National & State Parks: The best of the best state parks

This is a feature I'm looking appear on my website. I wrote five editions of a book titled book Parks of the United States, the descriptive information about national parks, forests, wildlife sanctuaries and more than 3,300 state parks, historic sites and nature reserves included. In gathering information for the book that there are a number of state parks that compete most famous national parks in terms of beauty, cultural and historical significance, and natural resources, although many of these parks not by the public became clear to me known.

I always had in mind the idea of a list of "best" state parks in the United States. Of course, I always knew that this list is very subjective, as the best parks for an observer of birds may not be the best parks for a skier and riders in the terrain. However, I went ahead with my idea and contacted the directors of each of the 50 national park systems and made them the following questions:

If you try to present your national park system, we recommend 2-3 visitor must see "Parks and why?

In their responses, most Directors stressed the difficulty of the task was to select only 2-3 state parks for the project if they were to choose ten or a hundred. Some routes, the rules a little and 4-5 of the parks. (I decided to let these additional choices.) In many cases, selections are accompanying text information that can be accessed by clicking on the link, "which she said," which is just below each state name. Each state name is a hyperlink to the official website for each state park system.

In a property that it is certainly an open question, here are a list of the "best of the best parks in the state."

Alabama

DeSoto State Park
Joe Wheeler State Park
Lake Guntersville State Park

Alaska

Chugach State Park
Denali National Park
Totem Bight State Historical Park
Bois-Tikchik State Park

Arizona
what they said

Kartchner Caverns State Park
Red Rock State Park
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

AR
what they said

Crater of Diamonds State Park
Ozark Folk Center State Park
Petit Jean State Park

California
what they said

Anza Borrego Desert State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Hearst Castle
Huntington State Beach
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Colorado
what they said

Mueller State Park
Roxoborough State Park
Steamboat Lake State Park
Sylvan Lake State Park

Connecticut
what they said

Dinosaur State Park
Gillette Castle State Park
Hammonasset Beach State Park

Delaware
what they said

Cape Henlopen State Park
Fort Delaware State Park
Trap Pond State Park

Florida
what they said

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Myakka River State Park
Paynes Prairie State Preserve
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
Wekiwa Springs State Park

Georgia
what they said

Cloudland Canyon State Park
Providence Canyon State Park
Tallulah Gorge State Park

Hawaii

Koke'e SP and Waimea Canyon
Iao Valley State Park
Diamond Head State Monument

Idaho

Bruneau Dunes State Park
Ponderosa State Park
Priest Lake State Park

Illinois
what they said

Cache River State Natural Area
Chain O'Lakes State Park
Pere Marquette State Park

Indiana
what they said

Brown County State Park
Falls of the Ohio State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park

Iowa
what they said

Backbone State Park
Ledges State Park
Waubonsie State Park

Kansas
what they said

Cheney State Park
Scott National Park
Tuttle Creek State Park

Kentucky
what they said

John James Audubon State Park
Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
Natural Bridge State Resort Park

Louisiana
what they said

Bayou State Park Segnette
Fontainebleau State Park
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
North Toledo Bend State Park
Tickfaw State Park

Maine

Reid State Park
Sebago Lake

Maryland

Assateague State Park
Elk Neck State Park
Gunpowder Falls State Park
Swallow Falls State Park

Massachusetts
what they said

Mount Greylock State Reservation
Nickerson State Park
Walden Pond State Reservation

Michigan
what they said

Ludington State Park
Desert Porcupine Mountains State Park
Tahquamenon State Park
Waterloo Recreation Area

Minnesota
what they said

Blue Mounds State Park
Itasca State Park
Forestville / Mystery Cave State Park

Mississippi
what they said

John W. Kyle State Park
Percy Quin State Park
Tishomingo State Park

Missouri

Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Meramec State Park
Montauk State Park
Prairie State Park

Montana
what they said

Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
Makoshika State Park
Ulm Pishkun State Park

Nebraska

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park
Fort Robinson State Park
Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area

Nevada

Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
Cathedral Gorge State Park
Valley of Fire

NH
what they said

Franconia Notch State Park
Mount Washington State Park
Odiorne Point State Park

NJ
what they said

High Point State Park
Iceland Beach State Park
Wharton State Forest

New Mexico
what they said

City of Rocks State Park
Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park
Sugarite Canyon

New York
what they said

Jones Beach State Park
Niagara Reservation State Park
Riverbank State Park
Saratoga Spa State Park

North Carolina
what they said

Hammocks Beach State Park
Hanging Rock State Park
Morrow Mountain State Park
Stone Mountain State Park

North Dakota
what they said

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
Icelandic State Park
Lake Sakakawea State Park

Ohio
what they said

Hocking Hills
Hueston Woods State Park
Mohican State Park

Oklahoma
what they said

Beavers Bend State Park
Quartz Mountain State Park
Robbers Cave State Park

Oregon
what they said

Ecola State Park
Shore Acres State Park
Silver Falls State Park
Smith Rock State Park

Pennsylvania
what they said

Ohiopyle State Park
Presque Isle State Park
Ricketts Glen State Park

This is a feature I am very excited that appears on my website. I wrote five editions of a book titled book Parks of the United States, the descriptive information about national parks, forests, wildlife sanctuaries and more than 3,300 state parks, historic sites and nature reserves included. In gathering information for the book that there are a number of state parks that compete most famous national parks in terms of beauty, cultural and historical significance, and natural resources, although many of these parks not by the public became clear to me known.