An updated map of the National Parks we've visited
Here’s an updated list of National Parks that I’ve visited as part of my quest. After last week’s trip, my total now stands at 189 of the 392 total units (or 189 of the 348 units in the continental US shown on the map above). Over the next week or so, I’ll update my main NPS quest page and break down the units into categories.
In general, I’m surprised at how far we still have to go on the quest. We’ve been taking several trips a year for a decade, and we’re not even halfway yet. As you can see from the map, we’ve covered a lot of ground. But having completed only a single trip to the East (a few days in Washington DC for Kim’s 30th birthday), we haven’t had many opportunities to log a bunch of units in a short drive.
We’ve also nearly exhausted driving trips – we probably have two roadtrips left that make sense to drive. That means that costs will increase as we have to fly, rent a car, and stay in hotels. It will also get increasingly difficult to do the often grueling (but incredibly fun!) trips we’ve been used to once we become parents.
Luckily, this is a life goal…so we have some time.
National Park units I’ve visited (189/392 total)
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park
- Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
- Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
- Amistad National Recreation Area
- Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Arches National Park
- Arkansas Post National Memorial
- Badlands National Park
- Bandelier National Monument
- Bents Old Fort National Historic Site
- Big Bend National Park
- Big Hole National Battlefield
- Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area
- Big Thicket National Preserve
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
- Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Cane River Creole National Historic Park
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capulin Volcano National Monument
- Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
- Cedar Breaks National Monument
- Chamizal National Memorial
- Channel Islands National Park
- Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
- Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
- Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park
- Chiricahua National Monument
- City of Rocks National Reserve
- Colorado National Monument
- Congaree National Park
- Constitution Gardens
- Coronado National Memorial
- Cowpens National Battlefield
- Crater Lake National Park
- Craters of the Moon National Monument
- Craters of the Moon National Preserve
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
- Death Valley National Park
- Devils Tower National Monument
- Dinosaur National Monument
- El Malpais National Monument
- El Morro National Monument
- Federal Hall National Memorial
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site
- Fort Davis National Historic Site
- Fort Donelson National Battlefield
- Fort Laramie National Historic Site
- Fort Larned National Historic Site
- Fort Point National Historic Site
- Fort Scott National Historic Site
- Fort Smith National Historic Site
- Fort Union National Monument
- Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
- Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
- Fossil Butte National Monument
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
- General Grant National Memorial
- George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
- George Washington Carver National Monument
- George Washington Memorial Parkway
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Golden Spike National Historic Site
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Grand Teton National Park
- Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
- Great Basin National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- Harry S Truman National Historic Site
- Homestead National Monument of America
- Hot Springs National Park
- Hovenweep National Monument
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
- Jean Lafitte National Historic Park
- Jean Lafitte National Preserve
- Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
- Jewel Cave National Monument
- John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
- John Muir National Historic Site
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Kings Mountain National Military Park
- Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
- Lewis & Clark National Historic Park
- Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
- Little River Canyon National Preserve
- Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
- Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
- Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Minidoka National Historic Site
- Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
- Mississippi National River & Recreation Area
- Mojave National Preserve
- Montezuma Castle National Monument
- Moores Creek National Battlefield
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial
- Muir Woods National Monument
- Natchez National Historic Park
- Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
- Natchez Trace Parkway
- National Capital Parks
- National Mall
- Natural Bridges National Monument
- Navajo National Monument
- New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park
- New River Gorge National River
- Nez Perce National Historical Park
- Ninety Six National Historic Site
- Obed Wild & Scenic River
- Olympic National Park
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Padre Island National Seashore
- Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park
- Pea Ridge National Military Park
- Pecos National Historical Park
- Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Petroglyph National Monument
- Pinnacles National Monument
- Pipe Spring National Monument
- Pipestone National Monument
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
- Poverty Point National Monument
- Redwood National Park
- Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River
- Rock Creek Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Russell Cave National Monument
- Saguaro National Park
- Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
- San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
- San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
- Scotts Bluff National Monument
- Sequoia National Park
- Shiloh National Military Park
- Stones River National Battlefield
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
- Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument
- Tonto National Monument
- Tumacacori National Historical Park
- Tupelo National Battlefield
- Tuzigoot National Monument
- Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
- Vicksburg National Military Park
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Walnut Canyon National Monument
- Washington Monument (National Memorial)
- Washita Battlefield National Historic Site
- White House, The
- White Sands National Monument
- Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield
- Wind Cave National Park
- (National) World War II Memorial
- Wupatki National Monument
- Yellowstone National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Zion National Park
There are also a handful of units that I haven’t listed above that we have, indeed, been to (including Yucca House National Monument, Hohokam Pima National Monument, Nez Perce National Historic Park, and Curecanti National Recreation Area, among a few others). Our standard has been to only count visits where we spent some time at the unit and got some value out of it. For a variety of reasons, we have a few units that we’ve been to but don’t want to count them yet until we get more time there.
In addition to the official units listed above, here are some quick visit stats on other National Park Service lands. We don’t include these in our quest, but we try to hit them on trips.
National Park Affiliated Areas (3/25 total)
- Chimney Rock National Historic Site
- Oklahoma City National Memorial
- Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site
National Trails (16/24 total)
Note that there are a few national trails that are technically considered units and count towards the 392 total. The National Park Service has some odd ways of counting when it comes to what’s considered a “unit” and what’s not.
- California National Historic Trail
- Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
- El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
- Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
- Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
- Nez Perce National Historic Trail
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail
- Oregon National Historic Trail
- Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
- Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
- Pony Express National Historic Trail
- Santa Fe National Historic Trail
- Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
- Trail of Tears National Historic Trail