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National Parks

Started by papaT10932, July 20, 2011, 09:04:20 AM

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hobsini2

I haven't been to too many NPs/NMs.
Badlands NP - South Dakota
Mt Rushmore - South Dakota
Mammoth Cave NP - Kentucky
Dinosaur NP - Colorado
Flaming Gorge NP (partly) - Wyoming
I knew it. I'm surrounded by assholes. Keep firing, assholes! - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)


cpzilliacus

Three favorites, generally not crowded:

Va.: Prince William Forest Park
Calif.: Joshua Tree NP
Md.: Catoctin Mountain Park

Others, no special order:

Fort Washington Park
Fort McHenry NM
C&O Canal NHP
Antietam National Battlefield
Rock Creek Park
Gettysburg National Military Park
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Shenandoah NP
Blue Ridge Parkway
Colonial Parkway
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Baltimore-Washington Parkway
Suitland Parkway
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Acadia NP
Muir Woods National Monument
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

kkt

Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 20, 2011, 12:37:45 PM
are there any national parks to which you don't have to pay admission?  I could've sworn I've gone to several, casually noticed a sign, and not been stopped at a tollbooth.

I have been charged $25 toll just because I needed to cross the sierras and CA-120 was the most expedient through route ... but I've also avoided paying at the Grand Canyon by arriving at 2am and leaving at 5.30.

The park is not intended as a through route.  Sonora Pass, CA-108, should be as fast considering the roads through the park are pretty slow.  Also no commercial vehicles in the park, and the Tioga Pass road closes at the first heavy snow.

You can pass through the Eastside Road of Mt. Rainier National Park without paying the admission charge -- WA-410 and WA-123.  But the most interesting and most visited areas of the park are not along that road.

xonhulu

Quote from: kkt on February 26, 2012, 12:09:35 AM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 20, 2011, 12:37:45 PM
are there any national parks to which you don't have to pay admission?  I could've sworn I've gone to several, casually noticed a sign, and not been stopped at a tollbooth.

I have been charged $25 toll just because I needed to cross the sierras and CA-120 was the most expedient through route ... but I've also avoided paying at the Grand Canyon by arriving at 2am and leaving at 5.30.

The park is not intended as a through route.  Sonora Pass, CA-108, should be as fast considering the roads through the park are pretty slow.  Also no commercial vehicles in the park, and the Tioga Pass road closes at the first heavy snow.

You can pass through the Eastside Road of Mt. Rainier National Park without paying the admission charge -- WA-410 and WA-123.  But the most interesting and most visited areas of the park are not along that road.

There are plenty of national parks with no admission fee or only fees to visit certain parts.  I think Great Smoky Mountains NP has no fee.  I know for sure North Cascades and Redwood don't. 

Others, like Mt Rainier will let you use the part that's a through route for free but charge to get into the core part of the park.  Cars using OR 62 through Crater Lake NP aren't charged, but right when you turn off that highway to head towards the rim you encounter the fee station.  The same is true in Grand Teton NP -- no fee for using US 26 crossing the east side, but you have to pay to go north of Moran Jct or take the park loop road on the west side.

Basically, I think if a major through route crosses part of the park, they'll let traffic use it for free, but that isn't true for routes that mostly access the scenic areas.

bulldog1979

#54
My list, in comparison is rather small:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Keweenaw National Historic Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

And if you're going to count former NPs, I've been to the former Mackinac National Park, now Mackinac Island State Park.

For a near miss, I drove by the River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

texaskdog

Going on a great trip in August.  Durango/Silverton train, west side of San Juan Skyway, Arches & Canyonlands, Glenwood Canyon, Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland Pass, Rocky Mountain NP, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak.

texaskdog

we did 10 parks & 3 monuments last August.  The $80 annual pass paid for itself by the 4th park, and we can use it thru our trip this august.  It was an awesome value!

xonhulu

Quote from: texaskdog on February 27, 2012, 02:10:04 PM
we did 10 parks & 3 monuments last August.  The $80 annual pass paid for itself by the 4th park, and we can use it thru our trip this august.  It was an awesome value!

