National Parks, State Parks & Monuments | Travel Journal

ZION NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

U. S. National Parks, State Parks, Monuments & Others

NATIONAL PARKS

There are 59 National Parks in the United States. You might never get to explore all of them, but what you will able to see are some of the most incredible and fascinating natural wonders on earth.

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Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park was originally designated as a National Monument in 1906 to preserve the petrified woods. In 1962 it became a national park. Petrified woods are logs made up of almost solid quartz. Millions of years ago, lush green forests covered the landscape here, with 200-foot tall conifers.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park is located in Coconino County in northwestern Arizona. It is the 15th park to be named a national park, officially designated on February 16, 1919. It was also designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Saguaro National Park is located on the edge of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, one of the hottest states in the United States. It was first declared a National Monument on March 1, 1933 by Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States. The monument was elevated to National Park in 1994 by Congress.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is located in western Colorado near the town of Montrose. It was first established as a National Monument on March 2, 1033 and elevated to National Park on October 29, 1999. It owes its name to the fact that parts of the canyon are so narrow and steep that they receive only 33 minutes of direct sunlight a day.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is located in the immense San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, at the foot of the mighty Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Originally a National Monument, it was upgraded to National Park status on September 24, 2004. Its dunes, up to 750 tall, are the tallest in North America.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt in order to protect the best-preserved ancestral Puebloan archeaological sites in the United States.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Rocky Moun tain National Park was created on January 26, 1915, by an act of congress signed by President Woodrow Wilson. Located in north-central Colorado, it is the third most visited National Park in the United States. The Continental Divide runs through the center of the park, which has 60 peaks reaching above 12,000 feet elevation.

Arches National Park, Utah

Arches National Park is located just to the northeast of Moab, Utah. The park has more than 2,000 known natural sandstone arches and countless other geological formations. Some are known to have collapsed over the years, one of which, Wall Arch, we have seen both before and after the collapse in 2008.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park occupies the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. It was named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Scottish immigrant and Mormon pioneer who homesteaded in the area in 1874, sent by the church to settle the land.
Bryce Canyon was first designated a National Monument in 1923 by President Warren G. Harding. Then it was elevated to National Park status in 1928 by Congress.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Capitol Reef National Park was established in 1971 to preserve about 380 square miles of desert landscape in south central Utah. It was originally designated a National Monument on August 2, 1937 by President Franklin Roosevelt. The park is a colorful landscape of canyons, ridges, buttes and monoliths.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Canyonlands National Park was established on September 12, 1964 through legislation signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The park, in southeast Utah, holds some of the most remote territory in the lower 48 states and supports a variety of recreational activities including, hiking, mountain biking and rafting on the Colorado and Green Rivers that run through the park.

Zion National Park, Utah

Before Zion National Park was established, it was named as Mukuntuweap (mu-koon-tu-weap) National Monument in 1909. It was renamed when it was granted national park status by the U.S. Congress in November 19, 1919, signed by President Woodrow Wilson.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park, named for the highest peak in the Teton Range, was originally established in 1929 to protect the range as well as several lakes at the foot of the mountains. Located in northwestern Wyoming just south of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton is noted for the iconic profile of its mountains when viewed from the east.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park was designated a national park by the U.S. Congress under President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. It was the first national park ever established not only in the United States but in the world. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Kings Canyon National Park, California

Kings Canyon National Park is often paired with the adjacent Sequoia National Park, both of which are jointly administered as one entity by the National Park Service. It was originally created in 1890 as General grant National Park. After significant expansion, it was renamed on March 4, 1940, after Kings Canyon, a glacier-carved valley over one mile deep.

Sequoia National Park, California

Sequoia National Park is the 2nd national park designated in the United States. It was declared on September 25, 1890 by Benjamin Harrison to protect one of the world's largest and oldest trees from logging, the Sequoia Trees. The park is also home to the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mount Whitney. It is administered jointly with Kings Canyon National Park by the National Park Service.

