From sweeping views of the Grand Canyon to stunning waterfalls in Yosemite, these vintage photos capture timeless beauty of national parks in the United States.
Visitors brave the edge of Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Looming 3,000 feet above the ground, the rock is a favorite site for photographers and visitors seeking a spectacular view of the Yosemite Valley.
Photograph by Geo. W. Griffith, Library of Congress
ByNational Geographic Staff
June 30, 2022
•7 min read
When Yellowstone was established as a national park in 1872, its founding marked the birth of the U.S. National Park System. This ambitious idea steadily grew to include 423 park units (including 63 national parks) for travelers to discover.
Since 1916, the National Park Service has acted as a guardian of diverse recreational, cultural, and historical resources; and inspired other countries to follow suit, serving as an inspiration for park preservation around the world.
More than 15 billion visitors have explored the park system’s 85,000 miles of rivers and streams; 7,035 square miles of reservoirs, lakes, or ocean; more than 43,000 miles of shoreline; and over 18,000 miles of trails.
But its mission—to protect these treasured sites for the education, enjoyment, and inspiration of this and future generations—has not changed.
These timeless vintage images show us several national parks in their youth and remind us of the natural beauty the National Park System preserves.
A panorama shows Lake Bryanthus and Mount Rixford at Kings Canyon National Park in California. Kings Canyon, established in 1940, and neighboring Sequoia National Park, established in 1890, have been managed jointly since 1943.
Photograph by Pacific Photo Co., Library of Congress
Visitors to Yellowstone National Park watch the Grand Geyser erupt in the park’s Upper Geyser Basin. Established on March 1, 1872, in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, Yellowstone contains the greatest concentration of the world’s hot springs and geysers.
Photograph by Stereo-Travel Co., Library of Congress
Stark Peak, now known as Grinnell Point, rises above a waterfall in Glacier National Park, Montana. Founded in 1910, Glacier National Park and its Canadian neighbor, Waterton Lakes National Park, are administered separately but cooperate in wildlife management and other areas.
Photograph courtesy Library of Congress
A woman dares a closer look over the edge following a snowfall at the Grand Canyon. Such side-by-side stereoscopic photographs are rendered as a single, three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope.
Photograph by Keystone View Company, Library of Congress
In this stereoscopic photograph, circa 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt stands at Glacier Point in California’s Yosemite National Park. One of the park system’s greatest patrons, Roosevelt established five national parks during his administration.
Photograph courtesy Library of Congress
A photograph shows Ayer's Peak and Cape Split at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Established as a national park in 1919, the Grand Canyon had previously been designated as both a forest reserve and a national monument. Today nearly five million people visit the canyon each year.
Photograph by H.G. Peabody, Boston, Library of Congress
Mules provide a surefooted ride along a high trail in the Grand Canyon. Mule rides are still popular today in the park.
Photograph by H.C. White Co., Library of Congress
A black bear rummages through garbage pails on a wagon in Yellowstone National Park in this stereoscopic image. Both black bears and grizzly bears inhabit Yellowstone and can be seen between March and November.
Photograph by Ingersoll View Company, Library of Congress
Visitors to Oregon’s Crater Lake relax in a boat near Wizard Island, a classic cinder cone named for its resemblance to a wizard’s hat. The deepest lake in the United States, Crater Lake is more than 1,900 feet deep. It sits in Mount Mazama, a dormant volcano in the Cascades.
Photograph by Kunselman-Gerking, Library of Congress
Men ride through the Wawona Tree, a giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park’s Mariposa Grove. Cut in 1881, the tree’s tunnel attracted thousands of tourists wanting to pass beneath it in their vehicles. Weight from fallen snow caused the tree to collapse in 1969.
Photograph courtesy Library of Congress
A panoramic photograph shows Balcony House, one of the highlights of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Overlooking Soda Canyon, the 40-room dwelling was built by a prehistoric people once called the Anasazi (now known as ancestral Puebloans), who built their dwellings into cliff recesses around A.D. 1200.
Photograph by Haines Photo Co., Library of Congress
People navigate a trail on horseback in Van Trump Park, part of Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park. Established in 1899, the national park’s centerpiece is Mount Rainier, one of the world’s most massive volcanoes and the tallest peak in the Cascade Range.
Photograph by Curtis & Miller, Library of Congress
This story originally published on April 3, 2018. It has been updated with new images and information. Starlight Williams contributed reporting.
