Beyond the 63 parks
National monuments, memorials and historic sites
The national monuments, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, and historic sites worth planning a trip around, from Muir Woods to the Statue of Liberty. Each guide covers when to go, the reservations or tours you need, what to pack, and how to get there. 88 sites and counting.
Southwest
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Texas
The only national monument in Texas, where the colorful Alibates flint that Native peoples quarried for 13,000 years can be seen only on a ranger-guided, reservation-required hike above Lake Meredith.
Aztec Ruins National Monument
New Mexico
A 900-year-old Ancestral Puebloan great house in northwest New Mexico, free to enter, where you can walk through original roofed rooms and a fully reconstructed Great Kiva.
Bandelier National Monument
New Mexico
Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and cavates in a canyon near Los Alamos, where a seasonal shuttle carries most daytime visitors into Frijoles Canyon.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Arizona
A living Navajo canyon of red sandstone walls and ancestral cliff dwellings, where the only self-guided hike is the White House Trail and everything deeper requires an authorized Navajo guide.
Capulin Volcano National Monument
New Mexico
A near-perfect extinct cinder cone in northeast New Mexico with a paved road spiraling to the rim, where you can hike around and down into the crater.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Arizona
The four-story Great House of the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, the country's first archaeological preserve, sheltered under a striking modern canopy between Phoenix and Tucson.
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Utah
A high-elevation amphitheater of red and orange hoodoos above 10,000 feet near Cedar City, famous for summer wildflowers and dark skies.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
New Mexico
A remote high-desert complex of monumental Ancestral Puebloan great houses, reached only by a rough washboard dirt road and ranked among the darkest night skies in the country.
Chiricahua National Monument
Arizona
A sky-island wonderland of balanced rocks and rhyolite pinnacles in southeast Arizona, with no entrance fee and a small reservable campground.
Coronado National Memorial
Arizona
A free border memorial in the Huachuca Mountains marking the 1540 Coronado expedition, with a wild cave, a mountain-pass overlook into Mexico, and superb birding.
Dinosaur National Monument
Utah
A fossil-rich monument on the Utah-Colorado line where a wall of 1,500 dinosaur bones is enclosed in the Quarry Exhibit Hall, reached by a timed ticket in peak season.
El Malpais National Monument
New Mexico
A rugged volcanic badland of black lava flows, collapsed lava-tube caves, and sandstone bluffs south of Grants, where a free caving permit is the key to going underground.
El Morro National Monument
New Mexico
A sandstone bluff in western New Mexico carved with centuries of inscriptions, from Ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs to Spanish and American travelers. Free to visit, with a free first-come campground.
Fort Union National Monument
New Mexico
The adobe ruins of the largest 19th-century military post in the Southwest, set on the high plains beside the deepest visible ruts of the Santa Fe Trail.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
New Mexico
Mogollon cliff dwellings set in natural caves deep in New Mexico's Gila high country, reached by a slow, scenic mountain road and a short loop trail you can walk right into.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Arizona
Lake Powell's red-rock houseboat country: 1.25 million acres of slickrock canyon, marina launches, and a houseboat booking calendar that drives the whole trip.
Hovenweep National Monument
Utah
Ancestral Puebloan stone towers perched on the rims and boulders of a remote canyon on the Utah-Colorado line, with a free first-come campground and dark skies that rival any park in the Southwest.
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
Arizona
The oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Nation, still selling rugs, jewelry, and groceries the way it has since 1878.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Nevada
The desert boating playground an hour from Las Vegas: two big reservoirs, marina houseboats, lakeside campgrounds, and year-round paddling and fishing.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Arizona
A remarkably well-preserved Sinagua cliff dwelling tucked into a limestone alcove above Beaver Creek, an easy, high-impact stop between Phoenix and Flagstaff.
Natural Bridges National Monument
Utah
Three massive stone bridges over White and Armstrong canyons in remote southeast Utah, and the first International Dark Sky Park in the world.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Arizona
The only place in the United States where the multi-armed organ pipe cactus grows wild, protected across a vast Sonoran Desert preserve on the Mexican border.
