Undiscovered Pathways

Welcome to a New Blogging Series! If you have been following the blog, I has completed a series on waterfalls and on landmarks. Of course, I can always go to a new landmark!! The new series is the beautiful National Parks and visiting a national park is such an eye-opening experience. You are in the beauty of nature and getting great exercise at the same time!

So why did I choose the national parks? They are spread out across the country although a huge concentration is in the West. Many Americans can easily access the national parks and not all of the parks require an admission fee.

How Did the National Parks All Begin?

While President Theodore Roosevelt is credited with developing the national parks, it was actually President Woodrow Wilson that formed the National Park Service in 1916. Much earlier than that, the first National Park was developed as Yellowstone National Park (1872). The second national park was Mackinac National Park was created on a resort island on Lake Huron, Michigan (1875).

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the American Antiquities Act in 1906 which provided the protection of antiquities and objects of scientific interest on the public domain. The first National Monument was Devil’s Tower in Wyoming (1906). This act started the progress toward the national park service which is why he rightly is afforded the credit for the national parks!

President Frankin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive Order in 1933 that consolidated national parks, national monuments, national military parks, 11 national cemeteries, national memorials, and national capital parks under the direction of the National Park Service.

For purposes of this series, we will concentrate on the 63 national parks.

Which state would you like to start with?

National Parks By Region:

• West (36)
  • California 8
  • Arizona 3
  • Utah 5
  • Colorado 4
  • Wyoming 2
  • Alaska 8
  • Washington 3
  • Oregon 1
  • Montana 1
  • Nevada 1
• Midwest (7)
  • South Dakota 2
  • North Dakota 1
  • Michigan 1
  • Indiana 1
  • Minnesota 1
  • Ohio 1
• Southwest (9)
  • Tennessee/North Carolina 1
  • Texas 2
  • Florida 3
  • South Carolina 1
  • Arkansas 1
  • Virginia 1
• Northeast (2)
  • Maine 1
  • West Virginia 1
• Territories (2)
  • American Samoa 1
  • US Virgin Islands 1
• Alaska (7)

Check out your favorite region and see the beauty that America has to offer! I have seen several of the National Parks, however, we recently headed to the Mighty 5 in Utah to visit!

Stay tuned for the next blog: Zion National Park