Spectacular scenery, wilderness, caves, volcanoes and other geothermal features, glaciers, rivers, oceans, mountains, lakes, forests, and wildlife are featured in our National Parks. The United States of America currently has 63 National Parks distributed across 30 states and 2 territories. A congressional bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. Criteria for the selection of national parks include natural beauty, unique geological features, unusual ecosystems, and/or recreational opportunities. Noted documentary creator Ken Burns has created a series available on DVD entitled, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea which is a great overview.
We love National Parks and as of March 2022 have visited 49 of them during our 14 years of marriage and 45 since we began RV’ing in April 2012. We’ve created this page and regional pages (accessible via links below) to make it easier to find information about National Parks and our posts about them. We will keep adding information as we visit parks.
Map of the National Parks with clickable markers:
We have split the parks into 5 geographic regions. Links (below) will take you to the page for each region:
Eastern Region (Florida, Maine, Ohio, Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia & West Virginia)
- Florida: Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Everglades
- Maine: Acadia
- Ohio: Cuyahoga Valley
- Indiana: Indiana Dunes
- South Carolina: Congaree
- Virginia: Shenandoah
- West Virginia: New River Gorge
- Arkansas: Hot Springs
- Kentucky: Mammoth Cave
- Michigan: Isle Royal
- Minnesota: Voyageurs
- Missouri: Gateway Arch
- North Dakota: Theodore Roosevelt
- South Dakota: Badlands, Wind Cave
- Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains
- Texas: Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains
Rocky Mountain Region (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana)
- Arizona: Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Saguaro
- New Mexico: Carlsbad Cavern, White Sands
- Utah: Arches, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Zion
- Colorado: Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, and Rocky Mountain
- Wyoming: Grand Teton, Yellowstone
- Montana: Glacier
Pacific Coast Region (California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada)
- California: Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia, Yosemite
- Oregon: Crater Lake
- Washington: Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic
- Nevada: Great Basin
Alaska, Hawaii & US Territories (Alaska, Hawaii, US Virgin Islands and American Samoa)
- Alaska: Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobok Valley, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St.Elias,
- Hawaii: Haleakala, Hawaii Volcanoes,
- American Samoa: National Park of Samoa
- US Virgin Islands: Virgin Islands National Parks
