America's Other Best Idea

Let the crowds stampede the national parks-in the U.S., you're never far from state lands that boast sublime beauty, natural seclusion, and endless adventure. These 14 just scratch the surface.

- By M. John Fayhee

In his documentary series "The National Parks," filmmaker Ken Burns extolled the populist nature of what he refers to as "America's Best Idea" the fact that those amazing federal lands are available to people from all walks of life. But what about the countless folks who don't live near federal land?

According to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD), there are 6,792 state park units in the U.S., and that's just the beginning. In addition, the National Association of State Foresters says state forest agencies oversee nearly 74 million acres. Admittedly, state parks are generally much smaller in size than their federal counterparts, but they're cumulatively vast, individually unique, and ecologically and socially important.

You want to embark upon a spur-of-the-moment backpacking trip and you live in New York City, you don't go to Yellowstone. You go to Harriman State Park.

"Most people do not live in a place where they can visit a national park or forest without taking a week of vacation," says Paul McCormack, director of state parks for the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and vice president of the NASPD. "State parks serve to introduce people to the outdoors; they are also economic engines for a lot of rural areas, as well as protecting a lot of resources."

What follows is a geographically diverse, but by no means exhaustive, homage to some of the country's great state parks. They're all home to top-shelf backpacking and an array of stunning landscapes, from desert vistas to rainforests to skyscraping peaks. If none of these are within a day's drive of you, don't worry-there are plenty more where they came from.

BAXTER STATE PARK MAINE

Ancestral home of the Penobscot