Tuesday, November 18, 2025

National Parks galore

There are 63 national parks in the US. Yellowstone was the first; New River Gorge the most recent. I've been to a lot of them, but no where near all of them. There are many I still hope to visit and others that I'd like to see again. There are also national monuments, forts, battlefields, lakeshores, and preserves that are managed by the park service. Maryland doesn't have any official national parks, but it has various national park sites. 


National Parks I've been to
Acadia National Park (Maine, 2024)
Arches National Park (Utah, 2017)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah, 2018)
The Badlands (South Dakota, 1985)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah, 2017)
Capital Reef National Park (Utah, 2021)
The Everglades  (Florida)
Gateway Arch (Missouri, 1982)
Glacier National Park (Montana, 1997)
Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska, 2018)
Grand Canyon (Arizona, 1986)
Grant Tetons (Wyoming, 1985)
Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska, 2018)
Mt. Rainier National Park (Washington, 1990)
New River Gorge (West Virginia, 2025)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, 1985, 2000)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota, 1997)
White Sands National Park (New Mexico, 2002)
Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, 1985, 1987-88)
Zion National Park (Utah, 2018)

National Parks are established by Congress. National monuments are designated by the president using the antiquities act. A national monument can later be designated a national park. Both designations protect federal lands. Monuments can happen more quickly. The current idiot in the WH wants to reduce or eliminate some of the national monuments; no doubt for drilling or other rape of the land.

National monuments I've been to
Devil's Tower (Wyoming, 1985)
Grand Staircase-Escalante (Utah, 2021)
Little Bighorn Battlefield (Montana, 1985)
Mount St. Helens (Washington. 1990, 2009)

National memorials I've seen
Flight 93 (Pennsylvania, 2020)
Johnstown Flood (Pennsylvania)
Korean War Veterans Memorial (Washington DC)
Lincoln Memorial (Washington DC)
Mount Rushmore (South Dakota, 1985)
Thomas Jefferson Memorial (Washington DC)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington DC)
Washington Monument (Washington DC)
World War II Memorial (Washington DC)

National Battlefields I've been to
Antietam National Battlefield (Maryland)
Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania)
Monocacy National Battlefield (Maryland)

Some National Historic Landmarks are managed by the National Park Service. There are over 2600 National Historic Landmarks. Most are managed by the states or private organizations. I got a late start getting National Park stamps (seen above).

Other National Park sites I have visited
Adams National Historic Park (Massachusetts, 2011) 
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (California, 1994) 
Assateague Island National Seashore (Maryland, Virginia)
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (Maryland) 
Catoctin Mountain Park (Maryland) -- near Camp David
Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal (Maryland, West Virginia)
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (Virginia)
Eisenhower National Historic Site (Pennsylvania) 
Great Falls Park (Virginia, Maryland) 
Fort Washington National Park (Maryland, 2024)      
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan, 2025) 

Bucket list 
Death Valley (California)
Dry Tortugas (Florida)
Giant Sequoias (California)
Redwoods (California)
Yosemite National Park (California)

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