Top 5 National Parks Worth Setting a 4 a.m. Alarm For

Sunrise spots where the cold, the dark and the terrible gas station coffee all turn out to be worth it.

1. 1

   Haleakalā National Park — Maui, Hawaii

   Watching the sun come up over a sea of clouds at 10,000 feet makes the reservation system and the freezing wait seem like a fair price.

2. 2

   Arches National Park — Utah

   Delicate Arch going orange at first light is the one postcard view that somehow looks better in person than it does on the postcard.

3. 3

   Acadia National Park — Maine

   From October to early March, Cadillac Mountain is one of the first places in the U.S. to see the sunrise, and you'll be weirdly proud of it.

4. 4

   Grand Teton National Park — Wyoming

   Get to Schwabacher Landing early and you get mirror-still water, moose sightings and mountains that look fake, with no crowd at all.

5. 5

   Grand Canyon National Park — Arizona

   At sunset it's just big, but at sunrise from Yavapai Point the light pours in layer by layer and the place finally makes sense.