I've never failed to make that pass pay for itself.  I agree, great value.

CanesFan27

Ranger Doug recently released designs for Badlands:
http://www.rangerdoug.com/badlands-national-park

And Big Bend:
http://www.rangerdoug.com/big-bend-national-park

It appears that they are working on these for future releases:
Statue of Liberty (for the fall reopening), Death Valley, Dinosaur, Joshua Tree, and Mt. Rushmore.  It's also been mentioned that they are working on Gettysburg (I'm guessing in honor of the 150th anniversary of the battle.)

From the trip to Acadia in May - that will be the fifth in my collection.  Great Smoky and Shenandoah are the two I hope to visit (our earlier vacation plans have changed) within the next year or two.

Rushmeister

Quote from: xonhulu on February 27, 2012, 05:59:14 PM
I've never failed to make that pass pay for itself.  I agree, great value.

...and even if you can't make enough park visits for the pass to "pay for itself", your money is used to support an extrememly worthy cause. 

I "lost money" on an annual park pass once and I didn't feel like I short-changed myself one bit.  I don't have any extra money to just throw around, mind you, but I'd be willing to pay a lot more to visit our national parks.  I'm sure most of us agree that the national parks are among the greatest gifts our predecessors left us.  I'll never take them for granted and I'm trying to instill that same attitude in my teenage son.
...and then the psychiatrist chuckled.

Rothman

Just visited my 252nd NPS site -- Obed NSWR in Tennessee.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

inkyatari

Quote from: texaskdog on February 27, 2012, 02:10:04 PM
we did 10 parks & 3 monuments last August.  The $80 annual pass paid for itself by the 4th park, and we can use it thru our trip this august.  It was an awesome value!

If you're going to the southwest, the pass can literally pay for itself in three days.  Less if you're near Flagstaff.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

epzik8

I went to Yellowstone, Arches, Mount Rushmore, the Williamsburg/Jamestown ones in Virginia, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Mount Washington, the one on Petersburg, Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountains.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

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My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

CNGL-Leudimin

I've been to several NPs... in Spain obviously :sombrero:, and one in France located right across the border.  These are:
Ordesa and Monte Perdido NP (The "lost mountain", along with many other mountains in the Aragonese Pyrenees, has recently been "Denali-ized", i.e. renamed back to its traditional name of "Treserols", although "Monte Perdido" remains official as it has been stuck for ages)
Garajonay NP (In the Canaries, but I don't remember it as I was a little child when I visited. I'm not sure if I have been to the Cañadas del Teide NP, also in the Canaries)
Picos de Europa NP (the only one spanning more than one region)
Tablas de Daimiel NP
The French one: Pyrenees NP (Which borders Ordesa and Monte Perdido, above)
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

21stCenturyRoad

I've visited the Grand Canyon and Kings Canyon National Park, both were amazing experiences. I hope I can go to Yosemite one day.
The truth is the truth even if no one believes it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it.

Max Rockatansky

I've been to 46 National Parks and only have Acadia to go to finish the circuit in the Lower 48 States.   On the trip I'm presently in I went to Isle Royale and Voyageurs for the first time.

inkyatari

#66
Here's my list...

Nevada

Lake Mead

Washington

Olympic
Mt. Rainier


Oregon

Crater Lake

California

Redwood
Golden Gate NRA
Lassen Volcanic

Montana

Glacier

Utah

Golden Spike NHS
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Cedar Breaks NM
Zion
Glen Canyon NRA

Arizona

Grand Canyon
Wupatki NM
Sunset Crater NM
Walnut Canyon NM
Tonto NM
Organ Pipe Cactus NM
Saguaro
Casa Grande Ruins NM
Hohokam Pima NM (Technically. It's not open to the public)
Petrified Forest
Canyon De Chelly NM

Wyoming

Yellowstone
John D Rockefeller Jr NPkwy
Grand Teton
Devil's Tower NM

Colorado

Colorado NM
Rocky Mountain
Florissant Fossil Beds NM
Great Sand Dunes NM (It was a NM when I visited. It's a NP now)
Dinosaur NM
Mesa Verde

