The thought of Alaska evokes hundreds of miles of undisturbed wilderness and arctic extremes. It's home to some of the most magnificent national parks, including Denali National Park, which is home to the tallest peak in North America. The Kenai Peninsula is overflowing with pristine turquoise streams and lush mountains. My last visit hasn't been since 2006, so the desire to return is excruciating.

Established in 1924, and later expanded in 2000, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve encompasses some of the most impressive and wild volcanic fields in North America. Many volcanic features such as lava tubes can be found within its borders, including the deepest known rift on Earth, at 800 feet deep. The area is found in southern Idaho and spreads into the Snake River Plain where the ancient remnants of the Yellowstone Caldera can still be found in its violent wake. Many hiking trails can be found in the area as well as unprecedented backcountry access, in addition to a campground for overnight visitors. A couple of the more popular trails are the North Crater Trail and the Broken Top Loop.

Hell’s Half Acre is a massive volcanic landscape found on the Snake River Plain in eastern Idaho. With much of it contained within 66,000 acres designated as a wilderness study area, the feature contains few hiking trails. One, a lengthy and primitive hiking trail guided by posts, is found on the northern end, while two shorter and maintained trails are found along the southern end via I-15 pullouts. The former hike leads to a large lava vent, where the violent past becomes glaringly obvious through sharp rocks and lava flows. The latter trails will allow hikers to see a several-thousand year-old lava flow over the course of a mile, allowing weary drivers the chance to get out and see a remarkable landscape and awe-inspiring geology.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument preserves a unique high desert environment in eastern Oregon. In addition to a startling amount of fossils, it also contains many painted hills, reminiscent of much of the Colorado Plateau. The unit is separated out into three different districts, each with an amazing amount of history, education, and recreation packed into each one.

Northern California is often considered the southernmost part of the rainforest that stretches across the western Pacific Northwest. Defined by ancient and rugged mountains, the old growth covering the area is home to the massive evergreen trees known as redwoods. Jedediah Smith State Park features a fantastic collection of enormous redwoods, offering hikes and scenic drives to get an up close sampling of the mammoth trees. Lining the coast, state and county parks such as Big Lagoon County Park provide wonderfully scenic places to rest during frequent adventures in the area.

The state of Oregon is a state as diverse as any. Traveling east to west, you cross arid high deserts, dotted by sporadic mountain ranges. Approaching the Cascade Mountains, the area transitions into a large rain forest, waterfalls cascading over rocks and cliffs seemingly around every turn. Finally reaching the coast of the Pacific Ocean, the rocky and mountainous shoreline leaves anyone inspired. Hikes along creeks like Sweet Creek offer a dramatic taste of the old growth forests signature to the area, while state parks along the coasts such as Cape Blanco State Park convey a sense of peace and solitude with the rush of the ocean's white noise in the background.

The Owyhee Mountains stretch along the southwestern borders of Idaho, bordering the Snake River Plain from the high desert that spreads into eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway is a scenic byway that can be taken to get a sampling of some beautiful parts of the area. The road crosses through the Owyhee Mountains and skirts much of the southwest of the uplands, while also crossing the rugged North Fork of the Owyhee River.