Want to go for a hike but don’t quite know where to start? National Parks are excellent choices for solo travelers and hikers because they are budget-friendly, relatively easy to find, well-mapped and may offer comfort services.
Our national parks and other federal conservation lands are at risk today because some leaders in the U.S. government cannot decide how to appropriate spending, so all but the most essential services have been halted and most employees furloughed. This includes park employees who usually clean the bathrooms, empty trash cans, patrol trails and clear the roads.
Some parks will be completely closed — gates locked, entry not permitted. But other parks and federal lands such as national forests remain open by their nature. If you use national lands while the U.S. government is shutdown, please take extra care on the roads and trails, and pack out your trash for the health of the environment and animals.
With some extra time on my hands and wondering if I’ll have to replan an upcoming Utah parks road trip, I pulled up a list I keep of all the national parks in each state and highlighting the ones I’ve personally visited.
Sometimes I take trips specifically to see the national parks in the area. Other times, I stop at parks that are en route on a road trip. Some parks are in the middle of cities, some are on the edges of cities, and some are way far from cities. Sometimes I plan multi-day trips in one park, and other times I’m barely there in time. It’s difficult to exhaust a national park — there is usually so much to see, it never seems there’s enough time.
Here’s my “National Parks Visited” list by state as of January 2018. It also includes historic sites, parks and monuments, recreation areas, battlefields and trails. It’s always growing — I visited 22 last year! A national parks pass — when the parks are open again — is an excellent investment. There are currently 58 national parks and 117 national monuments, so even though the list is long, I am always looking on the map for new ones nearby.
Every day of this shutdown, I’ll share a new national park hike or story. I invite you to share your favorite pics and stories too on Facebook @TrailheadersTravel or Twitter @Trailheaders. Let’s celebrate our national parks to encourage our leaders to get over this shutdown so that we may visit them, work in them and protect them!
My National Sites Visited
Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park (NP)
Saguaro NP
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (NM)
Tumacácori National Historic Park (NHP)
Coronado National Memorial
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NV, AZ)
California
Joshua Tree NP
Lassen Volcanic Park
Yosemite NP
Cabrillo NM
Muir Woods
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Presidio of San Francisco)
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Mojave National Preserve
Colorado
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
Great Sand Dunes NP and Preserve
Mesa Verde NP
Rocky Mountain NP
Canyons of the Ancients NM
Hovenweep NM (CO, UT)
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site (NHS)
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Georgia
Ocmulgee NM
Andersonville NHS
Andersonville National Cemetery
Jimmy Carter NHS
Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
Idaho
Craters Of The Moon NM
Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Iowa
Herbert Hoover NHS
Kansas
Brown v. Board of Education NHS
Kentucky
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP
Cumberland Gap NHP (KY, TN, VA)
Mississippi
Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL, MS)
Missouri
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Montana
Glacier NP
Yellowstone NP (ID, MT, WY)
Little Bighorn Battlefield
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (MT,WY)
Nevada
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NV, AZ)
New Mexico – Check out these stops in “Volcanoes and Cliff Dwellings Road Trip”
Bandelier NM
Capulin Volcano NM
Rio Grande Del Norte NM
Manhattan Project NHP (NM, TN, WA)
Valles Caldera National Preserve
New Jersey and New York
Statue of Liberty
North Carolina
Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC, TN)
North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt NP
Ohio
Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP/Wright-Dunbar Home
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
Oregon
Crater Lake NP
Pennsylvania
First State NHP (DE, PA)
Independence NHP (Benjamin Franklin National Memorial [affiliated area]
Independence Hall
Gettysburg National Military Park and Gettysburg National Cemetery
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore NM
Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC, TN)
Cumberland Gap NHP (KY, TN, VA)
Utah
Arches NP
Canyonlands NP
Capitol Reef NP
Zion NP
Hovenweep NM (also CO)
Virginia
Cumberland Gap NHP (KY, TN, VA)
West Virginia
New River Gorge National River
Wyoming
Check out Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP and Fossil Butte NM in this post, “6 Things in Wyoming You Must See For Yourself”
Devils Tower NM
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (MT,WY)
Puerto Rico (U.S. Territory)
San Juan NHS
National Historic Trails
Appalachian Trail (GA, NC, TN, VA, WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA, VT, NH, ME)
Baltimore-Washington Parkway (affiliated area) (MD, DC)
California National Historic Trail (MO/NE, KS, WY, ID/UT, NV, OR/CA)
George Washington Memorial Parkway (Great Falls Park)
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (AZ, CA)
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (IL, MO, KS, IA, NE, SD, ND, MT, ID, OR, WA)
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (IA, NE, WY, UT)
Pony Express National Historic Trail (MO, NE, KS, CO, WY, UT, NV, CA)
Santa Fe National Historic Trail (MO, KS, OK, TX, CO, NM)
Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial (VA, MD, DC)
Share your favorite national park pics and stories with me on Facebook @TrailheadersTravel or Twitter @Trailheaders. Let’s keep these places accessible, protected and beautiful. They are one of our greatest legacies.
Click the pics below to see my account and follow me on Instagram (I always follow back) @Trailheaders for more national parks adventures!
