# How close are you to the nearest National Park? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091 "2016-03-25T03:07:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/61 "2016-03-25T20:26:25Z")
About two hours from Biscayne National Park, and almost three hours from the Everglades. About 20 minutes from Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, which is part of the Everglades habitat, but not the national park. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/62 "2016-03-25T20:57:50Z")
I guess technically I’m slightly closer to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument than I am to Yosemite National Park. I’m also pretty close to The Big Four House National Historic Site, and the Folsom Powerhouse National Historic Site, if that means anything. My ancestors were the original inhabitants of the Wyckoff House, in Brooklyn, which is a National Landmark. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/63 "2016-03-25T21:59:44Z")
An actual National Park is 190 miles away. I can get to a couple places where it’s possible to park in a National Forest in about an hour and a half and in the 80ish miles range. Technically I’m driving through the National Forest (with the designated forest on both sides of the road) closer than that. I prefer the less developed and less restrictive National Forest being closer. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/64 "2016-03-25T22:23:42Z")
Do national historical sites count? If so, the closest to me are Saugus Iron Works and Salem Maritime. They are about an hour and a half from me. If they don’t count, then Bunker Hill. I go to Acadia(Three or four hours away) far more often though, my family has a vacation house near Schoodic point. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/65 "2016-03-25T23:16:38Z")
360 miles to Isle Royale National Park, the closest park. 193 to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the closest Lakeshore. Been to the latter, never to the former. Hope to make it someday. Isle Royale is a little tougher than average to get to. Sleeping Bear in MI might be the closer Lakeshore, if I could get google maps to let me take the ferry there. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/66 "2016-03-25T23:32:00Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > 2 hours to Grand Teton > 3 hours to Yellowstone Do you live in southeastern Idaho, drewder? I grew up in Idaho Falls. Now I live 2-3 hours from Crater Lake National Park. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/67 "2016-03-26T01:11:04Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I live less than a half hour drive from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Ah…the great Emerald Necklace of Cleveland! My parents’ house was about a ten-minute drive north of the nearest entrance, in Brecksville. I’m a 20-minute subway ride from Central Park, which I believe is designated as the smallest National Park. Prospect Park is less than a block-and-a-half to my east, but it’s not a National Park. The Department of the Interior is too frightened to enter Brooklyn, with all our scary Blacks and Browns and Yellows and Ethnic Whites (Micks, Goombahs, Jewishes, Hipsters, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/68 "2016-03-26T01:28:06Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Ah…the great Emerald Necklace of Cleveland! My parents’ house was about a ten-minute drive north of the nearest entrance, in Brecksville. > > I’m a 20-minute subway ride from Central Park, which I believe is designated as the smallest National Park. > > Prospect Park is less than a block-and-a-half to my east, but it’s not a National Park. The Department of the Interior is too frightened to enter Brooklyn, with all our scary Blacks and Browns and Yellows and Ethnic Whites (Micks, Goombahs, Jewishes, Hipsters, etc.) I believe Hot Springs is the smallest national park. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/69 "2016-03-27T02:26:43Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > I believe Hot Springs is the smallest national park. Only if you ignore the Seattle Unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. It is located in an 1889 building at 319 2nd Ave in Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/70 "2016-03-27T03:47:25Z")
The FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Vanderbilt National Historic Sites are all “minutes away” as a real estate agent might put it. I haven’t visited the houses often or recently but the grounds are nice, especially Vanderbilt. Good snowshoeing and skiing there and on a trail that links the FDR and ER sites, if you don’t have time to go far or the energy to go somewhere more strenuous (this assumes there is snow, of course, which there was not this year). The Appalachian Trail is just a bit further away. Of national parks themselves, the map linked to upthread says I’m pretty much on the border between Shenandoah and Arcadia, can’t tell at this scale which one. They’re both pretty far away. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/71 "2016-03-27T11:09:50Z")
I’m about an hour and change from both [Fundy National Park](http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nb/fundy/index.aspx), to the south, and [Kouchibougouac National Park](http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nb/kouchibouguac/visit.aspx), to the north. I’m hoping I can get my family out to one or both of them sometime this summer. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/72 "2016-03-27T11:50:02Z")
Maybe a quarter of a mile, if that. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/73 "2016-03-27T11:57:52Z")
I’m in NE Kansas. It appears I’m about equidistant between some national parks in Colorado, and Hot Springs in Arkansas. There’s a National Historic site right here in town, the guy from the park service gets to wear one of those “ranger hats”. But it’s not a park, just a historic site. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/74 "2016-03-27T15:32:02Z")
There’s a bunch of trees across the street from me, and I know for sure they are administered by the National Park Service. But I’m not quite clear whether they constitute a National Park. ETA: just found out it is like a satellite outpost of a larger National Park. That big one is 950 feet away. ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/75 "2016-03-27T16:51:15Z")
Using a broad definition of national park, I live about 30 miles from [Midewin](http://www.fs.usda.gov/midewin). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/76 "2016-03-27T20:19:08Z")
A little more than 50 miles from Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton, VA. From the National Parks website: The history of the Fort Monroe site spans nearly four centuries, dating back to the birth of America with the first settlers in 1609 to being a haven for slaves during the Civil War, to serving as a bastion of defense for the Chesapeake Bay during World War II. Fort Monroe is considered to be a site of African American cultural significance as a result of the historical events that took place here during the Civil War. The Battle of Sewell’s Point and notably the Battle of Big Bethel both took place near Fort Monroe, which played a critical role in the battles. However, on May 27, 1861, Major General Benjamin Butler made the famous “Fort Monroe Doctrine”, determining that escaping slaves who reached Union lines would be considered contraband and not be returned to bondage. Even though Virginia had seceded from the Union in 1861, Fort Monroe stayed in Union hands for the entirety of the Civil War and served as a haven for slaves escaping to freedom. In 1864, the Union Army of the James under Major General Benjamin Butler was formed at Fort Monroe, which included two colored regiments. The 2nd Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry and the 1st Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry. These regiments served gallantly in the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. I’ve never personally been there. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/77 "2016-03-27T20:38:30Z")
I am nearest Dry Tortuga’s National park. Next nearest would be Everglades National park. ---
**Author:** ![Santelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Santelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santelia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/78 "2016-03-27T22:54:17Z")
An hour southeast is the New Forest. A bit further away to the southwest are Exmoor and Dartmoor. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/79 "2016-03-28T03:06:17Z")
The driving distance from Nashville, Tennessee to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky is: 95 miles / 153 km ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091/80 "2016-03-28T14:10:13Z")
139 miles south of the Chickasaw NRA. Here’s a handy map for those of you who are unsure. > **[Harpers Ferry Center (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/index.htm)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-you-to-the-nearest-national-park/750091.md?page=5)