Introduction
My son, Curtis, and I have the goal to visit all of the U.S. national parks. These are the real McCoys--the 59 (as of January 10, 2013) crown jewels of the U.S. national park system. This is a listing of all of those parks. Included are Google® Earth links (must be installed on your computer) to the park's high point (if on private land, the high point not on private land is shown). Also provided are links to the official National Park Service website for that park, as well as a relevant SP link (if any), and a link to an SP image that best characterizes that park (again, if any). Short lists of recommended reading material and external website links are also provided below.The columns on the far right show our progress. If you are also working to visit all of the U.S. national parks, keep us posted of your progress in the comments. Or, if you'd like me to add a column for you to this list page, please PM me and we'll work out the details! :-)
Park Listing
Click on the ◙ symbol to see the park high point on |
National |
State |
High |
NPS |
SP |
SP |
Mark |
Curtis |
Acadia |
ME |
 by Ksawyer |
07/10 |
07/10 |
|||
| American Samoa |
AS |
|
|
|
|
||
Arches |
UT |
 by Tleaf |
05/91, |
05/91, |
|||
Badlands |
SD |
 by 46and2 |
07/00 |
07/00 |
|||
Big Bend |
TX |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/05 & |
07/05 |
|||
Biscayne |
FL |
|
 by Mark Doiron |
06/02 |
06/02 |
||
Black Canyon of |
CO |
◙** |
 by Mark Doiron |
08/06 & |
08/06 |
||
Bryce Canyon |
UT |
 by Markmay |
08/09 |
08/09 |
|||
Canyonlands |
UT |
 by Mark Doiron |
08/07, |
08/07 |
|||
Capitol Reef |
UT |
 by Mark Doiron |
08/09 |
08/09 |
|||
Carlsbad Caverns |
NM |
 by Mark Doiron |
1962, 05/99 & |
05/99 |
|||
Channel Islands |
CA |
◙** |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/03 |
07/03 |
||
| Congaree |
SC |
|
 by Mark Doiron |
07/11 |
07/11 |
||
Crater Lake |
OR |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/07 |
07/07 |
|||
Cuyahoga Valley |
OH |
◙** |
 by Mark Doiron |
06/04 |
06/04 |
||
Death Valley |
CA |
 by Tonyo |
06/03 |
06/03 |
|||
Denali |
AK |
 by Kenzo Okawa |
|
|
|||
Dry Tortugas |
FL |
|
 by Mark Doiron |
06/02 |
06/02 |
||
Everglades |
FL |
|
 by Mark Doiron |
06/02 |
06/02 |
||
| Gates of the |
AK |
|
 by Misha |
|
|
||
Glacier |
MT |
 by Saintgrizzly |
06/01 |
06/01 |
|||
Glacier Bay |
AK |
|
 by Casey Bates |
|
|
||
Grand Canyon |
AZ |
 by Mark Doiron |
06/99, |
06/99 |
|||
Grand Teton |
WY |
 by Jack B |
07/00 |
07/00 |
|||
Great Basin |
NV |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/07 |
07/07 |
|||
Great Sand Dunes |
CO |
 by Mark Doiron |
08/06 & |
08/06 & |
|||
Great Smoky |
TN |
 by Mark Doiron |
06/04 |
06/04 |
|||
Guadalupe |
TX |
 by Mark Doiron |
05/99 |
05/99 |
|||
Haleakala |
HI |
 by Mdostby |
|
|
|||
| Hawai'i Volcanoes |
HI |
 by Joerg Marretsch |
|
|
|||
Hot Springs |
AR |
 by Txmountaineer |
06/04 |
06/04 |
|||
Isle Royale |
MI |
 by Hikeman76 |
|
|
|||
Joshua Tree |
CA |
 by Misha |
07/03 |
07/03 |
|||
| Katmai |
AK |
 by NPS |
|
|
|||
| Kenai Fjords |
AK |
|
 by Jmc |
|
|
||
Kings Canyon |
CA |
 by Misha |
1960 & |
06/03 |
|||
| Kobuk Valley |
AK |
|
|
|
|
||
| Lake Clark |
AK |
|
|
|
|
||
Lassen Volcanic |
CA |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/07 |
07/07 |
|||
Mammoth Cave |
KY |
 by MarkDidier |
06/04 |
06/04 |
|||
Mesa Verde |
CO |
 by Dwhike |
05/91 |
05/91 & |
|||
Mount Rainier |
WA |
 by SoCalHiker |
06/01 |
06/01 |
|||
North Cascades |
WA |
 by Casey Bates |
06/01 |
06/01 |
|||
Olympic |
WA |
 by Willithewanderer |
06/01 |
06/01 |
|||
Petrified Forest |
AZ |
 by Mark Doiron |
05/91, |
05/91 & |
|||
| Pinnacles |
CA |
 by Tarol |
|
|
|||
Redwood |
CA |
 by 2skinners |
07/07 |
07/07 |
|||
Rocky Mountain |
CO |
 by Nelson |
05/01 |
05/01 |
|||
Saguaro |
AZ |
|
 by Mark Doiron |
06/99 & |
06/99 |
||
Sequoia |
CA |
 by Allan Blasdale |
1960 & |
06/03 |
|||
Shenandoah |
VA |
 by Buz Groshong |
06/04 |
06/04 |
|||
Theodore Roosevelt |
ND |
 by Bsihler |
|
|
|||
| Virgin Islands |
VI |
 by Bill Reed |
|
|
|||
| Voyageurs |
MN |
|
|
|
|
||
Wind Cave |
SD |
 by Tjarvela |
07/00 |
07/00 |
|||
Wrangell-Saint |
AK |
 by Mjdatt0 |
|
|
|||
Yellowstone |
WY |
 by Mark Doiron |
07/00 |
07/00 |
|||
Yosemite |
CA |
 by Nefarius |
1960 & |
07/07 |
|||
Zion |
UT |
 by Bsihler |
06/03 |
06/03 & |
* |
Biscayne NP has two high points. |
** |
Channel Islands and Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP high points are on private property. Cuyahoga Valley NP high point is under Metro Parks management. The high points shown for these parks are under NPS management. |
Recommended Reading
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United StatesThis "tourist guide" is useful for planning a trip to any of the national parks. This is the book to take in the car with you as you visit each park. It will help you locate frontcountry campsites, make reservations, find a good restaurant, research phone numbers, etc. You'll still need to do additional research for more typical SP activities (backpacking, mountaineering, climbing, etc).
Life: Our National Parks: Celebrating America's Natural Splendor
This "coffee table book" is filled with the wonderful work of the photographers of Life Magazine.
External Links
o Park PointingWhat is park pointing, and who's doing it? Check here; the answer may surprise you!
o U.S. National Park Highpoints
A searchable, sortable list of all the park high points.
o National Park Highpoint Trip Reports
Read trip reports from park pointers, and learn about the effort to write a book about it.
o U.S. National Parks Pictures
Wonderful images by Q.T. Luong from all 58 U.S. national parks.
Images
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