Crystal clear night skies are one of the many reasons to visit Maine’s Acadia National Park. Photographer Evan Kokoska planned a last-minute trip to Acadia to capture the night sky. After some scouting and gorging on lobster, he spent the night shooting at Bubble Pond. With clear skies and calm winds, he was able to catch the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. An added bonus – Mars (to the right) and Saturn (a little below and to the left of Mars). Of the park, he says, “Acadia is powerful – the granite and shorelines are amazing and humbling.” Photo courtesy of Evan Kokoska.

Now is the perfect time to start planning your summer trip to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. Hike through stunning scenes of wildflowers and #waterfalls, climb mountain peaks and glaciers or kayak along 155 miles of breathtaking coastline. The nation’s largest national park – bigger than the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island combined – offers many ways to explore, from backpacking, fishing, river trips, biking and more! Photo by Jacob Frank, National Park Service.

#DidYouKnow that Idaho had canyons? Southern Idaho’s Snake River plains are dissected by several deep river canyons that offer spectacular scenery and world-class bird viewing and photography opportunities. Close by is the Bruneau Canyon Overlook. It’s the only readily accessible spot from which to view this deep canyon and was recently protected by Congress as a Wild and Scenic River. The viewpoint provides a taste of one of the more remote corners of the U. S.: the Bruneau-Jarbidge-Owyhee River Canyon system. These canyons offer whitewater boating, fishing, hunting and unlimited exploring for properly equipped adventurers. Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands.

Getting caught in a thunderstorm can be terrifying, but viewed from a safe distance, they’re one of nature’s most spectacular light shows. At Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, the rolling hills and grassy prairies allowed photographer Michael Hindes to capture this awesome sight from afar. If you’re visiting and the weather gets too bad, you can retreat underground to the gigantic cave complex that gives the park its name. Photo by Michael Hindes (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in Utah protects a unique transition zone – the meeting of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin Desert and Mojave Desert. Where these distinct landscapes overlap, unusual plants and animals have evolved, including flowers like the dwarf bearclaw poppy and Shivwits milk-vetch that grow nowhere else on earth. Explore the area’s flora, wildlife and spectacular desert scenery with more than 130 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Photo by Bob Wick @mypubliclands

The largest of the eared or tufted owls in North America, the great horned owl is a wonderful and fascinating bird. Covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them against cold weather and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey, their short, wide wings allow them to maneuver among the trees of the forest. Rarely seen because of their camouflage coloring, their calls are familiar across the U.S. We wonder what this one is thinking. Photo by Dennis Demcheck, U.S. Geological Survey.

Welcome to the hottest, driest, lowest place on earth. Death Valley National Park is a land of extremes and striking contrast. It also has some amazing sunsets. Photo Mesquite Flat Dunes by Steve Perry (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Wispy clouds float over Jackson Lake as the sun slowly sinks behind the Teton mountains at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Snow still covers the towering, jagged mountains, but daytime temperatures are climbing into the 60s. Now that the roads are cleared, it’s a great time to explore the park. Photo by Shelley Davault (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Sunset lights up the water and sky at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. The refuge, known to early homesteaders as the Great Wisconsin Swamp, provides important habitat for endangered species like the Karner blue butterfly and whooping crane. Of the experience, photographer Darlene Martin says: “The sanctuary is spectacular and surprisingly large. It was a beautiful spring evening, and the brilliance of the sunset was quite unexpected.” Photo courtesy of Darlene Martin.

This blacktail deer knows how to enjoy the wildflowers in Olympic National Park in Washington. Find a meadow covered in flowering purple lupines and settle in for a relaxing afternoon. Is there anything more peaceful than this? Photo by Jim Tobalski (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).