Is Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota worth seeing when the cave is closed? That was the question before me when I visited in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t just the pandemic, though, elevator repairs had kept Wind Cave from offering cave tours for more than a year, and […]
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Tag: NP
Mammoth Cave
Do you have claustrophobia? How about a fear of being trapped underground? If so, then Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is NOT the place for you! Enjoy exploring strange places? Then you’ll love this park! Discovered by modern settlers in the 1700s, Mammoth Cave started life as a saltpeter mine for making gunpowder. In […]
Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree National Park, California is a wild desert landscape of rock formations and the iconic trees for which it was named. Established as a National Monument in 1936, it was upgraded to a National Park in 1994. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) ILNP Rating Scenery Uniqueness Wildlife Diversity ILNP Park Review In […]
Wrangell – St. Elias
Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, is the largest national park in the system, more than six times the size of Yellowstone. It covers both a massive land area and a massive elevation gain, going from sea level to more than 18,000 feet of ocean, glaciers and jagged peaks. It was established […]
Lassen Volcanic
Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, was created in 1916 from two national monuments established in 1907, Cinder Cone National Monument and Lassen Peak National Monument. It protects an area of rare geologic features such as mud pots and hot springs. Lassen is still an active volcanic area with the last major eruption only a century […]
Voyageurs
Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, lies on the boundary of the U.S. and Canada and is accessible mainly by boat, canoe or kayak (and snowmobiles in the winter). Though Minnesota lobbied to have this area declared a national park in 1891, it wasn’t officially established until 1971. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) Official NPS Website Voyageurs […]
Kobuk Valley
Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska, was established in 1980 to protect a unique landscape of dunes and caribou routes. The park, roughly the size of Delaware, is located entirely above the Arctic Circle. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) Official NPS Website Kobuk Valley NP Write Your Own Review
Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands National Park covers 60% of St Johns Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Established in 1956, it protects rain forests and coral reefs from development while creating an area open to recreation for more than 500,000 visitors per year. Trunk Bay, part of the park, is considered one of the most beautiful beaches […]
Katmai
Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, was originally designated a national monument in 1918 to protect the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes that had been formed from an enormous volcanic eruption in 1912. While the area is still active from a volcanic perspective, it’s now best known for its gigantic brown bears who feast on […]
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, was originally established as Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947, the only park ever to have this designation, and it was re-designated in 1978. This park exists in three separate units including North and South units of badlands and the Elkhorn Ranch unit formerly owned by Teddy Roosevelt, […]
Isle Royale
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, was established in 1940 to protect this pristine island and smaller surrounding islands in Lake Superior. Isle Royale is large, 45 miles long and 9 miles wide, and can only be reached by boats and float planes. It’s home to its own isolated wildlife populations including wolves and moose. Visitor […]
Hot Springs
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, is arguably the oldest national park, having been preserved for future recreation by the U.S. Congress in 1832. The park protects the area’s historic spas and natural thermal springs, considered by people for centuries to have medicinal value. Visitor Rating (write your own review below) Official NPS Website Hot Springs NP Write […]