National Parks

Over the last several years, I have had the good fortune to visit several of our nation’s best ideas: the National Parks, National Monuments, National Historic Sites and National Seashores.   Here are the ones that I have been to (with a link to my post about it if there is one – some have several posts):

National Parks

1. Acadia NP – History, Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, The Bubbles, Bass Harbor Head Light, Seawall
   
2. Arches NP – History, Wolfe Ranch, Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, Park Avenue and Balanced Rock, Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch, The Windows and Double Arch
3. Badlands NP – History, Scenery, Wildlife, 2018 Evening, 2018 Visit
4. Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP – History, South Rim
5. Bryce Canyon NP – History, Visit
   
6. Canyonlands NP – History, Murphy Point Overlook, Mesa Arch, Aztec Butte and Grand View Point, Neck Spring Trail
7. Capitol Reef NP – History, Visit
   
8. Crater Lake NP – 2011 Visit, History, Boat Tour
9. Cuyahoga Valley NP – History, Brandywine Falls and Towpath Trail, Hale Farm and Beaver Marsh
   
10. Death Valley NP – History, Visit
    
11. Gateway Arch NP – Visit
    
12. Glacier NP – History, Hidden Lake Hike, Avalanche Lake Hike, St. Mary’s Lake
    
13. Grand Canyon NP – History, Rim Trail, Grand Canyon Village, Wildlife, Desert View Watchtower, Hiking Below the Rim
14. Grand Teton NP – History, Cunningham Cabin, Jenny Lake, Menor’s Ferry, Wildlife, Tidbits, Cunningham Cabin & Moose
    
15. Great Sand Dunes NP – History, Sand Dune Hike
16. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes NP – History, Visit
17. Indiana Dunes NP – 2018 Visit
    
18. Joshua Tree NP – History, Willow Hole Trail and Barker Dam, Keys View and Lost Horse Mine, Skull Rock and Hidden Valley
19. Lassen Volcanic NP – Intro
20. Mammoth Cave NP – History, Cave Tour
    
21. Mesa Verde NP – History, Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Spruce Tree House, Wild Horses
22. Mount Rainier NP – History, Snowshoeing at Paradise, Waterfalls, National Park Inn, Rampart Ridge Trail
23. North Cascades NP
24. Olympic NP – Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent and the Hoh Rain Forest, Rialto Beach, Ozette Triangle Hike, Murhut Falls, Staircase Rapids Hike
25. Petrified Forest NP – History, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest trails
26. Redwood NP – Visitor’s Center and Battery Point Lighthouse, Sea Lions and Newton B. Drury Scenic Highway, Avenue of the Giants
27. Rocky Mountain National Park – History, Trail Ridge Road, Holzwarth Historic Site
28. Saguaro NP
29. Shenandoah NP – History, Compton Gap and Mary’s Rock, Dark Hollow Falls and Big Meadows Lodge, Rapidan Camp Hike
30. Theodore Roosevelt NP – History, Scenery and Hikes, Wildlife
31. Wind Cave NP – History, Tour
    
32. Yellowstone NP – History, Geysers, Hot Springs, Mud Pots, Waterfalls, Fort Yellowstone, Bison, Wildlife, Tidbits, Hayden Valley/LeHardy Rapids, Old Faithful and West Thumb
    
33. Yosemite NP – 2018 Visit
    
34. Zion NP – History, Angels Landing Hike, Lodge and Emerald Pools Hike, Canyon Overlook Hike

National Monuments

1. Cabrillo NM
2. Casa Grande Ruins NM
3. Cedar Breaks NM
4. Chiracahua NM
5. Colorado NM – History, Devil’s Kitchen Hike and Rim Rock Drive
6. Craters of the Moon NM & Preserve
7. Devil’s Tower NM
   
8. Effigy Mounds NM
9. Flight 93 NM
10. Florissant Fossil Beds NM – History, Hornbek Homestead and Fossils
11. Fort McHenry NM and Historic Shrine
12. Fort Pulaski NM
13. Fort Stanwix NM
14. Fort Sumter NM
15. George Washington Birthplace NM
16. Hovenweep NM
17. Jewel Cave NM
18. President Lincoln and Soldier’s Home NM
19. Little Bighorn Battlefield NM
20. Natural Bridges NM
21. Ocmulgee NM
22. Oregon Caves NM – History, Cave Tour, Oregon Caves Chateau
23. Petroglyph NM
24. Pipestone NM
25. Pompeys Pillar NM
26. Statue of Liberty NM

