National Park Service: More Than Just Parks

When people consider where to travel within the United States, National Parks often rise to the top of the list. However, to limit one’s options to just the 62 designated National Parks is to miss out on many other opportunities across the United States. The National Park Service oversees 423 units or parks along with some 150 areas. In previous posts I have noted the National Historical Parks as well as the National Monuments which other government agencies sometimes oversee.

This post will look at some of the other designations of land and parks which the National Park Service operates and offer a few examples of some that I have been able to visit over the years. Let’s start with one category that is probably familiar to many people, National Memorials. There are 31 designated National Memorials in the United States. These commemorate an historical event or person, but not necessarily in a location connected to that event or person.

As one might expect, over a third of these memorials reside in Washington DC which is where I saw many of them during my trip with 8th graders in 2010. These include well known memorials to past presidents including Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, and Roosevelt. Since my visit, they have created the Eisenhower Memorial which opened in September of 2020. These memorials represent some of the best known sites in Washington DC and are iconic locations to visit.

This category also includes memorials to those who fought in various wars including Word War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A World War I Memorial is currently in the process of being built. All of these memorials are high on the list of things to see when visiting our nation’s capitol.

Of course not all the memorials are located in Washington D.C. While many memorials are in the East Coast, there are some scattered in other parts of the country as well. Probably two of the best known memorials outside of Washington DC are the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Unfortunately, I have not been to either one. Although the memorials in our capitol are mainly some kind of sculpture or structure, not all memorials fit that model and may include areas for hiking or other activities.

Another designation is a National Historic Site. These are locations that include some historic feature, often it’s the home of an important historical figure or has some other type of historical connection such as a fort. 73 locations spread across the United States hold this designation. Sadly I cannot say that I have visited any of them. There are two here in my home state of Washington. Fort Vancouver down on the Oregon border and the Whitman Mission near Walla Walla. We did try to visit the mission a few years ago, but it was closed the day that we were there.

National Battlefields are another area of historical importance across the United States. Sadly many of the battlefields relate to the Civil War which was not our finest hour as a nation. There are also a few related to battles fought with the Native Americans. I have visited probably the most well known of the battlefields which is Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. I traveled there with the 8th grade trip so we received information from our guide about the area. What impressed me the most was the size of the area. I didn’t realize how large of an area the battle covered.

Another battlefield we visited is not as well know. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is on both sides of the Tennessee-Georgia border. The Chickamauga Battlefield is the location of a defeat on the part of the Union army. They retreated to nearby Chattanooga. The Confederates took a position above the city on Lookout Mountain until the Union was able to defeat them and take the mountain. Today a peace memorial stands at the top of Lookout Mountain donated by the state of New York as a symbol of the reunification of the country.

Along with battlefields are National Cemeteries. There are 14 such cemeteries spread across the United States. They are not counted separately but are usually included within another designated park unit. Of course on my trip to Washington DC, we visited Arlington National Cemetery. The Army actually operates the cemetery, but much of the land was originally from the home of Robert E Lee. Lee’s home, Arlington House, is in the middle of the cemetery. It is a memorial to him and his efforts to reunite the north and south following the Civil War. The Park Service operates Arlington House.

Visiting Arlington Cemetery was a rather personal experience for me. A young man I knew was buried there having been killed in the Middle East. He had played on my son’s soccer team. I made a point to find his grave marker. We also observed the placing of flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier which is a moving experience as some of our own students participated in this.

Some of the other designated areas include National Lakeshores, National Rivers, and National Seashores. Most of these are in the Midwest or East Coast. One designation that offers opportunities on the West Coast is National Recreation Areas. One of those is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which is partly in San Francisco but extends to the other side of the bridge as well. There are historical sites along with places to walk and hike included in this area.

Here in Washington state we have three of the 18 National Recreation Areas. The three are Ross Lake, Lake Chelan, and Lake Roosevelt. Of the three I have most recently been to Ross Lake. It is one of the most beautiful lakes around with its unique green color. Lake Chelan is a popular tourist location from the Seattle area. Lake Roosevelt is formed by the Grand Coulee Dam. While we have not really explored the lake region, we have been to the dam which has quite a few educational activities to experience.

A few final designations to consider include National Parkways. There are four of those. The John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway runs between Yosemite National Park and the Grand Tetons. We used that parkway when we visited Wyoming in 2020. There are some beautiful views from the highway as well as an unfortunate area that had been burned from a forest fires.

There are a few places that really don’t fit any particular category. Some of these are in Washington D.C. and include the White House and the National Mall.

And there’s more. There are affiliated areas in which the National Park Service provides support in some way but doesn’t operate the location. There are so many natural and historical locations of importance across the United States, and we can be thankful that we have a National Park Service that seeks to preserve these locations so that future generations can enjoy them and learn from them. So if you are ready to leave the crowded National Parks behind and find a quieter, less crowded location, check out the list here. You might be surprised by what you will find near your next vacation location or even in your own home state.

Do you have a favorite area you have visited that is a part of the National Park Service? I’d love to have you share about it in the comment section below. It’s always great to learn from the experiences of others.