New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns


South Dakota

Wind Cave
Jewel Cave NM
Mt. Rushmore NMem
Badlands NM (It was a NM when I visited. It's a NP now)

Arkansas

Hot Springs

Illinois

Pullman NM
Lincoln Home NHS

Kentucky

Mammoth Cave
Lincoln's Birthplace NHS

Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains
Cumberland Gap NHP

Alabama

Gulf Islands NS

Indiana

Indiana Dunes National PARK

Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes NL
Pictured Rocks NL

Florida

Everglades

North Carolina

Cape Hatteras NS
Blue Ridge NPkway
Wright Brothers NMem

Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley

Maryland

Greenbelt Park
Catocin Park
Baltimore Washington Pkwy

Washington DC

White House - when I was there the park service ran the tours. - not sure who does now.
Washington Monument
Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial

New Jersey

Delaware Water Gap NRA
Statue of Liberty NM
Ellis Island NM
Gateway NRA

Massachusetts

Cape Cod NS

Maine

Acadia

Pennsylvania

Independence NHP
Gettysburg NMP

Missouri

Gateway Arch NP

Forest Service Areas

Mt. St. Helens NM - (USFS)
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

Rothman

Just hit Stonewall NM for my 253rd National Park Service site.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

english si

Here's my lack-lustre US list.

Grand Canyon NP
Canaveral NS
Golden Gate NRA
Lake Mead NRA
Santa Monica Mountains NRA
San Francisco Maritime NHP


I've now crossed the boundary into every English NP, though Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland are dubiously (like I'm on a road and it dips inside the boundary for a short distance) and 'while still in the car'. Pembrokeshire and Cairngorms are the only British ones I've not been anywhere near.

I've done the following World Heritage Sites:

France
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau, Reims
Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars
Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay
The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes

Malta
City of Valletta
Megalithic Temples of Malta
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum

Spain
Works of Antoni Gaudí

UK
Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Ironbridge Gorge
Liverpool — Maritime Mercantile City
Maritime Greenwich
Dorset and East Devon Coast
Tower of London
The English Lake District
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret's Church

USA
Grand Canyon

TravelingBethelite

I've been to all of Connecticut's NPS sites.  :bigass:
"Imprisoned by the freedom of the road!" - Ronnie Milsap
See my photos at: http://bit.ly/1Qi81ws

Now I decide where I go...

2018 Ford Fusion SE - proud new owner!

inkyatari

Quote from: TravelingBethelite on August 31, 2017, 07:48:45 AM
I've been to all of Connecticut's NPS sites.  :bigass:

Not too long ago, Illinois had only one National Park site, and Delaware had none.  Now it's Illinois 2, Delaware one.  The NPS needs to make Cahokia Mounds in Cahokia, IL a National Monument soon.  It's been talked about for some time, and given how it probably was the largest native settlement ever in North America, it should have been done years ago.

Also worth noting is that there's a strong push to upgrade Indiana Dunes to a full fledged National Park, from its National Lakeshore status.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: inkyatari on August 31, 2017, 10:27:35 AM
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on August 31, 2017, 07:48:45 AM
I've been to all of Connecticut's NPS sites.  :bigass:

Not too long ago, Illinois had only one National Park site, and Delaware had none.  Now it's Illinois 2, Delaware one.  The NPS needs to make Cahokia Mounds in Cahokia, IL a National Monument soon.  It's been talked about for some time, and given how it probably was the largest native settlement ever in North America, it should have been done years ago.

Also worth noting is that there's a strong push to upgrade Indiana Dunes to a full fledged National Park, from its National Lakeshore status.

Out of curiosity do you have any articles or things written on the topic?   I would probably say not only the Indiana Dunes but the Sleeping Bear Dunes would be worthy of an upgrade. 

