The spellbinding winners of a competition that asked travelers to photograph America's National Parks

Goats framed by the sunset, a grazing bison and the Milky Way dazzling the Badlands of South Dakota.

These breathtaking images are the prize-winning entries of a photographic competition run to capture the spellbinding beauty of America's National Parks.

Over 15,000 entries were submitted to the fifth Share the Experience Contest last year, with both travellers and amateur photographers sharing their favourite images from the 400 parks in the National Park system.

First place of $10,000 (£6,922) was awarded to Yang Lu, for a sunset shot at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah. This was followed by Koustubh Kulkarni's picture taken at 49 Palms Trail at Joshua Tree National Park in California, in second place.

America's National Park Service is currently in its centennial year and to celebrate is offering 16 days of free entry in 2016, the next dates being August 25 - 28.

Here are the winning photographs that seek to inspire travellers to take advantage of the parks' stunning landscapes.

Grand Prize Winner: First place of $10,000 (£6,922) was awarded to Yang Lu for this sunset shot at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah