List the national parks you've visited!

[Ogre]

Inspired by chowder's thread here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511384).

As some of you know, I used to do scientific work for the US National Park Service, and it changed my life. I had an amazing time doing that job, and even though I was a fan of the NPS beforehand, the sheer scope of it was not apparent to me until I was leading researchers miles into a cavern system to do bat surveys, or going out on multi-day expeditions to catalogue certain endangered species or measuring rare habitat types.

I'm admittedly biased toward the US NPS, but by all means, tell me what other countries' parks you've been to as well, and let me know what was particularly special about them.

A note: national parks, national monuments, national preserves, national military parks (as well as national battlefields), and national heritage areas are all referred to internally as simply "parks." They are all under the purview of the NPS, so for our purposes, they all count.

I'll list mine later, since I'm expected in a meeting shortly.

[Zsofia]

Oh, lord, I'll have to find a list - I've been to quite a few, I know.

Found one not just of the "parks" - this is "areas". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_areas_in_the_United_States_National_Park_System)

[Ogre]

Oh, lord, I'll have to find a list - I've been to quite a few, I know.

Found one not just of the "parks" - this is "areas". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_areas_in_the_United_States_National_Park_System)
Thanks! Yeah, man, I was missing some designations, huh? Let's just be all-inclusive and say that all of them count.

[Zsofia]

Whoops, forgot to post mine!

Also, I think the National Park Service is a largely underappreciated branch of the government that does a damned fine job.

Acadia National Park
Badlands National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Denali National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Sequoia National Park
Yosemite National Park
Fort McHenry National Monument
Fort Sumter National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Statue of Liberty National Monument / Ellis Island
Boston National Historical Park
Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown, specifically)
Independence National Historical Park (Independence Hall, specifically)
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Andersonville National Historic Site
Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site
Ford's Theater National Historic Site
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
Ninety Six National Historic Site
Cowpens National Battlefield
Arlington House
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
USS Arizona Memorial
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Blue Ridge Parkway
National Mall and everything on it

I was surprised to go through that list and see exactly how many things are memorials and such that I didn't realize were federal, and I'm sure I've seen plenty of stuff that didn't register at the time as the Whosits and Whatsits National Memorial. It's interesting.

[PunditLisa]

Grand Canyon, Arizona
Redwood, California
Haleakala, Maui
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina
Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
United States Virgin Islands, St. John
Bryce Canyon, Utah

[PunditLisa]

If we include areas....

Lincoln Memorial, Wash DC
Jefferson Memorial, Wash DC
Washington Memorial, Wash DC
Vietnam Memorial, Wash DC
WWII Memorial, Wash DC
USS Arizona Memorial, Oahu
Gauley River National Rec Area, WV
Golden Gate National Rec Area, California
Alcatraz, California
Presidio, California
New River Gorge National River, WV
Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
Appalachian Trail, NC
Arlington National Cemetery, Wash DC

[SlowMindThinking]

Gee, its easier when you can just copy someone else's list:
Badlands National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Sequoia National Park
Yosemite National Park
Boston National Historical Park
Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown, specifically)
Independence National Historical Park (Independence Hall, specifically)
Ford's Theater National Historic Site
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Blue Ridge Parkway
National Mall and everything on it
Redwood, California
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
United States Virgin Islands, St. John
Canyonlands
Arches
Arlington National Cemetery, Wash DC
Mt. Rushmore
Jewel Cave, SD
Grand Tetons,
Glacier National Park (before it became a joint US-Canada park)
Valley Forge
Gettysburg
Alamo
Kings Canyon
Appalachian Trail (most of PA)
Shenandoah
Delaware Water Gap, National Historic Corridor, ...
NJ Pinelands
Abe Lincoln Birthplace, Ky
Rocky Mountain,
Dinosaur
Mesa Verde
Black Canyon
Great Sand Dunes (CO)
Florissant
Mt. Ranier

I hope that's all.

[spoike]

These are the American ones:
Redwood NP
Fort Point NHS
Death Valley NP
Cabrillo NM
Joshua Tree NP
Mojave NPreserve
Glacier NP
Grand Canyon NP
Saguaro NP
Montezuma Castle NM
Rocky Mountain NP
Volcano NP

Canadian (I know you didn't ask for these. I hope it's okay I've added them.):
Point Pelee NP
Banff NP
Yoho NP
Glacier NP
Jasper NP
Kootenay NP
Waterton NP

[Rayne Man]

These are the UK ones I have visited:-

Broads
Dartmoor
Lake District
New Forest
Peak District
Snowdonia.

[Lok]

Hmm, this may take a little while.

First, in my Passport books:


Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve New Orleans, LA
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial St. Louis, MO
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site St. Louis, MO
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail St. Louis, MO
Mammoth Cave National Park Mammoth Cave, KY
Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg, MS
Castle Clinton National Monument NY, NY
Statue of Liberty National Monument NY, NJ
Dayton Aviation Heritage Natl Hist Park: Cycle Shop Dayton, OH
Effigy Mounds National Monument Harpers Ferry, IA
Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park, CO
Dinosaur National Monument Jensen, UT
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Hagerman, ID
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Florissant, CO
Minidoka National Historic Site Jerome County, ID
Craters of the Moon Natl Mon & Preserve ID
Oregon National Historic Trail ID, WY
Yellowstone National Park WY
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Crow Agency, MT
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit Medora, ND
Wind Cave National Park Hot Springs, SD
Badlands National Park Interior, SD
Minuteman Missile NHS Wall, SD
Haleakala National Park, both sections Maui, HI
Independence National Historical Park Philadelphia, PA
Gettysburg National Military Park Gettysburg, PH
California National Historic Trail WY, UT
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway WY
Natchez Trace Parkway MS
Blue Ridge Parkway VA
Grand Teton National Park WY
Santa Monica Mountains NRA Santa Monica, CA
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail CA
Sequoia National Park Visalia, CA
Fossil Butte National Monument Kemmerer, WY

Well, that is all the stamps in my passports. But I have been to a few other places, will have to check by memory now.


Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area WY, UT
Everglades National Park FL
Shenandoah National Park VA
Boston National Historical Park Boston, MA
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Keystone, SD
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Arlington, VA
United States Marine Corps War Memorial Arlington, VA
Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Washington, DC
Washington Monument Washington, DC
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Washington, DC
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, VA
Appalachian National Scenic Trail VA

I really like our National Park system. Wish I had some skill sets for getting hired there. The Parkways and Trails I have spent some time on, either driving or hiking. I have driven through some other NRAs, but only included the 2 I spent any time in looking around. And I guess Flaming Gorge does not count, since it is actually part of the Forest Service.

I need to get back to DC sometime. Haven't seen the Korean or WW II memorials yet. But there are a lot of other places I want to get to also. I have a lot of room in my National Park Passport yet. :D

We are doing other countries too? Not too many yet. None at all in Dominican Republic, Italy, and India.

Canada, several Provincial Parks, but for national:
Georgian Bay Islands National Park Ontario

Australia, confusing set up, a lot of stuff is called National parks, but ran by the states and/or territories:
Uluru-Kata Tjuta
West Macdonnell
Watarrka National Park
Port Arthur
Richmond Gaol

UK:
Peak District

[ataraxy22]

I've been to 329 of the 391* NPS units. I'm trying to visit them all and expect to have visited all of them in the Lower 48 by the end of 2012, and all of them by the end of 2017.

*As of this week there are three new ones! Thus 394.

[5 time champ]

I was going to get my NPS Passport out to list mine, guessing I have well over a hundred- but I won't even be close to atarxy22. Hope you enjoyed all of them. Sometimes I think I go to the various sites just to get the cancellation stamp in my Passport.

[Lok]

atarxy22, is that part of a job, or you have a lot of time on your hands and are somewhat obsessive? ;) I do not expect to ever got to the parks in the Guam or American Samoa. I doubt


5 time champ, I do my best to get the stamps from all of the ranger stations at the various parks I visit. 4 from Rocky Mountain National Park for instance. But I also do my best to see what is there. I have always found interesting things at all of the parks so far.

Although the Minuteman Missile NHS really needs some work.

[Zsofia]

I've never done the passport thing - that would be fun, I imagine. I've never been disappointed by a full blown Park, I'll say. (Some of the memorials and such are just, you know, a statue.)

[blondebear]

I lost my first NPS passport, a record of 15 years of visiting the Parks. I think it got left in a rental car. :(

Ah, but I have another one that's very well used. And I lust after the recent passport-on-steroids version, the "Explorer Edition". :D

As I mentioned in the other thread, Ken Burns' documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" will be broadcast this fall. He's showing sneak previews at various spots around the country.

I have to agree with Ken; the parks ARE one of our best ideas. I can't count how many magical moments I've had, going back more than 40 years. My vacation destination this year is North Cascades, and I'm really looking forward to it.

[elelle]

Using ZSophia's nice list:

Acadia National Park
Badlands National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Sequoia National Park
Yosemite National Park
Fort Sumter National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Statue of Liberty National Monument / Ellis Island
Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown, specifically)
Independence National Historical Park (Independence Hall, specifically)
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Blue Ridge Parkway
National Mall and everything on it

My parents were avid Parks goers, and our well-worn 70's station wagon with pop-up camper in tow, packed with six kids was all about the camp out. It was rare we'd stay in a motel. No wonder. I did love taking my one-of-six surplus army mummy bag on out to the edge of wherever and sleeping under the stars in all of those places.

I don't know what is a National Park in Mexico, but, when my parents were doing research there, we pretty much went to every ruin site back in the 70's. As I recall, they were in the process of getting it together with tourism. It was still fairly wild, though, and I loved that; it really made an impression on my young self to be able to do without all the folderall of regular society. I think that was my bellwether moment in how to be able to get by. Sometimes now, I just want to take a hammock and head off into yond.

[Telemark]

Of the National Parks in the list:

Acadia National Park Maine
Arches National Park Utah
Badlands National Par South Dakota
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Colorado
Bryce Canyon National Park Utah
Canyonlands National Park Utah
Capitol Reef National Park Utah
Crater Lake National Park Oregon
Everglades National Park Florida
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) Montana/Alberta
Grand Canyon National Park Arizona
Grand Teton National Park Wyoming
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Colorado
Mesa Verde National Park Colorado
Mount Rainier National Park Washington
North Cascades National Park Washington
Olympic National Park Washington
Redwood National and State Parks California
Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado
Sequoia National Park California
Shenandoah National Park Virginia
Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Dakota
Voyageurs National Park Minnesota
Yellowstone National Park Idaho, Montana, Wyoming
Yosemite National Park California
Zion National Park Utah

[Lok]

I've never done the passport thing - that would be fun, I imagine. I've never been disappointed by a full blown Park, I'll say. (Some of the memorials and such are just, you know, a statue.)
The passports are a lot of fun. As long as you don't just turn them into "Run in, stamp the book, next park!" Some people do that, which kind of misses the point.

blondebear, that sucks losing your old passport book. The Explorer Edition is really nice. Lots of room in the cover to carry maps, annual pass, old passport books, etc. and the ability to add in pages will really come in handy.

[Hypno-Toad]

Working from Zsofia's list here's some of the places I've been:

-Arches
-badlands
-Bryce Canyon
-Everglades
-Glacier
-Grand Canyon
-Grand Teton
-Great Basin
-Rocky Mountain
-Yellowstone
-Zion

-Fort McHenry
-Craters of the Moon
-Devils Tower
-Jewel Cave
-Little Bighorn
-Jackson Hole

-Big Cypress

-C&O Canal
-Manassass Battlefield
-Gettysburg Battlefield
-Guilford Courthouse Battlefield
-Fords Theatre
-Fort Desoto, Tampa Bay

-Just about ever memorial and museum in Washington DC, since I grew up there

-Assateague Island national seashore
-Cape Hatteras national seashore
-Pictured Rocks national Lakeshore

-Blue Ridge Parkway
-GW Parkway
-Appalachian Trail
-Catoctin Mountain park

-Arlington Cemetary
-Kennedy Center (Had my HS graduation there)

That's all I can remember for now

[SlowMindThinking]

I guess I should have added Jasper in British Columbia. We drove as a family from eastern PA to Jasper when I was maybe 9 years old. I can't imagine what that was like for my dad, who did all the driving.

[blondebear]

Oops I forgot to post my list. (Just the parks, maybe I'll add a supplemental monument list):

Acadia
Arches
Badlands
Big Bend
Biscayne
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Carlsbad Caverns
Crater Lake
Congaree
Death Valley
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Glacier
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Great Basin
Great Sand Dunes
Great Smoky Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Haleakala
Hawaii Volcanoes
Hot Springs
Joshua Tree
Kings Canyon
Lassen Volcanic
Mammoth Cave
Mesa Verde
Mount Rainier
Olympic
Petrified Forest
Redwood
Rocky Mountain
Saguaro
Sequoia
Theodore Roosevelt
Wind Cave
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion

[Dead Cat]

These are the UK ones I have visited:-

Broads
Dartmoor
Lake District
New Forest
Peak District
Snowdonia.Me too, if you substitute "Exmoor" for "New Forest". It doesn't seem like much, but we don't have as many as you Yanks do!

[Rayne Man]

Me too, if you substitute "Exmoor" for "New Forest". It doesn't seem like much, but we don't have as many as you Yanks do!

But we are getting another one next year - The South Downs :-

http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/press/pressreleases/pr-southdowns.htm

[Arnold Winkelried]

I'll have to check my memory for US national parks, but I may be the only SDMB poster to have been to this one!
Switzerland's National Park
http://www.nationalpark.ch/

What was special about it - beautiful mountain scenery and one of the rare places where you can go for a day's walk in the mountains of Switzerland without seeing any sign of human habitation at all.

[ataraxy22]

atarxy22, is that part of a job, or you have a lot of time on your hands and are somewhat obsessive? ;) I do not expect to ever got to the parks in the Guam or American Samoa. I doubt


Only my hobby/obsession unfortunately. I guess I'm what's known as a park groupie.

[Arnold Winkelried]

P.S. I learned from reading this thread and checking with Wikipedia that one of the "parks" I tell people I have on my list, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the St. Louis Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion below it) is not a National Park after all. I always thought it was.

[blondebear]

Non-US national parks I've visited:

Mexico:
Gran Desierto del Pinacate

New Zealand:
Abel Tasman National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park
Westland National Park
Fiordland National Park

Tasmania:
Cradle Mountain
Douglas-Apsley
Freycinet

Oz:
Royal National Park
Blue Mountains National Park
The Grampians National Park
Otway National Park
Stirling Range National Park
Nambung National Park
Walpole-Nornalup National Park

[Hometownboy]

OK, if you just list the national parks, its pretty wimpy

Crater Lake NP, 1961
Yellowstone NP, even stayed overnight, but that was in 1966
Glacier NP, rode through on the train in 2004

But in the other "nationals"
Oregon Caves National Monument 1961
Fr. McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine 1966
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument 2004
Independence National Historical Park 1966
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site 1966
Gettysburg National Military Park 1966
Lincoln Memorial 1966
Jefferson Memorial 1966
Arlington National Cemetery 1966
National Mall 1966

I do, however, live in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area...

[Jeff]

I've been to plenty of Canadian national parks and sites, but the US NPS site is just to easy to lookup by state I'll just post those.

Washington
Olympic Peninsula

Oregon
Crater Lake

California
San Francisco Maritime Park
Fort Point
Alcatraz
Death Valley
Redwoods
Lava Beds
Lassen

Utah
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Zion

Arizona
Wupatki
Sunset Crater
Grand Canyon

Montana
Glacier
Little Bighorn

Wyoming
Yellowstone

Colorado
Mesa Verde

New Mexico
Bandelier
White Sands
Carlsbad Caverns

North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt park

South Dakota
Badlands
Mt Rushmore
Jewel Cave
Wind Cave

Hawaii
USS Arizona

[Washoe]

As some of you know, I used to do scientific work for the US National Park Service, and it changed my life.

Where did you work, what did you do, and when did you do it?

[lieu]

I knew there were a few. The in-laws gave me a NPS book Christmas and I was a little surprised going through it to see how many I'd visited. Being a geologist, between field trips and work you have the opportunity to hit a few.

Acadia
Agate Fossil Beds
Alaska Public Lands
Alcatraz Island
Alibates Flint Quarries
Antietam
Appalachian
Arches
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Aztec Ruins
Badlands
Bandelier
Bent's Old Fort
Big Bend
Big Cypress
Big Thicket
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison
Blue Ridge
Bryce Canyon
Canyon De Chelly
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Capulin Volcano
Carlsbad Caverns
Casa Grande Ruins
Cedar Breaks
Chaco Culture
Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network
Colorado
Denali
Dinosaur
Everglades
Florissant Fossil Beds
Ford's Theatre
Fort Davis
Fort Sumter
Fossil Butte
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Gates Of The Arctic
George Washington Birthplace
Gettysburg
Glacier
Glacier Bay
Glen Canyon
Golden Gate
Golden Spike
Grand Canyon
Great Basin
Great Sand Dunes
Great Smoky Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Haleakala
Hawaii Volcanoes
Hot Springs
Hovenweep
Jamestown
Jefferson
John F Kennedy
John Muir
Joshua Tree
Kenai Fjords
Kings Canyon
Klondike Gold Rush
Korean War Veterans
Lake Mead
Lake Meredith
Lava Beds
Lewis & Clark
Lincoln
Lyndon B Johnson
Manassas
Mesa Verde
Mojave
Mount Rainier
Muir Woods
Natchez Trace
National Aviation
National Mall
Natural Bridges
Navajo
Olympic
Oregon
Organ Pipe Cactus
Ozark
Padre Island
Pecos
Petrified Forest
Petroglyph
Pictured Rocks
President's Park (White House)
Presidio of San Francisco
Rainbow Bridge
Redwood
Rio Grande
Rocky Mountain
Saguaro
Sand Creek Massacre
Santa Fe
Sequoia & Kings Canyon
Shenandoah
Shiloh
Sitka
Statue Of Liberty
Sunset Crater Volcano
Tallgrass Prairie
Thomas Jefferson
U S S Arizona
Valley Forge
Vietnam Veterans
Washington
White Sands
World War II Memorial
Wrangell - St Elias
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Yucca House
Yukon - Charley Rivers
Zion