Parks and recreation in the U.S. takes many forms. It’s the green spaces that give respite, the monuments to exceptional accomplishments, the sites that tell the story of our people, and they’re home to our arts and culture.
As varied as state and national parks are, there is one thing they all have in common. Parks are the best of us.
Here is a list of nearly 800 major parks and trails in the United States, sorted by state. Where available, we’ve included inspirational destination guides to fuel your next adventure.
Table of Contents
Parks and Recreation In Alabama
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Russell Cave National Monument
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
Natchez Trace Parkway
Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Alabama State Parks
DeSoto
Cheaha
Gulf
Joe Wheeler
Parks and Recreation In Alaska
Alagnak Wild River
Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Archeological District
Denali National Park
Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Katmai National Park & Preserve
Kenai Fjords National Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Kobuk Valley National Park
Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
Noatak National Preserve
Sitka National Historical Park
Wrangell – St. Elias National Park
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
Alaska State Parks
Chugach
Denali
Wood-Tikchik
Totem Bight
Parks and Recreation In American Samoa
National Park of American Samoa
Canyon de Chelly National Monument – near Chinle, AZ
USS Arizona WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument
Hawaii State Parks
N Pali Coast
Waimea Canyon and Kokee
Kealakekua Bay
Iao Valley
Iolani Palace
The Dog of Discovery, a tribute to Seaman, Captain Meriwether Lewis’ dog, “the greatest traveler of his species, who accompanied Lewis & Clark from the Pacific Ocean to the interior of the North American continent.
Parks and Recreation In Idaho
City of Rocks National Reserve
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Minidoka National Historic Site
Nez Perce National Historical Park
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Yellowstone National Park
Soak in the warmth and health benefits of mineral-rich hot springs in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Idaho State Parks
Bear Lake
Ponderosa
Harriman
Bruneau Dunes
Old Mission
Heyburn
Parks and Recreation In Illinois
Chicago Portage National Historic Site
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
The annual Chicago Blues Festival is held in June at Grant Park.
Illinois State Parks
Giant City
Fort Massac
Starved Rock
Mississippi Palisades
Ferne Clyffe
Parks and Recreation In Illinois
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Indiana State Parks
Brown County
Spring Mill
Falls of the Ohio
Indiana Dunes
Parks and Recreation In Iowa
California National Historic Trail
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Run past a 100 ft tall Dutch Windmill in Fulton, IA on the Great River Trail along the Mississippi River.
Iowa State Parks
Backbone
Great River Trail
Ledges
Maquoketa Caves
Stone
Still rich in undiscovered fossils, Kansas’ Monument Rocks coughed up the infamous “fish-within-a-fish.”
Parks and Recreation In Kansas
California National Historic Trail
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Monument Rocks National Natural Landmark
Nicodemus National Historic Site
Oregon National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Kansas State Parks
Lake Scott
Prairie Dog
Clinton
Elk City
Parks and Recreation In Kansas
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Big South Fork National River Recreation Area
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Mammoth Cave National Park
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Kentucky State Parks
Cumberland Falls
Natural Bridge
Carver Caves
John James Audubon
Parks and Recreation In Louisiana
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Chalmette National Cemetery
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
Poverty Point National Monument
Louisiana State Parks
Chicot
Lake Fausse Pointe
Lake Bistineau
Poverty Point State Historic Site
Summit a mountain peak. Hike, or drive, to the top of Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain–one of the first spots in the US to see the sunrise.
Gain insight from an inventive mind at Thomas Edison’s laboratory, now preserved as a national historic site, and his neighboring home, Glenmont, a Victorian-style estate in Llewelyn Park, the first planned residential community in the United States.
Great Egg Harbor National Scenic & Recreational River
Morristown National Historical Park
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
New Jersey State Parks
Island Beach
High Point
Ringwood
Allaire
Tour the reconstructed Great Kiva–the third largest ever excavated–and explore 400 masonry rooms of a 900-year-old Pueblo Great House at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, New Mexico.
Parks and Recreation In New Mexico
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carsbad Caverns National Monument
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
El Malpais National Monument
El Morro National Monument
Fort Union National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Pecos National Historical Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
White Sands National Monument
A world of mystery and magic await those daring enough to tackle the headlights-only Lower Cave tour in Carlsbad Caverns.
New Mexico State Parks
Sugarite Canyon
Clayton Lake
Heron Lake
El Vado Lake
Oliver Lee Memorial
Step into a 19th Century landscape painting at Kaaterskill Falls, one of several points along the Hudson River School Art Trail in the Catskill Mountains.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Parks and Recreation in North Carolina
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Blue Ridge Parkway
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Moores Creek National Battlefield
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Sing, dance, and bang your bongos at the weekly Pritchard Park Drum Circle in Asheville, North Carolina.
North Carolina State Parks
Hanging Rock
Stone Mountain
Hammocks Beach
Fort Macon
Pritchard Park (Asheville)
Parks and Recreation In North Dakota
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
International Peace Garden
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
North Dakota State Parks
Cross Ranch
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Lake Metigoshe
Icelandic
Parks and Recreation In Ohio
Climb the stone stairs connecting levels of the Ritchie Ledges at Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It’s one of many landscape projects built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, America’s New Deal public relief program that was responsible for construction at over 800 parks nationwide.
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
David Berger National Memorial
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
First Ladies National Historic Site
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
James A. Garfield National Historical Site
Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridors
North Country National Scenic Trail
Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial
William Howard Taft National Historic Site
Ohio State Parks
Hocking Hills
Hueston Woods
Kelleys Island
Maumee Bay
Parks and Recreation In Oklahoma
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears National Historic Tral
Washita Battlefield National Historic Site
Oklahoma State Parks
Beavers Bend
Quartz Mountain
Black Mesa
Osage Hills
Parks and Recreation In Oregon
California National Historic Trail
Crater Lake National Park
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
McLoughlin House National Historic Site
Nez Perce National Historical Park
Oregon National Historic Trail
Oregon Caves National Monument
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
Gaze on Mount Hood as you pick your own cherries on the Fruit Loop Trail in Hood County, Oregon.
Oregon State Parks
Fort Stevens
Hudson River County Fruit Loop Trail
Silver Falls
Sunset Bay
Farewell Bend
Remember. Flight 93 National Memorial, Stoystown, PA