National Park Service numbered routes

[bzakharin]

So a couple months ago my family visited Buttermilk Falls on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is when I discovered the existence of NPS Route 615 (which is the continuation of Sussex County's route 615). It is signed with "NPS 615" in white on a brown circle. It is presumably "maintained" by the National Park Service, but is barely passable in spots. Not sure how counties can do better maintenance than the federal government.

Anyway, are there other such routes at other NPS sites? Just by poking around, I've found 602, also in NJ, but in Warren County, and route 66, which is really not the same thing.

[silverback1065]

I'm sure Yosemite and yellowstone have some.

[SD Mapman]

I'm sure Yosemite and yellowstone have some.

Last time I was in Yellowstone, I didn't see any.

[Mapmikey]

Gousha maps in the 1980s showed route numbers on Glacier National Park Roads (all single digit) but none were evident when I drove there in 1997.

I have seen NPS shields for Virginia secondary routes along the Blue Ridge Pkwy near the NC line (GMSV too fuzzy to see clearly) and also in the National Forest near Mt. Rogers along SR 650 (old unpaved US 58).

Mike

[Rothman]

Gousha maps in the 1980s showed route numbers on Glacier National Park Roads (all single digit) but none were evident when I drove there in 1997.

I have seen NPS shields for Virginia secondary routes along the Blue Ridge Pkwy near the NC line (GMSV too fuzzy to see clearly) and also in the National Forest near Mt. Rogers along SR 650 (old unpaved US 58).

Mike

Given that Mount Rogers NRA is a Forest Service property, either the "NPS shield" you saw was actually a Forest Service sign like this: http://dcasler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oc_fs_858_sign.jpg , or the NPS arrowhead was mistakenly used.

[Mapmikey]

Gousha maps in the 1980s showed route numbers on Glacier National Park Roads (all single digit) but none were evident when I drove there in 1997.

I have seen NPS shields for Virginia secondary routes along the Blue Ridge Pkwy near the NC line (GMSV too fuzzy to see clearly) and also in the National Forest near Mt. Rogers along SR 650 (old unpaved US 58).

Mike

Given that Mount Rogers NRA is a Forest Service property, either the "NPS shield" you saw was actually a Forest Service sign like this: http://dcasler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oc_fs_858_sign.jpg , or the NPS arrowhead was mistakenly used.

The Mount Rogers area shield was a simple brown rectangle with 650 in it.  The Blue Ridge Pkwy Shields vary from tiny brown-and-white (like the way Virginia used to post secondary routes) to larger black and white squares.

Mike

[Rothman]

Gousha maps in the 1980s showed route numbers on Glacier National Park Roads (all single digit) but none were evident when I drove there in 1997.

I have seen NPS shields for Virginia secondary routes along the Blue Ridge Pkwy near the NC line (GMSV too fuzzy to see clearly) and also in the National Forest near Mt. Rogers along SR 650 (old unpaved US 58).

Mike

Given that Mount Rogers NRA is a Forest Service property, either the "NPS shield" you saw was actually a Forest Service sign like this: http://dcasler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oc_fs_858_sign.jpg , or the NPS arrowhead was mistakenly used.

The Mount Rogers area shield was a simple brown rectangle with 650 in it.  The Blue Ridge Pkwy Shields vary from tiny brown-and-white (like the way Virginia used to post secondary routes) to larger black and white squares.

Mike

Huh.  None of those variants sound like the official route shields of the NPS or USFS.

[Bitmapped]

Gousha maps in the 1980s showed route numbers on Glacier National Park Roads (all single digit) but none were evident when I drove there in 1997.

I have seen NPS shields for Virginia secondary routes along the Blue Ridge Pkwy near the NC line (GMSV too fuzzy to see clearly) and also in the National Forest near Mt. Rogers along SR 650 (old unpaved US 58).

Mike

Given that Mount Rogers NRA is a Forest Service property, either the "NPS shield" you saw was actually a Forest Service sign like this: http://dcasler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oc_fs_858_sign.jpg , or the NPS arrowhead was mistakenly used.

The Mount Rogers area shield was a simple brown rectangle with 650 in it.  The Blue Ridge Pkwy Shields vary from tiny brown-and-white (like the way Virginia used to post secondary routes) to larger black and white squares.

Mike

Huh.  None of those variants sound like the official route shields of the NPS or USFS.

Brown rectangles with the route number are commonly used for minor Forest Service roads and at intersections between Forest Service roads. I see them a lot more frequently in Monongahela and George Washington/Jefferson National Forests than the full shield shown in http://dcasler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/oc_fs_858_sign.jpg.

[SD Mapman]

Those brown rectangles are everywhere in the Black Hills NF. So yes, those are FS markers.

[SectorZ]

I've seen them in both the White Mountain NF in NH, and the Green Mountain NF in Vermont. They are the same shields as posted by Rothman.

[briantroutman]

I seem to recall seeing these National Forest route markers in Allegheny N.F. in northwestern PA, but I'm not finding any on Street View.

[SD Mapman]

I seem to recall seeing these National Forest route markers in Allegheny N.F. in northwestern PA, but I'm not finding any on Street View.

That's cause they're usually on crappy gravel roads that GMSV doesn't go down. (that might be different on the East Coast, not sure)

[Mapmikey]

Here are pics of what I had found...







Mike

[Beeper1]

Wind Cave National Park has NPS 5 and NPS 6

[Henry]

FWIW, the section of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from the southern end of MD 295 to the northern end of DC 295 should be designated NPS 295. That way, it would truly be a continuous route with the same number all the way.

[SD Mapman]

Here are pics of what I had found...
Mike

That last one looks like a USFS secondary sign. (as opposed to the primary and tertiary versions)

[SD Mapman]

Wind Cave National Park has NPS 5 and NPS 6

NPS 5 is the only stand-alone one; NPS 6 is a continuation of CSP 6.

On a side note, I think Custer State Park is the only State Park with route numbers (there's CSP 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, and 16).

[briantroutman]

I seem to recall seeing these National Forest route markers in Allegheny N.F. in northwestern PA, but I'm not finding any on Street View.

That's cause they're usually on crappy gravel roads that GMSV doesn't go down. (that might be different on the East Coast, not sure)

I was hoping I might see one (posted like a reassurance marker) where a National Forest route intersects a paved PA route that is on street view...but no luck.

[SD Mapman]

I seem to recall seeing these National Forest route markers in Allegheny N.F. in northwestern PA, but I'm not finding any on Street View.

That's cause they're usually on crappy gravel roads that GMSV doesn't go down. (that might be different on the East Coast, not sure)

I was hoping I might see one (posted like a reassurance marker) where a National Forest route intersects a paved PA route that is on street view...but no luck.

Usually they're not on the intersecting route; you actually have to wait until you're on the road itself before you see them.