Ten state parks you can’t miss

Totem Bight

If you're visiting Ketchikan in southeastern Alaska, a region rich in Native American heritage and home to the world's largest collection of totem poles, be sure to stop by Totem Bight State Historical Park. The park has 15 restored totem poles and an elaborately painted clan house. Interpretive signs explain the meaning and symbolism of the poles as you tour the park. Admission is free.

(Photo: Grant Dougall, iStockphoto)

Eldorado Canyon

Located just eight miles from Boulder, Colorado's Eldorado Canyon State Park is a haven for rock climbers who come to test their skills on the park's more than 500 technical routes. Total Climbing runs a one-day rock climbing 101 course in the park for $190 per person that covers the basics of outdoor climbing.

(Photo: Eric Wunrow, Colorado Tourism)

Hammocks Beach

A far cry from the overdeveloped beachfront further north on the Outer Banks, Hammocks Beach State Park offers a taste of what North Carolina's coast was like before condos. Visitors can camp on the park's 892-acre Bear Island, a barrier island of dunes and maritime forest that's used as a nesting ground for loggerhead sea turtles and a stopover point for migratory birds. First-come, first-served campsites near the beach cost $9 per night. Ferry service to the island costs $5 per adult.

(Photo: VisitNC.com)

John Pennekamp

You'll need to don a mask and flippers to really experience Florida's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first underwater park in the U.S. The park offers offshore snorkeling tours that take you out to the reefs by boat and allow you to spend an hour and a half in the water, observing the marine life. Weather permitting, you'll also get to check out the "Christ of the Deep" statue at Key Largo Dry Rocks reef. Trips cost $29 per adult.

(Photo: Stephen Frink, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Bodie

While many of the West's ghost towns have been turned into tacky tourist traps, the former gold-mining town Bodie, California, has been allowed to die with dignity thanks to its state park status. The site has been kept in a state of "arrested decay," meaning that its structures are not restored but rather stabilized against the elements and protected from vandalism. Walking around the town, over ground where 19th-century nails and mining tools still lay scattered about, it truly feels as though Bodie has not been touched since its inhabitants abandoned it. Its remote location off a dirt road in the Eastern Sierra Nevada keeps visitation levels down, and helps it maintain an appropriate atmosphere of loneliness. The park costs $3 per adult to visit and is well worth the trip.

(Photo: Molly Feltner)

Na Pali Coast

Visiting National Parks tops many travelers' summer vacation plans, but there are hundreds of state parks worth exploring, too. The scenery, culture, and ecological assets of many state parks are more than equal to national park standards. What's more, state parks can be extremely cheap to visit, with nominal or no entrance fees and camping from $10 per night. Here's a photo tour of 10 worthy state parks around the country.

With its fluted pali, or cliffs, and miles of undeveloped beaches, Hawaii's Na Pali Coast State Park evokes the setting of the mystical island on ABC's Lost. That show is filmed on Oahu, but here on Kauai, the best and only way to get into the heart of the park is to hike the Kalalau Trail, an 11-mile path that hugs the coast, crossing five valleys and numerous wild beaches. The journey requires a tough 22-mile round-trip hike and spending several nights in rustic campsites. There is a $10 fee per person, per night to camp.

(Photo: Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Silver Falls

Lush with vegetation and waterfalls, Oregon's Silver Falls State Park feels like a cool-weather rainforest. One of the best ways to experience the park's environment is hiking the Trail of 10 Falls/Canyon Trail, a seven-mile loop trail that passes by 10 waterfalls, five of which plummet more than 100 feet. Those who prefer a shorter distance can loop back to the start point via various side trails. The only cost for day hikers is a $3 per vehicle parking fee.

(Photo: Index Open)

Sinkyone Wilderness

Along the coast of Northern California, the Pacific Coast Highway swings inland for a bit in between Fort Bragg and Eureka, leaving a substantial swath of shoreline unseen by most coastal travelers. This "Lost Coast," of which Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is a part, promises visitors who arrive by back roads a chance to experience the kind of untamed beaches and uninhabited land that have long since disappeared from much of California's coast. Camping in the park is $10 per night at first-come, first-served sites, or $3 per night in the backcountry.

(Photo: Marvin Sperlin, iStockphoto)

Baxter

Rising to 5,267 feet, the broad massif of Mt. Katahdin dominates Baxter State Park, standing out defiantly in the otherwise flat North Maine Woods. It's famed as the end point of the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail, but many come just to climb the mountain itself, one of the most physically striking peaks in the whole Northeast. You can summit by a variety of trails, including the Appalachian Trail, or you can opt to climb the more challenging route over Katahdin's Knife Edge ridge. The only cost for climbing Katahdin is an $8 per vehicle parking fee.

(Photo: Molly Feltner)

Dead Horse Point

Although it's one of Utah's prettiest parks, Dead Horse Point State Park is often passed by those heading to its bigger, more famous national parks, Canyonlands and Arches. The state park is cheaper to visit for the day than the national parks, costing $7 per vehicle rather than $10, and, because of its size, is easier to take in for those short on time.

(Photo: Utah State Parks)