Trump's $100 national park fee is here - but these 10 US icons still escape it

New Trump Administration-mandated fees are gouging overseas visitors in much-visited national parks such as the Everglades on Florida's southern tip and Acadia National Park in Maine. But one park not subject to the extortionate sums contains the world's longest cave system. There's a wealth of human history and a surprising array of animal life in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park. Among many cool cave formations are Frozen Niagara, a prodigious section of dripstone that looks like an iced-over waterfall, and Gothic Avenue, where the darkened rock takes on the sinister look of Gothic architecture. nps.gov/maca

The new "America First" $100 per person fees hit overseas visitors in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, but there are still giant peaks to be admired in Great Sand Dunes National Park. Despite the network of alpine hiking trails, however, this park in the south of the state is really about the tallest sand dunes in North America. Trudging up them is hard work, but sledding or sandboarding back down is tremendous fun. Springtime snowmelt sets the usually dry Medano Creek running, with the wave-like surge flows over the sand mounds creating a surreal inland beach vibe. nps.gov/grsa

Arizona's great calling card, the Grand Canyon, is affected by the steep admission price rise, but Saguaro National Park around Tucson escapes. As the name would suggest, this park celebrates the saguaro cactus, which only grows in the Sonoran Desert but makes up for it by growing really big. This is the multi-armed plant you have in mind when you hear the word "cactus", with many in the park more than 100 years old and 15 metres tall. Driving loops show off the best of them, but the walks give you better opportunities to see the desert birds such as hawks and great horned owls. nps.gov/sagu

Along with Yosemite, California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks are getting slapped with the new surcharges. But if big trees are your thing, Redwood National Park in the north of the state has the tallest in the world. Scenic drives skirt satisfyingly close to the towering trunks, while walking trails range from short boardwalks in the Grove of the Titans to full day forest hikes. The appeal's not entirely arboreal, though - there's plenty of dramatic clifftop scenery in the coastal section of the park, while wildlife-lovers can admire lumbering beasts at Elk Meadow. nps.gov/redw

In a decidedly toastier part of California, America's hottest, driest and lowest national park has dodged the brutal foreigner fee - supposedly aimed at raising money for park upkeep. Death Valley is a nonstop visual treat, with Dante's View looking out over crumpled mountain ranges and the dazzling white fever dream of the Badwater Basin's salt pans. There's plenty more sun-baked weirdness, too. At Zabriskie Point, the strangely smoothed formations look rather blancmange-like, while oxides and chlorite have turned the rock at the Artists Palette into a multicoloured canvas. Death Valley is day-trippable from Las Vegas. nps.gov/deva

Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks are now wince-inducingly expensive, but Utah's other national parks have avoided the price hike. Two of them - Canyonlands and Arches - are accessed from the adventure sports-obsessed city of Moab. Of these, Arches is the one you've likely seen before - the 16 metre-tall Delicate Arch is a much-photographed symbol of the American West. A 4.8-kilometre return hike gets you up close to it, but there are more than 2000 other natural stone arches in the park, plus petroglyphs created by the Ute Indians and enormous, precariously-balanced red rock boulders at seemingly every turn. nps.gov/arch

The most visited national park in the system, split between Tennessee and North Carolina, is surprisingly spared the Trump tax. This classic, wholesomely outdoorsy all-rounder is a scenic slice of southern Appalachia, full of forest trails, mountain meadows and historic log cabins. On the Tennessee side, highlights include the 360-degree views from the Kuwohi Observation Tower and walking behind Grotto Falls. In North Carolina's section, the Cataloochee Valley is a great place for spotting elk while the Deep Creek area has a collection of easily-accessible waterfalls. nps.gov/grsm

It covers two of the most active volcanoes on earth - Kilauea and Mauna Loa - and the headline appeal here is being able to watch live eruptions and flowing lava. On the Big Island of Hawaii, the park also offers walks around the Kilauea crater rim, adventures inside the 500-year-old Nahuku Lava Tube and crossing a lava field to see the Pu'uloa petroglyphs. The car park for that is just off the Chain of Craters Road, a staggeringly impressive drive that steeply descends from the rim to the sea. nps.gov/havo

While Wyoming and Montana have just got much more expensive - Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier national parks are all subject to the extra $100 - neighbouring South Dakota hasn't been hit. That's a good excuse to explore Badlands, which is characterised by stripy mountains and buttes rising above the plains. Thousands of years of sediment deposition and erosion have created and exposed these colourful layers. The park's great for wildlife viewing, too. Expect to see bison, pronghorns, bighorn sheep and birds of prey while driving through the prairie grass. nps.gov/badl

The Pacific Northwest has come out unscathed, too, and while Crater Lake and Mount Rainier are tempting, Olympic National Park in Washington has the greatest variety. The glacier-dotted Mount Olympus dominates the horizon, but mountain hiking can be switched for walks through the rainforest or hopping between coastal beaches. Other activities include ranger-run stargazing sessions at Hurricane Ridge, kayaking along the deep blue Lake Crescent and watching the autumn salmon runs in the Sol Duc Valley. Whales can often be spotted along the coast during their migration seasons and black bears hang out in the back country. nps.gov/olym