National Parks

One of my goals in life is to visit as many national parks in the United States as possible. I know that's a little short-sighted, as there are national parks all around the world, but even trying to tackle just the American ones seems like a daunting task when I think about it. I have a deep passion for the national park system. Introducing the idea of national parks to the world is probably one of the things I am most proud that my country has done. I love the series by Ken Burns and PBS that goes into detail about "America's Best Idea" and it has inspired me to visit as many of them as possible before my short life runs out.

Below is a list of all the National Parks. I will be checking them off as I visit them, for myself, and so others can see and read about my experiences.

Park Location Joey Alex Photo
Acadia Maine
American Samoa American Samoa
Arches Utah
Badlands South Dakota
Big Bend Texas
Biscayne Florida
Black Canyon of the Gunnison Colorado
Bryce Canyon Utah brca
Canyonlands Utah
Capitol Reef Utah care
Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico
Channel Islands California
Congaree South Carolina
Crater Lake Oregon
Cuyahoga Valley Ohio
Death Valley California, Nevada deva
Denali Alaska
Dry Tortugas Florida
Everglades Florida
Gates of the Arctic Alaska
Glacier Montana
Glacier Bay Alaska
Grand Canyon Arizona Grand Canyon - South Rim0716151924
Grand Teton Wyoming
Great Basin Nevada
Great Sand Dunes Colorado
Great Smoky Mountains North Carolina, Tennessee
Guadalupe Mountains Texas
Haleakala (2011), (2016) Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes Hawaii havo
Hot Springs Arkansas
Isle Royale Michigan
Joshua Tree California jotr
Katmai Alaska
Kenai Fjords Alaska
Kings Canyon California seki
Kobuk Valley Alaska
Lake Clark Alaska
Lassen Volcanic California
Mammoth Cave Kentucky
Mesa Verde Colorado
Mount Rainier Washington
North Cascades Washington
Olympic Washington
Pinnacles California pinn
Petrified Forest Arizona PB281267
Redwood California
Rocky Mountain Colorado
Saguaro Arizona
Sequoia California sequoia-truck
Shenandoah Virginia
Theodore Roosevelt North Dakota
Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands viis
Voyageurs Minnesota
Wind Cave South Dakota
Wrangell - St. Elias Alaska
Yellowstone Wyoming, Montana, Idaho
Yosemite California
Zion Utah zion
Completion by state/territory:
State Completion Percentage
Alabama0/0100%*
Alaska 1/8 12.5%
American Samoa 0/1 0%
Arizona 2/3 66%
Arkansas 0/1 0%
California 6/9 66%
Colorado 0/4 0%
Connecticut0/0100%*
Delaware0/0100%*
Florida 0/3 0%
Georgia0/0100%*
Hawaii 2/2 100%
Idaho 0/1 0%†
Illinois0/0100%*
Indiana0/0100%*
Iowa0/0100%*
Kansas0/0100%*
Kentucky 0/1 0%
Louisiana0/0100%*
Maine 0/1 0%
Maryland0/0100%*
Massachusetts0/0100%*
Michigan 0/1 0%
Minnesota 0/1 0%
Mississippi0/0100%*
Missouri0/0100%*
Montana 0/2 0%†
Nebraska0/0100%*
Nevada 1/2 50%†
New Hampshire0/0100%*
New Jersey0/0100%*
New Mexico 0/1 0%
New York0/0100%*
North Carolina 0/1 0%†
North Dakota 0/1 0%
Ohio 0/1 0%
Oklahoma0/0100%*
Oregon 0/1 0%
Pennsylvania0/0100%*
Rhode Island0/0100%*
South Carolina 0/1 0%†
South Dakota 0/2 0%
Tennessee 0/1 0%†
Texas 0/2 0%
Utah 5/5 100%
Vermont0/0100%*
Virgin Islands 1/1 100%
Virginia 0/1 0%
Washington 0/3 0%
West Virginia0/0100%*
Wisconsin0/0100%*
Wyoming 0/2 0%†

* State contains no national parks, but this may change in the future. Marked as 100% because technically, I've been to every NP in that state that is made available to me. Note that this does not include National Monuments, Recreation Areas, etc. Only National Parks.
† National park(s) in this state may also fall within the boundaries of more than one state

Foreign National Parks

During our adventures, we sometimes leave the borders of the United States. Occasionally, that means we visit national parks in other countries. Here is a list of those:
Country List Completion Percentage
Flag of Norway Norway Jostedalsbreen 1/44 2.3%