Yosemite National Park, California

Yoseite National Park is located in the western Sierra Nevada of central California, created by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its unique granite domes and cliffs make this park a rock climbers paradise.

Minute Man National Historical Park, Massachusetts

Minuteman National Historical Park commemorates the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was designated to protect historical sites in and around the towns of Lexington, Lincoln and Concord in Massachusetts.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Shenandoah National Park encompasses parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia. After much haggling and controversy, the park was finally established on December 25, 1935 and then officially opened by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 3, 1936. The long and narrow park mostly follows the ridge line of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS

There are 117 National Monuments in the United States. Each one is different and awe inspiring. Once you explore a few you will never get enough of them.

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Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Canyon de Chelly is located in east-central Arizona. It is so far off the beaten path that you really have to go out of your way to see it. You will drive through miles of empty desert, but when you get there, you will appreciate why this place is so special. It is entirely on Navajo Nation Land, and admission is free, although to go into the canyon requires a guide, which is not free. The views from the rim are stunning. Click the link below for more information and photos.

Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Natural Bridges National Monument in southeast Utah is not nearly as visited as are the magnificent National Parks in the state. But it is worth going out of your way to see it, especially if you are a hiker. The rather long loop hike across the mesa-top and under all three of the bridges is a bit strenuous but worth the effort. Click the link below for more information and photos.

Four Corners Monument, Arizona

Though it has no connection with the National Park Service, this monument recognizes the only place in the United States where four states meet at a common point - hence its name. Here you can be present in each of the four states at the same time. The entrance into the site is from New Mexico. It is administered by the Navajo Nation as a Tribal Park. Click the link below for more information and photos.

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument is located in far western Colorado near the city of Grand Junction. Deep canyons with vertical walls and interesting rock formations characterize this wonderful park that affords visitors numerous viewpoints as well as hiking trails. Click the link below for more information and photos.

Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego

Cabrillo National Monument is located on the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego, California. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, the first time a European expedition set foot on what later became the west coast of the United States.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is of course best known for the great carvings of the faces of four American Presidents - Washington , Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Admission is free, but you will pay to park your car.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is located in south central Idaho. It was established on May 2, 1924 to protect an otherworldly landscape of volcanic origins. It is administered jointly by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

Located in northeastern Wyoming, Devils Tower National Monument was designated as the nation's first National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt on December 24, 1906. This igneous rock butte is 867 feet high and is climbed by as many as 4,000 visitors per year, using traditional rock-climbing techniques. There are hiking trails that go all the way around its base.

Monument Valley, Arizona

Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park in northeast Arizona, although its primary access is from Highway 163 in Utah. It is not associated with the National Park Service, but is often visited in connection with one or more National Parks. Its iconic landscape is well known from old movies of the American West.

STATE PARKS

There are 10,234 State Parks in the United States, plus countless city and county parks. There is no way we can visit them all, but to visit a few is enough to inspire you to keep exploring.

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Roxborough State Park, Colorado

Roxborough State Park is located 25 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. It is best known for its impressive red sandstone formations perched at the base of the Front Range foothills. The park has some excellent hiking trails and is best visited in autumn when the fall colors are at their prime. Rattlesnakes are very common here, so care and vigilance are strongly advised.

Staunton State Park, Colorado

Staunton State Park is one of the newest state park in Colorado. It offers outdoor activities for everyone - hiking, biking, climbing, horseback riding and snowshoeing.

Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado

Golden Gate Canyon State Park is one of 41 state parks in Colorado. It gained its status as a park in 1960, the second state park opened in Colorado.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado

The city of Colorado Springs is the administrative agency that maintains this stunning park at the foot of Pikes Peak. Its red rock formations are impressive and can even be climbed by expeienced rock climbers. Admission to the park and visitor center is free.

Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah

Dead Horse Point State Park is located thirty five miles north of Moab, Utah. Directly adjacent to the Island in the Sky segment of Canyonlands National Park. It is a separate park, thus requiring a separate admission fee, but is so well worth seeing for the stunning views you will find there.