Padre Island National Seashore
Texas
The longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world, where 60 miles of drivable Gulf beach and summer Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchling releases define the visit.
Pecos National Historical Park
New Mexico
A crossroads of 12,000 years of history half an hour from Santa Fe, where a Pueblo and two Spanish mission churches sit on the same trail as a Civil War battlefield.
Petroglyph National Monument
New Mexico
One of the largest petroglyph sites in North America on Albuquerque's west mesa, where tens of thousands of images were carved into volcanic rock over centuries.
Pipe Spring National Monument
Arizona
A historic spring-fed fort on the remote Arizona Strip, jointly operated with the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, where a ranger-guided tour of Winsor Castle is the only way inside.
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
New Mexico
Three separate sites of Spanish mission ruins and ancestral Pueblo villages on the high plains southeast of Albuquerque, free to visit and rarely crowded.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Arizona
A young cinder cone north of Flagstaff that last erupted around 1085 CE, ringed by black lava flows and an easy interpretive trail, paired with nearby Wupatki on one scenic loop.
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Utah
Three decorated limestone caves above American Fork Canyon, reached by a steep 1.5-mile climb and seen only on a timed, ranger-led tour you reserve in advance on Recreation.gov.
Tonto National Monument
Arizona
Two well-preserved Salado cliff dwellings above the Tonto Basin, where a self-guided trail reaches the Lower Dwelling and a ranger-led reservation tour climbs to the Upper.
Tumacacori National Historical Park
Arizona
A Spanish colonial mission church 45 miles south of Tucson, where the weathered adobe shell of San Jose de Tumacacori anchors a small, walkable park in the Santa Cruz River valley.
Tuzigoot National Monument
Arizona
A 110-room Sinagua hilltop pueblo overlooking the Verde River wetlands near Cottonwood, with a short paved loop and a tower you can climb for valley-wide views.
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Arizona
Cliff dwellings ring a forested canyon just outside Flagstaff, reached by a steep stair-stepped loop that drops past the ancient rooms themselves.
Wupatki National Monument
Arizona
Red sandstone pueblos rising from open Painted Desert grassland north of Flagstaff, linked to Sunset Crater Volcano by one 35-mile scenic loop and one shared entrance fee.
Southeast
Andersonville National Historic Site
Georgia
The site of the Civil War's deadliest prison, now home to the National Prisoner of War Museum and a national cemetery honoring all American POWs.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
North Carolina
The Outer Banks barrier-island seashore: 70 miles of open beach, lighthouses, world-class surf-fishing, and four NPS campgrounds you reserve on Recreation.gov.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
North Carolina
A 56-mile chain of undeveloped barrier islands reachable only by passenger or vehicle ferry, home to the diamond-painted lighthouse and the wild horses of Shackleford Banks.
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Florida
The oldest masonry fort in the continental US, built of coquina shellstone on the St. Augustine waterfront. A flat-fee ticket good for seven days, with cannon firings on weekends.
Cowpens National Battlefield
South Carolina
The South Carolina field where Daniel Morgan's double envelopment shattered Banastre Tarleton's British force in January 1781, preserved as a quiet walking and driving loop near Gaffney.
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Georgia
Georgia's largest barrier island, reachable only by a reserved passenger ferry from St. Marys, with wild horses, oak-shaded trails, and 17 miles of undeveloped beach.
Fort Frederica National Monument
Georgia
The tabby ruins of a 1730s British fort and town on St. Simons Island, founded by James Oglethorpe to defend colonial Georgia and tied to the nearby Battle of Bloody Marsh.
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Georgia
A massive brick coastal fort on Cockspur Island near Savannah, where rifled cannon ended the age of masonry forts in a single 1862 bombardment.
Fort Sumter National Monument
South Carolina
The sea fort in Charleston Harbor where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, reachable only by a concession ferry, so booking that boat is the entire plan.
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Florida
Sugar-white quartz sand and emerald Gulf water along the Florida panhandle, anchored by the historic brick walls of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
West Virginia
A restored 19th-century town at the dramatic meeting of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where you park at the visitor center and ride a free shuttle into Lower Town.
Kings Mountain National Military Park
South Carolina
A wooded battlefield where Patriot militia routed Loyalist forces in 1780 in a turning point of the Revolutionary War, walked on a self-guided loop trail.
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Georgia
Ancient Native American earthworks on the edge of Macon, where you can climb the Great Temple Mound and step inside a reconstructed 1,000-year-old earth lodge with its original clay floor.
Pea Ridge National Military Park
Arkansas
One of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the country, where a 7-mile auto tour traces the March 1862 battle that secured Missouri for the Union, anchored by Elkhorn Tavern.
Russell Cave National Monument
Alabama
A vast cave shelter in northeast Alabama that recorded roughly 10,000 years of continuous Native American life, now one of the most complete archaeological records in the Southeast.
Wright Brothers National Memorial
North Carolina
The Outer Banks site where Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered flights in 1903, marked by a granite monument on Kill Devil Hill and stones tracing each takeoff.
Northeast
Assateague Island National Seashore
Maryland
The barrier island famous for its wild horses, with NPS Oceanside and Bayside campgrounds on Recreation.gov, an over-sand vehicle zone, and miles of open Atlantic beach. This is the NPS seashore, distinct from neighboring Assateague State Park.
Cape Cod National Seashore
Massachusetts
Forty miles of protected Atlantic beach, kettle ponds, bike trails, and historic lighthouses. There is no camping inside the seashore itself, so plan to camp or stay in the surrounding towns.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Pennsylvania
Forty miles of the Middle Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey: waterfalls, the Mount Tammany climb, river canoeing, and primitive river camping.
Fire Island National Seashore
New York
A 26-mile barrier island off Long Island where the best parts, the globally rare Sunken Forest and the Otis Pike Wilderness, are reached only by a seasonal passenger ferry across the Great South Bay.
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Maryland
The star-shaped Baltimore fort whose defense in the 1814 Battle of Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that became the national anthem.
Gateway National Recreation Area
New York
An urban national park across New York Harbor: ocean beaches at Sandy Hook and Jacob Riis, the Floyd Bennett Field campground, and history a subway ride from the city.
Gettysburg National Military Park
Pennsylvania
The Civil War's pivotal battlefield in Pennsylvania. The battlefield and grounds are free, but the museum, the film, and the Cyclorama need a ticket, and a licensed guide is the standout way to tour.
Independence National Historical Park
Pennsylvania
The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in old-city Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell is walk-in free, but Independence Hall now requires a free timed ticket from recreation.gov in peak season.
Minute Man National Historical Park
Massachusetts
The opening battlefield of the American Revolution, where the Battle Road Trail traces the April 19, 1775 fighting from Lexington to Concord's Old North Bridge.
Statue of Liberty National Monument
New York
Liberty Island and Ellis Island, reached only by the official Statue City Cruises ferry. The whole trip hinges on booking the right ferry tier, and Crown tickets sell out months ahead.
Great Plains & Midwest
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Nebraska
Remote Nebraska grassland that yielded world-class Miocene mammal fossils, paired with the James Cook collection of Lakota artifacts gathered through his friendship with Chief Red Cloud.
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Wisconsin
Lake Superior's island archipelago: mainland sea caves, 21 islands reached by ferry or kayak, historic lighthouses, and permit-only backcountry camping.
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Iowa
More than 200 prehistoric Native American mounds, including rare bird and bear effigy shapes, on bluffs high above the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa.
George Washington Carver National Monument
Missouri
The birthplace and boyhood farm of scientist and educator George Washington Carver near Diamond, Missouri, the first national monument honoring a Black American and the first for a non-president.
Grand Portage National Monument
Minnesota
A reconstructed North West Company fur-trade depot on Lake Superior and the 8.5-mile Grand Portage trail, preserving Anishinaabe Ojibwe heritage on the far northeast tip of Minnesota.
