10 US state parks that are just as cool as national parks, according to someone who's been to all 50 states

Dead Horse Point State Park often gets overshadowed by the nearby Arches National Park.Elisaveta Ivanova/Shutterstock

• After traveling to many US national parks, I've found that state parks are just as beautiful.
• State parks tend to be less crowded, cheaper to visit, and easier to get to than national parks.

I'm one of those people who's obsessed with visiting US national parks. I proudly carry around my National Parks Passport book and collect stamps at every site I visit that's operated by the National Parks Service.

I'll never stop loving national parks, but I'll be the first to admit that, sometimes, they get too much attention. After all, the National Park Service reported 325.5 million park visits in 2023.

I've found that national parks can be overcrowded, difficult to get to, and very expensive to visit. On the other hand, there are incredible state parks all over the country that tend to be less crowded, cheaper to visit, and easier to get to. Many of them also happen to be just as amazing as national parks.

Here are 10 of my favorites.