TOP 10 ADVENTURE DESTINATIONS IN THE U.S.

446 kilometers long, 29 kilometers wide and the depth of 1,857 meters. The Grand Canyon was formed during 5-6 million of years of geological processes. The canyon is the central feature of the local national park along with a gorge of the Colorado river. The area has been inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. In 1979 it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the world's top natural tourist attractions and adventure destinations. It attracts approximately 5 million visitors annually, mostly from the USA itself. Aside from sightseeing, guests have a wide scale of activities proposed, such as rafting, hiking, running, or helicopter tours.

Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the USA and is also widely considered to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, for example the Old Faithful geyser. It has a variety of ecosystems with the subalpine forest being the most abundant. Even here Native Americans have lived for thousands of years. The national park has an area of 8,983 km2 consisting of lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. The park's average annual visitation equals 3.5 million. But recently the numbers have been increasing, with 2016 being a record year – approximately 4.26 million visitors.

Lying in western Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park covers an area of 3,026.87 km2. Yosemite boasts its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, and a great biological diversity. The area was designated as a World Heritage site in 1984 and up to now is one of the most popular adventure destinations. Numerous activities are available in the Yosemite Valley, including nature walks, photography and art classes, tours, bike rentals, mule and horseback rides and rafting. On average, about 4 million people visit the destination annually. In 2016, however, the park set a record and surpassed 5 million visitors for the first time in history.

Lying at 1,897 meters, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. At 150,682,490 dm3 it has a smaller volume only than the five Great Lakes in the United States. It is also the second deepest lake in the USA after Crater Lake. The lake is a major tourist attraction both in Nevada and California. There is a large variety of activities available, from winter sports, water sports to summer outdoor sports. Ski resorts are a significant part of the tourism inflow to the area. The overall inflow is an average of 3.2 million visitors per year for Lake Tahoe.

With a population of almost 300 thousand, Anchorage is Alaska's most populous city and also a popular adventure destination. It contains more than 40% of the state's total population. The city and its surroundings offer many activities to incoming visitors. Alaska as a whole boasts impressive nature and wildlife, which can be observed in the Chugach State Park, the Earthquake Park or the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. There are also glacier-like attractions as well as lakes for visitors to be fascinated by, for example Portage Lake or the glacier in the same place.

The Big Island is the largest island located in the state of Hawaii. With an area of 10, 430 km2 it represented 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago landmass. The Big Island features many possible activities, from biking, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing, camping, hiking to the most exotic activities such as visiting the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In 2017, 1.7 million people visited the Big Island. There are great growth tendencies in terms of visitor inflow, as it represents an increase of 13.7% compared to 2016.

With an area of 198.5 km2, Acadia National Park is the biggest and only national park in Maine. It comprises Mount Desert Island, Isle au Haut and the Schoodic Peninsula. The park boasts an impressive rocky coastline, mountains, forests, ponds etc. The impressive species diversity is also worth mentioning, ranging from mollusks and mammals to raptors and reptiles. The national park offers many activities for visitors, varying from bicycling, birdwatching, boating, fishing, hiking or horseback riding. The national park is visited by more than 3 million people annually, with a record set in 2017 – 3.5 million.

Lying between Teton Mountain Range and the Gros Ventre Range in Wyoming, Jackson hole is a 77-kilometer-long and almost 13-kilometer-wide valley. It embraces an area of approximately 644 square kilometers. There are various mountain ranges in the area, which makes Jackson Hole a perfect destination for outdoor recreation. From hiking, climbing to skiing, everyone has the opportunity to choose what suits him best. For skiing, one must visit the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of the top ski destinations in the country as well as the world. Annually, Jackson Hole is visited by more than 2.6 million visitors, despite Jackson's population being just over 10,000. This evokes a charming and very exciting atmosphere among visitors.

Located in northeastern New York, the Adirondack Mountains form a massif. Its boundaries correspond to the boundaries of the Adirondack Park. This park contains 102 towns and villages, along with numerous farms, businesses etc. The area of the park is 6.1 million acres and includes more than 10,000 lakes, 30,000 miles of rivers and a wide variety of habitats. Some of the major attractions of the Adirondacks are the Saranac Lake, the Whiteface Mountain, Lake Placid or the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex as well the Olympic Museum. It is estimated that the Adirondacks welcome 7-10 million visitors annually. Lake Placid itself welcomes approximately 3.3 million annual overnight visitors.

Founded as a former silver mining camp, Telluride sits in a box canyon. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it, with Bridal Veil Fall being situated at the head of the canyon. Besides the ski resorts, Telluride is widely considered an all-season resort. Incoming tourists enjoy mountain biking, hiking, river rafting and much more in Telluride. Telluride features over 30 hiking trails of different difficulty. The most popular are Ajax Peak, Bear Creek Falls or Hope Lake.