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Explore These Hidden Gems of America’s Wild

Into America’s Wild is set in more than thirty wildly unique locations, including a few lesser known gems like these here. All are worth exploring and are suitable for both the mini-adventurer and the experienced explorer!

Arizona - Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle

Canyon de Chelly has been inhabited for nearly 5,000 years, the longest of anywhere on the Colorado Plateau. It was named a national monument in 1931, mainly to preserve its archeological treasures. The park’s 84,000 acres lie entirely within the Navajo Nation and are managed jointly by the National Park Service and the Navajo.

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California - Crowley Lake, Mono County

These strange and unique rock columns on the shore of Crowley Lake, located about 40 minutes from Mammoth Lakes, were created more than 767,700 years ago from a massive volcanic eruption that cascaded over the surrounding desert ash. Years and years of erosion from wind and water created the odd-looking columns seen today.

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Colorado - Royal Gorge, Fremont County

Royal Gorge, where John and Ariel’s heart-pumping zipline experience was filmed, is where adrenaline junkies can ride a choice of ziplines—including the Cloudscraper, America’s highest. An enormous bungee-jump is even scarier, while gondolas offer a more sedate experience aloft. The nation’s highest suspension bridge also spans the 1,250-foot gorge.

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Florida - Everglades National Park

With the help of early conservationists, scientists and nature advocates, Everglades National Park was established in 1947 to protect and conserve the region’s natural landscape, plants and animals. This national park is unlike many others in that it’s surrounded by nearly one-half-million acres of surrounding water.

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Georgia to Maine - Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail, fondly called “the A.T.” by hikers, is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. Spanning a whopping 2,192 miles across 14 states — from Georgia to Maine — the A.T. sees nearly 3 million visitors each near. It’s estimated that only 1 in every 4 thru-hikers complete the trail in its entirety.

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New Mexico - Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

The incredible area of Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah is located in the high desert of northwest New Mexico. What makes this area of land so remarkable are the hoodoos, balanced rocks, and other strange formations found there. Over the past 100 years, many dinosaur bones have been collected there as well.

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Oregon - Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor

Meandering 12 miles along the southern Oregon coast, the little-known Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor is a treasure waiting to be explored. This linear park boasts secluded coves, beautiful vistas, and ancient trees, and sea stacks and islands lie offshore. The Oregon Coast Trail winds through it, with many small trails to walk.

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Scenic Corridor >

Utah - Pando Aspen Grove, Fishlake National Forest

Pando is the formal name given to a special grove of quaking aspens that span 107 acres and contain 47,000 trees in Utah, but its size is far from its most remarkable feature. Aspens have the rare ability to reproduce by cloning themselves, and all 47,000 individual “ramets” in this forest are the offspring of one seed that landed in the soil thousands of years ago.

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Utah - Fisher Towers, Moab

Fisher Towers is known as one of Utah’s most bizarre landscapes. Consisting of towering red rock formations, composed of dark red sandstones and hardened mud, these gigantic geological features can be marveled at while hiking the 4.7-mile Fisher Towers Hiking Trail.

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Urban Wild

Nature can also be experienced in city parks and gardens, like these seen in the film.

Illinois - Millennium Park, Chicago

One of the most well-known urban parks sits in what was once considered an industrial wasteland. From railroad tracks and empty parking lots came the now thriving Millennium Park. The park hosts a variety of free and family friendly events, including concerts, public sculptures, gardens, and even a 40-foot outdoor climbing wall!

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Missouri – Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis

Gateway Arch National Park was created in 1965 to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a transcontinental United States. The park overlooks the beautiful Mississippi River and features walking paths, river boat tours and of course the Gateway Arch itself rising high above the city. Visitors can ride a tram to the top!

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New York - Central Park

As early as the 1840s, Manhattan’s increasing urbanization inspired poet-editor William Cullen Bryant and landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing to have a park built on the island. With widespread support, the land was bought, and almost twenty years later the 840-acre Central Park opened, offering visitors a garden oasis and the opportunity to disconnect from the city and reconnect to nature.

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New York - Niagara Falls

This wet water wonderland is part of Niagara Falls State Park — the oldest state park in the U.S. that sits on the border with Canada. Every second, 3,160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls, falling at 32 feet per second. In 1885, a horse-drawn carriage-ride around the falls cost $1 per hour. Now, visitors can get up close to the jaw-dropping enormity of the falls, known as the “Cave of Winds” experience.

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South Carolina - The Angel Oak, Johns Island

Thought to be one of the oldest living organisms east of the Mississippi, Angel Oak is a monstrous beauty. Soaring an astonishing 65 feet tall, 28 feet in circumference and shades an area of 17,000 square feet. Perhaps even more impressive, is the fact that one of Angel Oak’s largest branches reaches 187 feet!

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Texas - River Walk, San Antonio

The San Antonio River Walk stretches 15 miles long and flows through approximately 5 miles of downtown San Antonio. Residents of this urban environment have the option to break away from the concrete and tech of modern life. More and more communities are discovering such spaces are not only welcome for the visual beauty they add, but they also offer an array of cultural, environmental and economic benefits, including a healthier, more creatively inspired citizenry.

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