National Park Week

There are 394 National Parks - where are they, and how many have you visited?

National Park Week this year is April 16-24, and according to the National Park Service, "This year's focus, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America's national parks play in both."

When you visit a national park, it may actually be called something other than a "National Park".  As of today the National Park System is composed of 394 "units", of which there are 58 National Parks, 4 National Parkways, 78 National Historic Sites, and 17 other types of designations.  There are also more places that are within the 394 National Parks, or exist outside of the designated National Park System, such as National Memorials, National Historic Trails and more.

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Trivia time.  What is the only state without a unit of the National Park System? (answer at the end of this article)

If you like to visit our national parks, consider the Interagency Pass Program for annual passes, senior pass, a pass if you have permanent disabilities, and a pass if you are a volunteer.

eParks is the online store of America's National Parks, and it's also where you can get national park passports to keep track of where you have visited.

Zoom our map out and around to see all the places in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and in the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. We also did not map eight National Parks that are scenic trails, rivers or parkways, since they cover multi-state areas.

Some other sources of information are:
National Park System Map and Guide

Our National Parks are truly treasures to behold, and hopefully we have helped you find not only the parks closest to you, but ones that you didn't even know about. Get out there and discover!

Trivia question answer:  Delaware