This page explains the rating scale used on I Love National Parks. First, while the ratings are as objective as possible, they are still based on the subjective views of one person--me! Why rate Parks? I feel it's important to give folks interested in visiting National Parks an tool for making decisions based on what's important to them. National Parks are rated in four distinct areas, Scenery, Uniqueness, Wildlife and Diversity.

Scenery: How breathtaking and spectacular is the landscape, color, contrast, etc. of the Park?
Uniqueness: How special is this Park? Is this the only place you can see these sights?
Wildlife: How many animals can you expect to see? How many species? Bear, Moose or lizards?
Diversity: How many different activities and ways to see the Park are there? How unique are different parts of the Park?

All Parks are then rated based on where they stand in each area compared to other National Parks.

	The best! Only a few other National Parks rival it
	Superior, better than most other National Parks
	Good, what you would expect from a National Park
	Average, nothing particularly stands out
	Below average, most National Parks are better

These ratings, are then loosely combined to get the overall Park rating (the big stars at the top of each rating block). To view my ranking of the National Parks I've been to, click here. Here's basically what each star on the overall rating implies.

	You simply must make a trip to this park before you die
	Consider planning a vacation to just to see this park
	Consider a weekend trip or incorporating time into a larger vacation to see this park
	Consider a detour or day trip to see this park
	Consider seeing this park if you're in the area and have time

And the half stars? Well, somewhere in between. On priciple, I consider every National Park worth at least a day trip, so don't expect to see many 1-star overall ratings. 1-star is generally reserved for the four categories.

National Monuments and other places are only given an overall rating. Because they're not National Parks, I don't hold them to the same standard. A good rule of thumb for a National Monument ratings is to knock off one star and apply the NP matrix above, so a "3-star" rating would mean "consider a detour or day trip to see this Monument."

Hope this helps!