How far are you from the nearest park/reserve type?

[Bruce]

A little exercise. Use driving distance or as-crow-flies distance if you prefer.

Mine use as-crow-flies distance.

National park: North Cascades NP (55 mi)

National forest: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie NF (16 mi)

State park: Mount Pilchuck (15 mi)

County park: Wenburg (5 mi)

[kevinb1994]

Because Jacksonville is consolidated with Duval County, city and county parks have been the same unit since 1968.

National park: SWEEET CAROLINEEE DUN DUN DUNN (actually, just known as Fort Caroline) (13.6 mi) (on the bluff of the St Johns) (they built different roads to the fort, one is Fort Caroline Road, the other is St Johns Bluff Road, which was connected with the Beltway once) (Monument Road does not refer to the fort nor its location, but to the Ribault monument near the fort)

National forest: Osceola (62.1 mi) (I-10 was built west from here to there)

State park: Yellow Bluff (15.6 mi) (on the north bank of the St. Johns River)

County park: Fort Family (0.7 mi) (literally across the street from where I live)

[Max Rockatansky]

National Park:  Kings Canyon 50 miles. 
National Forest:  Sequoia 35 miles.
State Patk:  Allensworth State Historic Park 75 miles.
County:  Laton-Kingston Park 22 miles.

[Rothman]

Looks like people are already using different definitions of "national park." There are national parks that are designated by Congress and then you have all the sites managed by the National Park Service.

[MikeTheActuary]

National Park: Acadia National Park, 608km by road
National Forest: Green Mountain National Forest, VT, 135km by road
State Park:  Rainbow Fishway, 300 meters
County Park: unknown (no county governments in CT)
Local Park:  Northwest Park, about 600 meters as the crow flies, across the Rainbow Reservoir.  About 8km by road, however.

If you expand "National Park" to include other places on the NPS list, the New England National Scenic Trail is 5km away, and the Coltsville National Historic Park (not yet formally open) is 24km away.

[hotdogPi]

Car park: 25 feet, mostly vertical (I live in an apartment complex now)

Side note: Giving two locations and distances narrows down your own location to exactly two spots. Three pinpoints it (subject to rounding).

[NWI_Irish96]

National Park - Indiana Dunes NP - 19 miles

National Forest - Hoosier NF - 234 miles

State Park - Indiana Dunes SP - 29 miles

State Nature Preserve - Hoosier Prairie SNP - 7 miles

County Park/Forest Preserve - Lansing Woods 3 miles

[Max Rockatansky]

Looks like people are already using different definitions of "national park." There are national parks that are designated by Congress and then you have all the sites managed by the National Park Service.

I tend to categorize them by designation given things like National Monuments aren't always under the management of the National Park Service.  Example; a good chunk of National Monuments in Arizona are managed the Bureau of Land Management.  In my observation a lot brand recognition and funding tends to go hand in hand with the Congressionally designated "National Park"  status compared to other NPS units.

[Rothman]

Driving distances:

Car park: 25 feet, mostly vertical (I live in an apartment complex now)

Side note: Giving two locations and distances narrows down your own location to exactly two spots. Three pinpoints it (subject to rounding).

And to think that we used to have this thing called a phone book, which had all our phone numbers and addresses in it and was distributed freely to your doorstep...

[ET21]

National park: Would Indiana Dunes count? Looks like it does based on Google Maps search: 40 miles

National forest: Shawnee National Forest (Southern IL): 326 miles

State park: Starved Rock State Park: 85 miles

County park: Cook County Forest Preserves in Palos: 8 miles

[NWI_Irish96]

National park: Would Indiana Dunes count? Looks like it does based on Google Maps search: 40 miles

National forest: Shawnee National Forest (Southern IL): 326 miles

State park: Starved Rock State Park: 85 miles

County park: Cook County Forest Preserves in Palos: 8 miles

Yes, Indiana Dunes is now a National Park.

[JayhawkCO]

I think this is pretty exhaustive.  As the crow flies:

City Park: Meadowood (CO) - 785 feet
State Park: Cherry Creek (CO) - 2 miles
County Park: Cherry Creek Valley Ecological Park - 5 miles
National Forest: Pike (CO) - 21 miles
National Park: Rocky Mountain (CO) - 57 miles
National Monument: Florissant Fossil Beds (CO) - 58 miles
National Grassland: Pawnee (CO) - 76 miles
National Preserve: Great Sand Dunes (CO) - 128 Miles
National Historic Site: Bent's Old Fort (CO) - 133 miles
National Historic Trail: Santa Fe (CO) - 133 miles
National Recreation Area: Curecanti (CO) - 143 miles
National Historical Park: Manhattan Project (NM) - 274 miles
National Memorial: Mount Rushmore (SD) - 300 miles
National Scenic River: Niobrara (NE) - 314 miles
National Parkway: John D. Rockefeller (WY) - 412 miles
National Cemetery: Custer (MT) - 430 miles
National Reserve: City of Rocks (ID) - 492 Miles
National Battlefield: Big Hole (MT) - 611 miles
National Military Park: Pea Ridge (AR) - 626 miles
National Lakeshore: Apostle Islands (WI) - 853 miles
National Seashore: Padre Island (TX) - 941 miles
National Battlefield Park: River Raisin (MI) - 1,128 miles

Chris

[zachary_amaryllis]

about 20 miles from rocky mtn natl park, as the crow flies.
about 300 feet from the edge of roosevelt natl forest (or, as it is now, mountains of burned trees...)

