Personal opinions are always welcomed.

I'll admit, I've never actually visited Rocky Mountain National Park. I'll pause while you ridicule me. No, it's OK. Really. I deserve it.

*pauses*

Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to say that I have at least been through the Rockies. My husband and I took a train ride across the country in 2020 and we went through this gorgeous mountain range. It was absolutely majestic. As far as the park goes, it's on my list. Have you visited?

Tell me everything.

And I mean, everything. Tell me if you loved it. Tell me if you thought "meh." I'm very curious to know if it lived up to the hype? The only thing I know about this place is what I've seen on the internet. And we all know that the internet can show us very biased opinions on just about everything. I'm sure some people say this place changed their life, while others missed out on that grand feeling.

Recently I found a list of the "11 US Tourist Attractions That Live Up to the Hype." Surprisingly, Rocky Mountain National Park is nowhere to be found. Even though I've never been, I found that to be odd.

In fact, nothing in Colorado was on the list.

If you're not too jaded by that, perhaps you'd like to travel to one of the other sites on the list. They raved about the Old Faithful Geyser, Niagara Falls, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon, and the Statue of Liberty, among others.

Funny story, I actually lived in New York City and never visited the Statue of Liberty. I guess I need to get better at playing tourist in my own stomping grounds. That's probably something we could all do more of.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

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