom Koerner, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

At Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska, wild rivers meander through glacier-carved valleys, caribou migrate along age-old trails and endless summer light fades into aurora-lit night skies of winter. It remains virtually unchanged except by the forces of nature. With no roads or trails, getting here is a challenge, but the reward is a lifetime of amazing memories. Photo by Carl Johnson, National Park Service.