US National Park Meme
I call the Mojave National Preserve “The Park” as often as not, but I’m painfully aware that it isn’t one. The difference between “Preserve” and “Park” status? Hunting is allowed in National Preserves. Letting hunters shoot things in the Preserve was a compromise reached in the 1994 California Desert Protection Act that pacified a key constituency opposed to Park status for what had been the East Mojave Scenic Area.
(Did you know that you can shoot all the coyotes you want in the preserve, any time of year, if you have a valid license? That’s not specific to the Preserve: it’s California law. Still. There are pumas in the Preserve, including at least one who skulks around Cima Dome, but given their relative numbers coyotes still function as the top predator in the Preserve. Yet it’s legal to kill them all if you can. This hardly strikes me as sensible management, and I imagine Preserve staff would likely agree were their hands not tied. I can understand shooting one if she’s trying to raid your lamb pen — it’s not a feasible solution long-term, but I can understand the impulse. But what kind of sick person would stalk and shoot coyotes for fun? A sane society would keep tabs on people like that, the way we do now with convicted sex offenders.)
Where was I?
Oh, yeah. There are plenty of full-fledged US National Parks where hunting isn’t allowed: 58 of them, in fact. A list of them, cut-n-pasted from Wikipedia, is below the fold. In the spirit of those “crazy things you’ve done in your life” memes, I’ve bolded those I’ve visited. Feel free to do the same in comments, (though just deleting the ones you haven’t visited might be easier!) or on your own blog, and let us know you’ve done it. Don’t see one in the list you know you’ve visited? It’s probably a National Preserve or a National Monument, or one of the dozen or so other categories of Park Service unit. Perhaps even a National Forest. Non-US residents can participate by telling us about some of the fine parks outside the belly of the beast. And yes, this list reflects a certain amount of assumption of privilege in that travel costs money and time, and if you’ve been unable to do the Parks Tour thing, feel free to tell us about a local place you like, NP, National Monument, State Park, or otherwise.
Bonus question: what’s the next National Park you’d like to visit?
Oh, and it’s not a meme unless you tap people for it, so I’m pointing at Rana, Sherwood, Ron, Arvind, and Dave.
Acadia National Park (Maine))
National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
Arches National Park (Utah)
Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Big Bend National Park (Texas)
Biscayne National Park (Florida)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
Channel Islands National Park (California)
Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
Everglades National Park (Florida)
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) (Montana/Alberta)
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
Haleakala National Park (Hawaii)
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
North Cascades National Park (Washington)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Redwood National Park (California)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Sequoia National Park (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Comments
Oh, and Bonus Question? It’s shameful that I’ve lived out here for a quarter century and never once been to Sequoia/Kings Canyon. Great Basin pulls at my heartstrings, though.
The NP i’d most like to visit is the Great Smokies. I know I’ve visited the following (and may have visited a couple more when a wee lad):
Acadia National Park (Maine)
Arches National Park (Utah)
Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Redwood National Park (California)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Sequoia National Park (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Zion National Park (Utah)
I’ve made all the AZ and NM parks as well as Rocky Mountain and Mesa Verde. I thought I’d been to more, but I guess I’m thinking of places with other designations. Next one for me? Big Bend.
Speaking of coyotes, I’m always appalled when I look at my site stats and see the number of people who wind up on my blog looking for info about how to kill, trap, poison, hunt and skin coyotes. I wonder if you’ve noticed anything similar.
Gt. Basin NP has a cave like the Mojave’s Mitchell Caverns, used to be Lehman Caves Natl Monument, in the side of 13000-ft. Wheeler Peak. The peak looms 7000 ft over the valleys just a few miles to the east and west; it’s beautiful terrain from US 50 but stiff grades might be hard on the Zheep.
And you won’t regret a spring or fall visit to KC and Sequoia especially just after or just before the snow closes the roads.
My list of 29:
Acadia N P (Maine)
Arches N P (Utah)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison N P (Colorado)
Bryce Canyon N P (Utah)
Canyonlands N P (Utah)
Capitol Reef N P (Utah)
Carlsbad Caverns N P (New Mexico)
Crater Lake N P (Oregon)
Death Valley N P (California, Nevada)
Glacier N P (Montana/Alberta)
Grand Canyon N P (Arizona)
Grand Teton N P (Wyoming)
Great Basin N P (Nevada)
Great Sand Dunes N P (Colorado)
Great Smoky Mts. N P (North Carolina, Tennessee)
Joshua Tree N P (California)
Kings Canyon N P (California)
Lassen Volcanic N P (California)
Mesa Verde N P (Colorado)
Mount Rainier N P (Washington)
North Cascades N P (Washington)
Olympic N P (Washington)
Petrified Forest N P (Arizona)
Redwood N P (California)
Sequoia N P (California)
Shenandoah N P (Virginia)
Yellowstone N P (Wyoming)
Yosemite N P (California)
Zion N P (Utah)
=v= I’m more a National Forests type, myself. Land of Many Abuses.
I don’t remember all of the National Parks and historic sites I visited as a child, but, at the very least, Yellowstone and Grand Teton in the US and, in Canada, Banff and Jasper. As an adult, I’ve enjoyed Haleakala, Volcanoes, Arches, Canyonland, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon, Great Basin, along with any number of nearby national forests and state parks. In Canada, I’ve enjoyed Fundy, Kejimkuchik, and Kouchibougouac (and I did have to look up the spelling on the latter two!). But my absolute favorite is Five Islands Provincial Park in Nova Scotia.