Homestead National Historical Park
Nebraska
The Nebraska site of one of the first claims filed under the 1862 Homestead Act, with restored tallgrass prairie, a one-room schoolhouse, and a heritage center telling the story of free land that reshaped the West.
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Ohio
Monumental 2,000-year-old earthworks built by the Hopewell culture near Chillicothe, including the restored Mound City Group, now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jewel Cave National Monument
South Dakota
One of the longest caves in the world, in the southern Black Hills. The surface is free, but seeing the cave means a ranger-led tour, and reserving that tour on recreation.gov is the whole plan.
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
North Dakota
The remains of Hidatsa and Mandan earthlodge villages on the Upper Missouri, with a full-scale reconstructed earthlodge and the homeland of Sakakawea.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
South Dakota
The four-president sculpture in the Black Hills. Entry is free, but a concession parking fee is required, and the real planning is which Black Hills town you camp or stay in.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Michigan
Forty miles of colorful sandstone cliffs, sea caves, and waterfalls along Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, best seen from a Munising boat cruise or the Chapel-to-Mosquito backcountry hike.
Pipestone National Monument
Minnesota
A sacred quarry on the Minnesota prairie where Native Americans have mined soft red pipestone for sacred pipes for more than 3,000 years, still quarried today.
Scotts Bluff National Monument
Nebraska
An 800-foot bluff above the North Platte River that was a landmark for hundreds of thousands of Oregon Trail emigrants, with a historic summit road and trails to the top.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Michigan
Michigan's Lake Michigan dunescape: towering perched dunes, the Pierce Stocking scenic drive, turquoise water, and two reservable lakeshore campgrounds.
Pacific
Cabrillo National Monument
California
A tip-of-the-peninsula monument above San Diego, with a lighthouse, big bay views, gray-whale watching, and tide pools that are best at fall and winter low tides.
Devils Postpile National Monument
California
A wall of 60-foot columnar basalt and the 101-foot Rainbow Falls in the high Sierra near Mammoth, where a mandatory Reds Meadow shuttle is the single most important thing to plan around in peak season.
Lava Beds National Monument
California
The densest concentration of lava-tube caves in North America, on the flank of a shield volcano in remote northern California, where a free cave permit and a flashlight are the planning core.
Mojave National Preserve
California
A 1.6 million acre desert wilderness between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with singing sand dunes, a Joshua tree forest, lava cinder cones, and free dispersed camping.
Muir Woods National Monument
California
Old-growth coast redwoods 12 miles north of San Francisco, where a parking or shuttle reservation is mandatory and is the single most important thing to book.
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve
Oregon
A marble cave high in the Siskiyou Mountains, seen only on a guided tour, with a historic 1934 lodge and surface trails through old-growth forest near Cave Junction.
Point Reyes National Seashore
California
A wild Marin County peninsula of cliffs, elk, lighthouse fog, and tule-elk reserves, with backcountry hike-in and boat-in camping reserved on Recreation.gov.
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
California
A clear mountain lake near Redding with four waterfalls, 70 miles of trail, Gold Rush history, and year-round lakeside camping in Northern California.
Rocky Mountains
Colorado National Monument
Colorado
A red-rock canyon country of sheer monoliths and sandstone spires above Grand Junction, traced by the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Idaho
A vast ocean of black lava flows, cinder cones, and lava-tube caves in central Idaho, with a scenic loop road and a free cave permit you must pick up in person.
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Colorado
Three high-country reservoirs in western Colorado: Blue Mesa boating, the Dillon Pinnacles, gold-medal fishing, and a boat tour into the upper Black Canyon.
Devils Tower National Monument
Wyoming
America's first national monument: a 867-foot volcanic tower above the Belle Fourche River, ringed by a walkable base trail and world-class crack climbing.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Colorado
A high mountain valley west of Colorado Springs holding giant petrified redwood stumps and some of the world's richest fossil insect and plant beds, on easy interpretive trails.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Montana
The 1876 battlefield where the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho defeated Custer's Seventh Cavalry, marked by white headstones across open Montana prairie.
Looking for the big parks? Browse the 63 national parks or state parks.