[WillWeaverRVA]

National park: Richmond National Battlefield Park (Tredegar Iron Works) - 8 miles

National forest: George Washington & Jefferson National Forest - the nearest forest office is 108 miles away

State park: Pocahontas State Park, 15 miles

County park: Huguenot Park, about 0.5 mile

[GaryV]

National Park:  Cuyahoga Valley NP
National Forest: Pretty much a tie between Manistee and Huron (they're managed as a single unit anyway)
State Park: Belle Isle
State Forest: Au Sable
Metropark: Stony Creek
County Park: Red Oaks
City Park: Lockman

[Rothman]

Nearest NPS-managed site: Harriet Tubman NHP

Nearest National Park: Cuyahoga Valley NP (Shenandoah NP a close second...Cuyahoga Valley really shouldn't have been designated a NP)

Nearest National Forest:  Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest

Nearest State Park:  State Park at the Fair

[Max Rockatansky]

Nearest NPS-managed site: Harriet Tubman NHP

Nearest National Park: Cuyahoga Valley NP (Shenandoah NP a close second...Cuyahoga Valley really shouldn't have been designated a NP)

Nearest National Forest:  Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest

Nearest State Park:  State Park at the Fair

Out of curiosity why not Cuyahoga Valley?  I've actually found it have way more actual trails and interesting sites than the majority of east coast National Parks.  I kind of find Congaree and Biscayne questionable beyond something like a National Monument of National Seashore.

[Rothman]

Nearest NPS-managed site: Harriet Tubman NHP

Nearest National Park: Cuyahoga Valley NP (Shenandoah NP a close second...Cuyahoga Valley really shouldn't have been designated a NP)

Nearest National Forest:  Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest

Nearest State Park:  State Park at the Fair

Out of curiosity why not Cuyahoga Valley?  I've actually found it have way more actual trails and interesting sites than the majority of east coast National Parks.  I kind of find Congaree and Biscayne questionable beyond something like a National Monument of National Seashore.

Compare Cuyahoga Valley with the likes of Acadia, Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains.  Cuyahoga Valley isn't in that league at all.  Its urban setting and the fact that humans have trampled all over it and built all sorts of stuff in it means that the national recreation area was good enough and appropriate given others (Lake Mead or Chickasaw).

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Congaree on my visit (even just walking along the boardwalk through the swamp out to the lake and seeing the changes in the ecosystem as you go), but generally agree with you regarding its National Park designation.  It gets pretty fluffy when you get into the other designations (i.e., national monuments are generally decreed through the Antiquities Act by the President rather than through an Act of Congress), so I tend to think of them as "National Park," "National Monument" and "Not National Park."

Biscayne is a different animal, simply because it's trying to preserve the bay, rather than land features.  It's not really there for the seashore, but the water and even underwater features.  If you're not out on a boat or scuba diving, you're not really experiencing what the national park is intended to protect.  I've only been to the mainland-side VC, myself.

[Scott5114]

I have a city park 320 feet from my front door. County parks aren't really a thing here. Lake Thunderbird State Park is 9.3 miles away. I have no idea where the closest National Park is; there aren't any in Oklahoma (Platt National Park got downgraded to a National Recreation Area a long time ago).

[JayhawkCO]

I have a city park 320 feet from my front door. County parks aren't really a thing here. Lake Thunderbird State Park is 9.3 miles away. I have no idea where the closest National Park is; there aren't any in Oklahoma (Platt National Park got downgraded to a National Recreation Area a long time ago).

Depending on where you live in Norman, looks like the closest is Hot Springs National Park about 250 miles away as the crow flies.

Chris

[TheHighwayMan3561]

National Park: Voyageurs, 250 miles
State park: Fort Snelling, 10 miles
City park: Bredesen, a few blocks

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Car park: 25 feet, mostly vertical (I live in an apartment complex now)

Side note: Giving two locations and distances narrows down your own location to exactly two spots. Three pinpoints it (subject to rounding).

Sure, but if you know my name (which I don't protect because my employment field doesn't really allow for it) you can probably find all of that on Google anyway. You can't protect other people, just your own information.

[Scott5114]

Car park: 25 feet, mostly vertical (I live in an apartment complex now)

Side note: Giving two locations and distances narrows down your own location to exactly two spots. Three pinpoints it (subject to rounding).

Sure, but if you know my name (which I don't protect because my employment field doesn't really allow for it) you can probably find all of that on Google anyway. You can't protect other people, just your own information.

Hell, you can do that with county assessor records if someone owns their own home.

[TheGrassGuy]

National Park: Acadia, 400 mi
National Forest: Finger Lakes, 200 mi

[hbelkins]

National Park: Cumberland Gap, I presume, is the closest to me. If not, then either Mammoth Cave or New River Gorge (as the crow flies; it's closer to drive to Mammoth Cave than NRG).

State Park: Natural Bridge State Resort Park. There used to be a sign indicating it was 15 miles away almost directly across from my place. It's been removed/stolen and not replaced, but two vacant poles are still up.

National Forest: Daniel Boone National Forest. I live within the forest boundary as shown on the map, although obviously not on federal property.

County park: Bear Track Park, approximately one mile away.