National Historic Sites

1. Andersonville NHS – Andersonville Prison, Andersonville National Cemetery
2. First Ladies NHS
3. Ford’s Theatre NHS
4. Fort Laramie NHS
5. Fort Vancouver NHS
6. Friendship Hill NHS
7. Grant-Kohrs NHS
8. Harry S Truman NHS
9. Herbert Hoover NHS
10. John Muir NHS – John Muir Home, Martinez Adobe
11. Lincoln Home NHS
12. Manzanar NHS
13. Minuteman Missile NHS
14. National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
15. Nicodemus NHS
16. Salem Maritime NHS
17. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS
18. Ulysses S. Grant NHS
19. Whitman Mission NHS
20. William H. Taft NHS

National Historical Parks

1. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP
2. Adams NHP
3. Appomattox Court House NHP
4. Boston NHP (the Boston Freedom Trail) – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 
5. Brown v. Board of Education NHP
6. George Rogers Clark NHP
7. Chaco Culture NHP – Chaco History, Road to Chaco, Hungo Pavi and Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl and Petroglyphs, Casa Rinconada
8. Colonial NHP – Historic Jamestowne NHP, Yorktown NHP
9. Harpers Ferry NHP
10. Lewis and Clark NHP
11. Lowell NHP – Boott Cotton Mills & Museum, Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit
    
12. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP
13. Martin Luther King, Jr. NHP
14. Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau NHP
15. Saratoga NHP
16. Women’s Rights NHP

National Battlefields

1. Antietam NB
2. Fort Necessity NB
3. Monocacy NB

National Historic Reserves

1. Ebey’s Landing NH RES – History, Ebey’s Landing Hike

National Military Parks

1. Gettysburg NMP – 2008 Visit, Gettysburg NMP History, 2015 Visit
2. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP – Wilderness Battlefield and Ellwood, Jackson Shrine and Spotsylvania Court House

National Memorials

1. Arlington House – The Robert E. Lee Memorial
2. Flight 93 NM
3. Johnstown Flood NM – History, Cemetery
4. Lincoln Boyhood NM
5. McKinley Memorial
6. Mount Rushmore NM

The National Mall

1. Constitution Gardens
2. Korean War Veterans Memorial
3. Lincoln Memorial
4. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
5. Thomas Jefferson Memorial
6. Vietnam Veterans Memorial
7. Washington Monument
8. White House
9. World War I Memorial
10. World War II Memorial

National Historic Trails

1. Lewis and Clark NHT – Lewis and Clark NHP, Pompeys Pillar NM, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

National Parkways

1. Blue Ridge Parkway

National Scenic Trails

1. Potomac Heritage NST

National Recreation Areas

1. Golden Gate NRA

National Battlefield Parks

1. Kennesaw Mountain NBP
2. River Raisin NBP

National Lakeshores

1. Sleeping Bear Dunes NL – History, Dune Climb, Glenhaven/Lifesaving Station, Scenic Drive

National Seashores

1. Assateague Island NS
2. Point Reyes NS – Point Reyes Wildlife, Point Reyes Lighthouse, Elephant Beach

National Volcanic Monuments

1. Mount St. Helens NVM – History, Visit and Hike, Ape Cave

And even National Expansion Memorials!?

1. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

U.S. Forest Service Sites

• Dee Wright Observatory
• Oregon Balancing Rocks

And finally, even though they are operated by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, I think the National Wildlife Refuges should be included too:

• Chincoteague NWR – Boat Tour, Chincoteague NWR
• Nisqually NWR – Frog, Summer 2014, Winter 2014
• Ridgefield NWR
• Sacramento NWR
• Toppenish NWR

I visited more when I was a child and don’t really remember – but I’m not listing those here.  And although I have been to some, there are so many more to explore!  Some of these sites are enormous – some are tiny.  All have been worthwhile!  Get out and go!  And if you have been, tell me what you thought…

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