Today is the 104th birthday of the National Park Service. Founded on August 25, 1916, the National Park Service manages 419 units within the system, of which 62 have the highest designation of National Parks.
The National Parks Services has over 20 designations for the sites they manage, including National Monuments, National Battlefields, National Historical Parks, National Parkways, National Recreation Areas, National Seashores, and more! I have been fortunate enough to visit 34 National Parks, and at least 127 of the 419 units (although I’m probably missing a few here and there). One day I would like to say I have visited them all!
In celebration of NPS’s birthday, here are a few of my favorite National Parks photos! As you can see, it is hard to choose just a few!
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- Crater Lake National Park
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- Crater Lake National Park
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- Glacier National Park
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- Glacier National Park
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- The beach at Avalanche Lake – Little Matterhorn is the mountain rising on the right side
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- The hump!
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- Acadia National Park
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- Yellowstone National Park
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- Beehive Geyser with another in the distance
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- Yellowstone National Park
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- Another view of Lake Yellowstone
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- Grand Prismatic Spring
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- A bison walking through steam
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- Mountains along the Inspiration Point Trail
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- Pika!
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- Grand Teton National Park
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- Cunningham Cabin
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- Moose in the Snake River
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- Joshua Tree National Park
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- Teddy Bear Cholla
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- Skull Rock
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- Mount Rainier National Park
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- As we say in the PNW, the Mountain is out!
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- Me on the trail
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- A Bald Eagle at George Washington Birthplace National Monument
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- Mesa Verde National Park
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- Long House, Mesa Verde National Park, October 2018
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- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
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- Faraway Ranch windmill
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- The mighty Mississippi River from Effigy Mounds NM
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- Do you see it?
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- Badlands National Park
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- Bryce Canyon National Park
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- I hiked up all those!
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- A closer view of the Tower
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- Prairie Dog! Look at those claws!
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- Wild horses on the hill
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- The view of the badlands from the Ridgeline Trail
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- A lone tree at the Buck Hill viewpoint
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- A partially submerged snapping turtle
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- Partway through the hike – the view back towards Medano Creek and the “trail head.”
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- The view of the river below the Painted Wall
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- Devil’s Kitchen in Colorado National Moument.
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- The sun setting through the South Window arch.
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- You get this spectacular view from Scout Lookout
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- Mesa Arch with the Canyon Formations in the Background
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- View of the Canyon through a window at Hungo Pavi
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- The partially recovered valley below the volcano.
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- A view of the dunes, with North and South Manitou Islands in the background
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- A View of the Point Reyes Lighthouse from the Top of the 308 Steps
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- Male California Quail at Point Reyes National Seashore