I love Five Islands. Though as a 12-year-old, the cliffs gave me my first ever attack of vertigo.
Acadia National Park (Maine))
National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
Arches National Park (Utah)
Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Big Bend National Park (Texas)
Biscayne National Park (Florida)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
Channel Islands National Park (California)
Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
Everglades National Park (Florida)
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) (Montana/Alberta)
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
Haleakala National Park (Hawaii)
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
North Cascades National Park (Washington)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Redwood National Park (California)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Sequoia National Park (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
26 down, 32 to go.
Next New Park: Hawaii Volcanoes, or Katmai (active volcanoes!)
Next All-Time Favorite Park: Canyonlands - Maze District
Next Close-To-Home Park: Probably Lassen again
Next park I Used To Work At: Redwood
Least Interested In: Hot Springs, Cuyahoga Valley
Park I Could See Everyday But Never Went To: Channel Islands
Park I’ve Been To the Most (Except for work): Yosemite
Most Recent Park: Death Valley
Parks I’ve Driven, Boated Or Flown* By But Never Stopped: Great Sand Dunes, Katmai, Kenai Fjords
* not counting jetliner flyovers
I’ve been through Smoky Mountains, Hot Springs, I think Shenandoah (I was in Staunton, Va - or was that a forest. I think that was a National Forest, George Washington NF, is there such a thing?)
I think I’ve visited more NF than NPs
Mount Saint Helens
Mark Twain
Shawnee
Man, i forgot Yosemite!
Dnlee, George Washington NF does indeed exist, west of Shenandoah NP, and Staunton is right between them.
James, on examining my recent search strings the closest I can find to what you’re talking about is “coyote crossing your path”. However, someone did apparently get to this very sad post on my old site by searching on “sniff my dirty socks,” which I can only imagine was a surprise.
Omegapet says “stiff grades might be hard on the Zheep,” but maybe not. Unless Chris (“the Desert Earnhardt”) Clarke has driven its power train into the ground since I last operated the beast, it’s got some pretty gutsy swagger.
Oh, and the meme thing? Done.
There’s a distinct lack of Washington parks in your visited list. I’m just sayin’.
Tagged? Me? Of all the people you know? I’m not worthy!
One of my eventual goals if I get to make this country my home is to visit every national park. This list shows me how little I have actually achieved toward that goal.
My paltry list does not merit a separate blog post. In chronological order:
-Mount Rainier National Park
-Grand Canyon National Park
-Petrified Forest National Park
I can’t be sure about Saguaro National Park. In my visits to Tucson, I went to Mt.Lemmon and Sabino Canyon a few times, but both seem to be in the Coronado National Forest. Are there any famous landmarks in Saguaro that could jog someone’s memory?
Also, I am ashamed to say that having lived in NC for a chunk of time, and visiting Asheville a few times, I’ve never been to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Also ashamed that having driven to the Florida keys on a few occasions while living in Florida, I have never been to either the Everglades or the Biscayne National Parks.
Other non-national park spots I’ve visited:
- Adirondack Park Preserve, NY
- Colossal Cave Mountain Park, AZ
Ans to bonus qn: Acadia National Park - just because it is a short drive away, and a co-worked who goes there very frequently was praising it to the skies a couple of months back.
It seems a shame to allow these natural wonders to go by without comment. Yosemite might be my next destination.
outside the belly of the beast?
Acadia National Park (Maine)
National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
Arches National Park (Utah)
Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Big Bend National Park (Texas)
Biscayne National Park (Florida)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah) [need to get to Capitol Reef - I’ve stood on both sides of it, looking at it from a distance but not got there]
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
[the above ground stuff is almost unvisited, and, while you could lose a division in some of those canyons unnoticed, it’s beautiful - but rough hiking!]
Channel Islands National Park (California)
Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
Everglades National Park (Florida)
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) (Montana/Alberta)
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado) (saw it at a distance but couldn’t get there - made my mouth water)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
(Guadalupe is a real gem that has been purposefully underdeveloped!)
Haleakala National Park (Hawaii)
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
(ashamed to say that though I live in MI, I’ve never been to Isle Royale)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
(think so, but I was a kid)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington) - [was scheduled to go but then go laid off from my Seattle company - this was before the great storm]
North Cascades National Park (Washington)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Redwood National Park (California)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Sequoia National Park (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Of the lot of them, I’d guess Grand Canyon was the best. I spent a month hiking in the Canyon and also rafted down the canyon from Phantom Ranch to near Lake Mead. The thing about the Grand is that every side canyon is so different from the next. It’s like a hundred separate parks.
Acadia National Park (Maine)
National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
Arches National Park (Utah)
Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
Big Bend National Park (Texas)
Biscayne National Park (Florida)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
**Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
Channel Islands National Park (California)
Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
Everglades National Park (Florida)
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) (Montana/Alberta)
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
Haleakala National Park (Hawaii)
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Kings Canyon National Park (California)
Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
North Cascades National Park (Washington)
Olympic National Park (Washington)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Redwood National Park (California)
Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Sequoia National Park (California)
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Plus Banff, Jasper, and a drive through of Kluane (Yukon Terr.) in Canada.
**I work here - first park following a “50-something” career change - so say “hi” if you’re in the neighborhood . . .
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