The Blue Ridge mountains and the famous Blue Ridge Parkway are visited by about 18 million people every year. Many of the visitors to these mountains don't get out of their vehicles as they drive along the scenic routes that extend from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The Blue Ridge Mountains also form a natural barrier between the Tennessee Valley and the East Coast, making it impossible to travel between these two parts of the United States without driving through these beautiful peaks.
With between 8 and 10 million annual visitors, the Great Smokey Mountains National park is the most visited national park in America. The park makes for a great place to go hiking since it has over 800 miles of trails. If you plan on hiking to the top one one of the Smoky Mountain peaks, you may want to bring a jacket since the temperature varies 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit from the base to the top of the mountains. Visitors to the Great Smokey Mountains often see bear and elk which make these mountains their home.
To really get a wild adventure one must visit the Rockey Mountains in Colorado. These mountains are bustling with wildlife including bighorn sheep elk, moose, black bears, coyotes, cougars, and eagles. The Rocky Mountains get more than 3 million visitors annually and many hunters and fishermen visit the Rockies. During the winter months, the various resorts fill up with skiers and snowboarders from all over the world.
It took about 400 hundred workers 14 years to carve the 60 foot high faces of Presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln into the rocky cliffs of Mount Rushmore. The mountain, which recieves about 3 million guests annually was completed in 1941 and serves as a monument to the men who founded America. Visitors can take a walk down the half-mile long Presidential Trail to see the carvings in the mountain from below. Kids ages 5 through 12 can be part of a Junior Ranger educational program which teaches the importance of the national parks. Other activities in the area include fishing, horseback riding, and technical climbing.
