Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah is built for the road trip. You can string panorama after panorama together without leaving Skyline Drive, a National Historic Landmark with 75 overlooks along its 105 miles. For hikers, Old Rag's granite rock scramble is the signature challenge, and 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail run the length of the park. Wildlife is the quiet bonus: Shenandoah holds one of the densest black bear populations in the eastern United States, and it is the only place on Earth where the endangered Shenandoah salamander lives, confined to the talus slopes of three mountaintops. Because the park runs long north to south with big elevation changes, fall color arrives in waves and the season stretches for weeks.