National Parks Visited
Many of these places would be on my list of places to visit even if the were not national parks. I do not have a “bucket list” item to see all these parks, but I did want to list them, track my visits and plan to see some I’ve never been to.
I’ve visited 19 of the 60 active National Parks. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite 5 times each. Sequoia with 3 visits is the next most visits. I’ve been to the Badlands in South Dakota 3 times also, but once was before it was a National Park.
Latest Visits: Petrified Forest National Park (December 2020), Canyonlands National Park (November 2020), Black Canyon of the Gunnison (August 2020), Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef (June 2020)
National Parks By Creation Date
| Park | Date Created | Date Visited | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone | March 1, 1872 | 1987, 2016 | The geysers are cool, but be sure to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River.
Yellowstone and Grand Tetons (7 Aug 2016) – Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River |
| Mackinac | September 25, 1890 | N/A | Decommissioned 1895, now a Michigan State Park |
| Rock Creek | September 25, 1890 | N/A | Merged into the National Capitol Parks system. |
| Sequoia | October 1, 1890 | 1987, 2013, 2014 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (Part 2 – Moro Rock and Stony Creek – June 2013)
Sequoia National Park (July 2011) – (Part 2 – Buck Rock Lookout and Grants Grove) |
| Yosemite | October 1, 1890 | 1987, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 | Yosemite National Park Posts |
| Mount Rainier | March 2, 1899 | ||
| Crater Lake | May 22, 1902 | ||
| Wind Cave | January 9, 1903 | ||
| Mesa Verde | June 29, 1906 | ||
| Glacier | May 11, 1910 | ||
| Rocky Mountain | January 26, 1915 | ||
| Haleakalā | August 1, 1916 | 2015 | Maui (October 2015) (Part 5 – Haleakalā Crater, Sunrise Bike Ride from Haleakalā)
Maui (October 2015) (Part 2 – Road to Hana, Pipiwai Trail, Haleakalā National Park) |
| Hawaii Valcanoes | August 1, 1916 | 2019 | Big changes at this park from May to September 2018. We visited in Feb 2019, and still lots of areas were closed. Very cool place though!
|
| Lassen Valcanic | August 9, 1916 | ||
| Denali | February 26, 1917 | ||
| Acadia | February 26, 1919 | ||
| Grand Canyon | February 26, 1919 | 1980, 1986, 2002, 2010, 2014 | Grand Canyon Posts |
| Zion | November 19, 1919 | 1987, 2012 | Zion National Park (Observation Point, Narrows – September 2012) |
| Hot Springs | March 4, 1921 | ||
| Shenandoah | May 22, 1926 | 2011? | Took a hike on the trail to Doyles River Falls. Quick visit just after a business trip. |
| Bryce Canyon | February 25, 1928 | June 14, 2020 | Stopped for a few hours on a rode trip. Definitely want to go back.  |
| Grand Tetons | February 26, 1929 | 2016 | Yellowstone and Grand Tetons (8 Aug 2016) – Garnet Canyon Trail Grand Tetons |
| Carlsbad Caverns | May 14, 1930 | ||
| Everglades | May 30, 1934 | ||
| Great Smokey Mountains | June 15, 1934 | I’ve driven through a few times on I40 when I lived in North Carolina, but never stopped in for a visit. | |
| Olympic | June 29, 1938 | ||
| Kings Canyon | March 4, 1940 | 2013 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (Part 1 – Kings River, Cedar Grove, and Mist Falls Trail – June 2013) |
| Isle Royal | April 3, 1940 | ||
| Mammoth Cave | July 1, 1941 | ||
| Big Bend | June 12, 1944 | ||
| Virgin Islands | August 2, 1956 | ||
| Petrified Forest | December 9, 1962 | December 12, 2020 | We had a quick, chilly visit. It was in the low 50s with a strong wind. Not much sun either, but still a cool place.    |
| Canyonlands | September 12, 1964 | November 13, 2020 | Almost went there in 1987. But finally stopped in for a quick visit to the Island in the Sky area in Canyonlands National Park.   |
| Guadalupe Mountains | October 15, 1966 | ||
| North Cascades | October 2, 1968 | ||
| Redwood | October 2, 1968 | 1997 | |
| Voyageurs | January 8, 1971 | ||
| Arches | November 12, 1971 | 1987 | |
| Capitol Reef | December 18, 1971 | 15 June 2020 | Drove through and did a short hike to the Hickman Natural Bridge. |
| Badlands | November 10, 1978 | (1972), 1999, 2008 | |
| Theodore Roosevelt | November 10, 1978 | ||
| Channel Islands | March 5, 1980 | ||
| Biscayne | June 28, 1980 | ||
| Gates of the Arctic | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Glacier Bay | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Katmai | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Kenai Fjords | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Kobuk | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Lake Clark | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Wrangell – St Elias | December 2, 1980 | ||
| Great Basin | October 27, 1986 | ||
| American Samoa | October 31, 1988 | ||
| Dry Tortugas | October 26, 1992 | ||
| Saguaro | October 14, 1994 | ||
| Death Valley | October 31, 1994 | ||
| Joshua Tree | October 31, 1994 | ||
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison | October 21, 1999 | 29 Aug 2020 (just a quick visit of a few hours) | 
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| Cuyahoga Valley | October 11, 2000 | ||
| Conagree | November 10, 2003 | ||
| Great Sand Dunes | September 13, 2004 | ||
| Pinnacles | January 10, 2013 | ||
| Gateway Arch | February 22, 2018 | 1980’s before it was a National Park | |
| Indiana Dunes | February 15, 2019 |
Here's to a Full Life 