50 Parks For 50 State

50 Parks For 50 State

Penny Musco  
50 Parks for 50 States

Over 300 million people visit the National Park Service’s 400-plus locations annually, not only to revel in our nation’s amazing scenery but also to explore our remarkable history. To inspire your own travels, check out these listings from each state and the District of Columbia. 

  • Alabama Relive civil rights history along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. 
  • Alaska In Skagway, stop at Klondike Gold Rush NHP for tales of this rugged territory’s fortune hunters.
  • Arizona Montezuma Castle NM has one of the continent’s best preserved cliff dwellings. 
  • Arkansas Walk through an Edwardian era bathhouse at Hot Springs NP, then enjoy a soak in the waters.
  • California Tour the remains of a WWII Japanese relocation camp at Manzanar NHS.
  • Colorado Trek through Puebloan villages built between AD 1200 and 1300 at Hovenweep NM.
  • Connecticut Be inspired at Weir Farm NHS, home and studio of American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir.
  • Delaware The aptly named First State NHP celebrates the colonial period.
  • Florida View gorgeous coral reefs at Dry Tortugas NP, accessible by boat from Key West, and hear its fort’s fascinating history.
  • Georgia Stroll the grounds of the infamous Civil War military prison and cemetery at Andersonville NHS, then head indoors to the National Prisoner of War Museum.
  • Hawaii Don’t miss sunrise or sunset at Haleakalā NP’s summit on Maui.
  • Idaho NASA astronauts studied Craters of the Moon NM & Preserve’s volcanic landscape in preparation for lunar missions.
  • Illinois Check out the company town George Pullman constructed for his railcar workers at Pullman NM.
  • Indiana Learn about Honest Abe’s formative years at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.
  • Iowa The 200-plus animal shaped hillocks at Effigy Mounds NM reflect the cultures of 20 Native American groups.
  • Kansas Hike Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve to experience wide-open grasslands, home to bison and other animals that once roamed the plains.
  • Kentucky Listen to stories of early pilgrims who headed over the Appalachians at Cumberland Gap NHP.
  • Louisiana Swing by the New Orleans Jazz NHP for live performances and a walking tour of music history sites.
  • Maine The 2,185-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail crosses 14 states, and its northern terminus is here, at Mount Katahdin.
  • Maryland Discover more about the people who aided enslaved freedom seekers at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad NHP.
  • Massachusetts Follow in the footsteps of American revolutionaries at Boston NHP.
  • Michigan Sleeping Bear Dunes NL is a pristine spot for paddling, bird watching and romping on the sandbanks.
  • Minnesota Bordering Canada, Voyageurs NP lets visitors explore the waterways and land routes plied by Native Americans and traders.
  • Mississippi Monuments and artifacts dot Vicksburg National Military Park’s Civil War battlefield.
  • Missouri Ride the tram at Gateway Arch NP, a tribute to Thomas Jefferson’s opening of the West.
  • Montana Unleash your inner cowboy at Grant- Kohrs Ranch NHS.
  • Nebraska Pay homage to the 4 million pioneers who settled 10 percent of the United States at Homestead NM.
  • Nevada Some of our country’s blackest night skies are found in Great Basin NP, perfect for astronomy programs and full moon hikes.
  • New Hampshire Visit the house, workshop and gardens of illustrious American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, at Saint-Gaudens NHP.
  • New Jersey Wander through the prolific inventor’s lab and home at Thomas Edison NHP.
  • New Mexico Native Americans and early Spanish settlers carved designs and symbols into volcanic rocks at Petroglyph NM.
  • New York Imagine life as an immigrant at Manhattan’s Lower East Side Tenement Museum NHS.
  • North Carolina Share the thrill of the first successful flight and view replica aircraft at Wright Brothers NM.
  • North Dakota Spot bison, elk and more at Theodore Roosevelt NP, the place that inspired the commander-in-chief’s conservation policies.
  • Ohio Why should presidents get all the glory? First Ladies NHS examines the lives of the White House’s spouses.
  • Oklahoma A display of 168 empty chairs and a “Survivor Wall” at the Oklahoma City NM testify to the lives lost in the bombing of April 19, 1995.
  • Oregon America’s deepest body of water and one of Earth’s most pristine spots sits atop the Cascade Mountain Range at Crater Lake NP.
  • Pennsylvania Flight 93 NM is set where one of the planes went down on Sept. 11, 2001.
  • Rhode Island Newport’s beautiful Touro Synagogue NHS embodies our country’s religious freedom with a history dating to colonial times.
  • South Carolina Consider the significance of the turbulent post-Civil War period at the Reconstruction Era NHP.
  • South Dakota Revisit the Cold War at Minuteman Missile NHS.
  • Tennessee The Atomic Age is the focus of the Manhattan Project NHP.
  • Texas Once covered by a vast sea, Guadalupe Mountains NP has rugged mountains and canyons, plus tons of fossils and wildlife.
  • Utah Dinosaur NM straddles two states; the wall of bones— about 1,500 of them—is in this state’s Quarry Exhibit Hall.
  • Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP has beautiful gardens in the warmer months, vivid fall foliage and lots of paths for winter sports.
  • Virginia Wolf Trap NP for the Performing Arts has a pair of nature trails and puts on a variety of shows May through September; take a backstage tour in the off season.
  • Washington Lovely Lake Chelan and hundreds of glaciers grace North Cascades NP’s alpine wilderness.
  • Washington, D.C. Tucked behind the U.S. Capitol is the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality NM, a testament to the struggle for female enfranchisement.
  • West Virginia Brave the New River Gorge National River’s rugged whitewater while reveling in the scenic canyons and awe-inspiring bridge.
  • Wisconsin Experience Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands NL by boat or on foot to climb lighthouses, go beachcombing and attend a campfire program.
  • Wyoming Fossil Butte NM boasts many well-preserved plants and animals; see them in the Visitor Center and on the Historic Quarry Trail.

Learn more at NPS.gov. Search for parks by state, name or topic ( history, arts and culture, outdoor adventures, etc.).

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