Mastodon Mastodon

100 National Parks in 100 Days to Celebrate the Centennial

As the epic encore to #MyNationalParksMonth began to wound down last week and I started reflecting on all the amazing places I had been, I realized that my centennial celebration shouldn’t end just yet.

The roadtrip had been an amazing journey through how America became, well, America, but it didn’t tell much of my story. So I decided that I should extend my celebration a bit further.

But exactly how do you top an epic trip like #MyNationalParksMonth?

Well, you visit 100 National Parks in 100 Days to celebrate the Centennial. And so that’s what I’m doing.

For the purposes of this project, I’m starting the clock for the 100 Day period back on March 9, 2016, which cuts off the first six national parks I visited in 2016. That means that I’ll have until June 17, 2016 to complete all 100 official park units.

Will I accomplish such an aggressive goal? Let’s find out.

UPDATE:  I did it! Waaaay more coming about this whole endeavor, including how I pulled it off, what it meant to me, lessons learned, and a whole lot more. I’ll be compiling and trickling these posts out over the remainder of the summer and into the fall. In the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions you have!

Here are the national parks that I’ve already visited, both in map and list form. You can find photos from most of these destinations on this flickr album.

  1. Ocmulgee NM – Mar 9
  2. Tuskegee Airman NHS – Mar 10
  3. Tuskegee Institute NHS – Mar 10
  4. Horseshoe Bend NMP – Mar 10
  5. Manhattan Project NHP – Mar 11
  6. Ozark NSR – Mar 13
  7. Natchez Trace PKWY – Mar 13
  8. Jimmy Carter NHS – Mar 16
  9. Andersonville NHS – Mar 16
  10. San Juan NHS – Apr 3
  11. Christiansted NHS – Apr 4
  12. Salt River Bay NHP & Ecological Preserve – Apr 4
  13. Buck Island Reef NM – Apr 5
  14. Virgin Islands Corral Reef NM – Apr 6
  15. Virgin Islands NP – Apr 6
  16. Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS – Apr 29
  17. Frederick Law Olmstead NHS – Apr 29
  18. John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS – Apr 29
  19. Boston NHP – Apr 30
  20. Boston African American NHP – Apr 30
  21. Boston Harbor Islands NRA – May 1
  22. Adams NHP – May 1
  23. Minute Man NHP – May 1
  24. Salem Maritime NHS – May 1
  25. Saugus Iron Works NHS – May 2
  26. George Washington Memorial PKWY – May 2
  27. Cedar Creek & Belle Grove NHP – May 3
  28. Flight 93 NMEM – May 3
  29. Friendship Hill NHS – May 4
  30. Fort Necessity NB – May 4
  31. Johnstown Flood NMEM- May 4
  32. Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS – May 4
  33. Hopewell Furnace NHS – May 5
  34. First State NM – May 5
  35. Harriett Tubman Underground Railroad NHP – May 6
  36. Statue of Liberty NM – May 7
  37. Castle Clinton NM – May 7
  38. African Burial Ground NM – May 7
  39. Hamilton Grange NMEM – May 7
  40. General Grant NMEM – May 7
  41. Sagamore Hill NHS – May 8
  42. Fire Island NS – May 8
  43. Gateway NRA – May 8
  44. Upper Delaware SRR – May 9
  45. Delaware Water Gap NRA – May 9
  46. Middle Delaware NSR – May 9
  47. Steamtown NHS – May 10
  48. Paterson Great Falls NHP – May 10
  49. Morristown NHP – May 11
  50. Edison NHP – May 11
  51. Great Egg Harbor NSRR – May 12
  52. Assateague Island NS – May 12
  53. Lincoln Memorial – May 13
  54. Vietnam Veterans Memorial – May 13
  55. Korean War Veterans Memorial – May 13
  56. World War II Memorial – May 13
  57. Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial – May 13
  58. National Mall – May 13
  59. National Capital Parks – May 13
  60. Independence NHP – May 14
  61. Thaddeus Kosciuszko NMEM – May 14
  62. Valley Forge NHP – May 14
  63. Edgar Allan Poe NHS – May 15
  64. World War I Memorial – May 16
  65. Ford’s Theatre NHS – May 18
  66. Pennsylvania Avenue NHS – May 18
  67. White House – May 19
  68. Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality NM – May 20
  69. Shenandoah NP – May 21
  70. Harper’s Ferry NHP – May 22
  71. Appalachian NST – May 22
  72. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP – May 22
  73. Washington Monument – May 23
  74. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS – May 26
  75. Women’s Rights NHP – May 27
  76. Fort Stanwix NM – May 27
  77. Saratoga NHP – May 28
  78. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP – May 28
  79. Saint-Gaudens NHS – May 28
  80. St. Croix Island IHS – May 29
  81. Acadia NP – May 30
  82. Lowell NHP – May 31
  83. Cape Cod NS – Jun 1
  84. New Bedford Whaling NHP – Jun 1
  85. Roger Williams NMEM – Jun 2
  86. Blackstone River Valley NHP – Jun 2
  87. Springfield Armory NHS – Jun 3
  88. Martin Van Buren NHS – Jun 3
  89. Vanderbilt Mansion NHS – Jun 4
  90. Home of Franklin D Roosevelt NHS – Jun 4
  91. Eleanor Roosevelt NHS – Jun 5
  92. Weir Farm NHS – Jun 5
  93. St. Paul’s Church NHS – Jun 6
  94. Governors Island NM – Jun 6
  95. Federal Hall NMEM – Jun 6
  96. Tuzigoot NM – Jun 11
  97. Montezuma Castle NM – Jun 11
  98. Walnut Canyon NM – Jun 11
  99. Sunset Crater NM – Jun 12
  100. Wupatki NM – Jun 12