A summer trip to the great outdoors for one Colorado family has turned into a great big mess. 62-year-old Joseph Aita and others he was traveling with accidentally and unknowingly went off the beaten path at Yellowstone National Park, and now the Department of Justice is bringing the hammer down on him.

A Colorado man was sentenced to jail and banned from Yellowstone National Park after officials say he walked off a designated trail and entered a protected area.

"If we had seen the sign or anybody warning us, you know ‘hey! hey! hey!’” Aita recalled. “But nothing that I saw gave me that immediate flag.”

While the 63 national parks across the U.S. delight visitors with scenery and wildlife not found anywhere else, untapped nature also poses many dangers — particularly for those who wander off the official trails.