Rothman

I don't think "upgrades" mean that much when it comes to preservation.  If anything, it means more visitation and more stress on the features meant to be protected.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Rothman

And, just because I can, the 253 NPS sites I have visited:

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Acadia National Park
Adams National Historical Park
African Burial Ground National Monument
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Antietam National Battlefield
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Arches National Park
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Assateague Island National Seashore
Badlands National Park
Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
Big Bend National Park
Big Cypress National Preserve
Biscayne National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
Blue Ridge Parkway
Bluestone National Scenic River
Booker T. Washington National Monument
Boston African American National Historic Site
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston National Historical Park
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canaveral National Seashore
Canyonlands National Park
Cape Cod National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Capitol Reef National Park
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Castle Clinton National Monument
Catoctin Mountain Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Chamizal National Memorial
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
City of Rocks National Reserve
Clara Barton National Historic Site
Colonial National Historical Park
Colorado National Monument
Constitution Gardens
Crater Lake National Park
Craters of the Moon National Monument
Craters of the Moon National Preserve
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
De Soto National Memorial
Death Valley National Park
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Devils Postpile National Monument
Devils Tower National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Dry Tortugas National Park
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
Eisenhower National Historic Site
El Malpais National Monument
El Morro National Monument
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Everglades National Park
Federal Hall National Memorial
Fire Island National Seashore
First Ladies National Historic Site
First State National Monument
Flight 93 National Memorial
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Matanzas National Monument
Fort McHenry NM and Historic Shrine
Fort Monroe National Monument
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Sumter National Monument
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Washington Park
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial
Friendship Hill National Historic Site
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gauley River National Recreation Area
General Grant National Memorial
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Gettysburg National Military Park
Glacier National Park
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Governors Island National Monument
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Great Basin National Park
Great Egg Harbor National Scenic and Recreational River
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Greenbelt Park
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Haleakalā National Park
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Hampton National Historic Site
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harriett Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument
Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Hawai"˜i Volcanoes National Park
Home of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
Hot Springs National Park
Hovenweep National Monument
Independence National Historical Park
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Jewel Cave National Monument
John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Korean War Veterans National Memorial
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Longfellow National Historic Site
Lowell National Historical Park
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac National Memorial
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Mammoth Cave National Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Manzanar National Historic Site
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
Mesa Verde National Park
Middle Delaware National Scenic River
Minidoka National Historic Site
Minute Man National Historical Park
Mississippi National River and Recreation Areas
Mojave National Preserve
Monocacy National Battlefield
Moores Creek National Battlefield
Morristown National Historical Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Muir Woods National Monument
Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
Natchez Trace Parkway
National Capital Parks
National Mall
Natural Bridges National Monument
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
New River Gorge National River
North Cascades National Park
Obed Wild and Scenic River
Olympic National Park
Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Preserve (one unit)
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial
Petersburg National Battlefield
Petrified Forest National Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Pipe Spring National Monument
Piscataway Park
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Poverty Point National Monument
Prince William Forest Park
Redwood National Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Rock Creek Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Roger Williams National Memorial
Russell Cave National Monument
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Juan Island National Historical Park
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Saratoga National Historical Park
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Sequoia National Park
Shenandoah National Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Statue of Liberty National Monument
Steamtown National Historic Site
Stonewall National Monument
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Thomas Stone National Historic Site
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Timucuan Ecological and Historic National Preserve
Tupelo National Battlefield
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreation River
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
Vicksburg National Military Park
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
Weir Farm National Historic Site
White House (President's Park)
William Howard Taft National Historic Site
Wind Cave National Park
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Women's Rights National Historical Park
World War II Memorial
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Yellowstone National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yucca House National Monument
Zion National Park
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Rothman on August 31, 2017, 05:42:17 PM
I don't think "upgrades" mean that much when it comes to preservation.  If anything, it means more visitation and more stress on the features meant to be protected.

Really there are some lower tier units in the Park System that probably meet the criteria of being significant enough to be visited on the level of a National Park.  The way I see it, a National Park should be the "best of the best" so to speak.  To me stuff like the Sleeping Bear Dunes, White Sands, or even a Canyon de Chelley are on the level of what you would experience at a National Park but lack the facilities of one.  On the flip side some National Parks probably shouldn't be in that "top tier" so to speak.  Places like Congaree and Biscayne National Parks come to mind as units that ought to be National Monuments at best. 



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