Rarely mentioned National Parks and Monuments.

[agesilaus]

I was replying to another thread when it occurred to me that there are a number of parks that are hardly ever mentioned. I can see why most of the Arizona Indian Ruins parks get scant mention. They are hotter than Hades in the summer and mostly look alike when you get there. But here is my starting list:

1) Cedar Breaks NM UT
2) Cogaree SC (I've never been there myself)
3) Cuyahoga Valley NY (ditto never been)
4) Death Valley and Great Basin are rarely mentioned.
5) Guadeloupe Mt NM-- we stopped but it seems to be a serious hiker only park. Little road access
6) Kings Canyon CA-- Over shadowed by Yosemite
7) Lassen Volcanic CA--really should be more visited
😎 North Cascades WA
9) Saguaro AZ
10) Theodore Roosevelt--way off from anywhere and not that much to see.
11) Basin and Range--who's ever heard of this one?
12) Browns Canyon CO ditto above
13) Chiricahua AZ-- interesting but CG is limited to 25 ft RV
14) Colorado CO--Been there a couple times not even good hiking
15) Grand Canyon-Parashant AZ- on the North Rim??
16) Oregon Caves OR--been there a looong time ago. Did not make any big impression
17) Río Grande del Norte NM--another mystery park
18) Upper Missouri River Breaks MT-- and another unknown

Any comments or add-ons?

[D_E_Bishop]

Not to speak disparagingly of any of our National Parks but in 214 we had visited all of the National Parks sincw we married 56 years ago and we have talked to many rangers, naturalists etc at the parks and in the last ten years there has been a trend to ensure that each state has a NP. Congaree is an example of something we are not in short supply of and of no significant historical or environmental significance.

That is not to say swamps are not important and truly vital but what sets Congaree apart from the other swamps, by the way it is a seasonal swamp.

Great Basin in NV is much older than 2015, much older. The problem with notoriety there is that it is not on a well traveled road to somewhere else. You have to want to go to GBNP, take a look at it on a map, Ely NV is the only site close by. A few years back we set off for GBNP and thanks to the failure of a waste pipe in the kitchen we made a detour to MVNP and every park within a four hour drive of Blanding UT. We left Blanding for GBNP after a week or so and the drive was spectacular. It was just after Memorial Day and the wild flowers wer in great bloom. Some canyons and aluvial planes were awash with Mountain Mallow. It was as though someone spilled paint on the area. But back to GBNP, it appears on maps as though it is in the middle of the desert but it is basically a mountain a very lovely mountain. Some parts have winter closures and some are actually moderately warm in the late spring early summer. Pretty Spectacular.

Most of our NPs and NMs are worth the drive but some have appeal to a very specific group and I for one would like it to remain that way, it's others loss and our gain for having visited them.

Many parks are well known regionally but not widely.

[agesilaus]

I agree that Lexington & Concord is a good park, the other park that we found to be interesting is Custer in MT. They had markers where each trooper fell and the topography of the park was very revealing. We haven't been to Gettysburg tho it's on my list, we don't tend to visit the NE much for obvious reasons. The most minimalist "military park" was one ion New Mexico just a stone column in the middle of the desert that we happened across when we were looking for a rock shop. I don't even recall the name of the battle. Wasn't Glorieta Pass.

[Tvov]

agesilaus wrote:
...

We've been to a number of Military parks and even with knowledge of the battle, I'm a military history buff, I find the parks underwhelming, They need to come up with a better way to present the history. A stone monument saying the 6th Volunteer Wisconsin lined up here doesn't work. I suspect the topography has changed a lot over 150 years too.
...

It is tough figuring out how to setup a military history park.

We went to Gettysburg years ago and loved it. Except - for the brand new visitor center. The scenes and setups inside were very underwhelming. In talking with a fellow camper, he said he agreed - he had been there when the old center was being used, and said it was great. A bit messy and not so organized, but much more "stuff" in the old one to look at. But - I thought the "self guided" driving around the battlefield was great! Pop a CD in, listen to the descriptions of the different sites, stop it when you want a break.

Tank museums - personally, I just want the tanks lined up with space between them so I can walk all around them. All these "diorama" setups look okay, but I can't check out the tanks.

Another placed to check out for Revolutionary War buffs is Cowpens National Battlefield in South Carolina. I had never heard of this, but I think it was the first decisive victory of regular American troops over British regulars. I went over 20 years ago, so it may have changed, but it had a well done visitor center with a large table map that lit up showing you how the battle occurred. Then the actual battlefield has plaques and monuments describing different parts of it. Kind a basic setup, but I found more interesting than it sounds.

Speaking of Revolutionary War... wife and I camped near Lexington and Concord last year. I vaguely remembered going there as a kid, something about a bridge (!). We went to the visitor center, which is setup well with a remarkably good presentation / theater describing what happened. You can walk the path / road that the British were harried on during their retreat, but we didn't have time, so we went to the bridge. The bridge is a drive away from the visitor center. Wow! Was I underwhelmed! This is where the Revolutionary War is accepted to have started (first time colonists fired on British).... And there is literally just the bridge, and a statue of a Minuteman. 5 minutes is about all you need. The large house nearby is sort of a minimal visitor center, but nothing much. This is a place were literally world history changed. At a minimum, the main visitor center with the history presentation should be moved to the bridge - I am not sure why it is so far away. Unless we missed something... I am not talking about commercializing the place, but something more should be done. Just weird that the place where the USA was arguably born is so minimal. I guess you could say that is part of the history, that such a small place could start such great events, but... I don't know. Just seems that something more could be added.

Yikes - didn't mean to make such a large post!

[fullmoonoversal]

pasusan wrote:
Cuyahoga Valley NP is actually in Ohio - just south of Cleveland.

We've been to Theodore Roosevelt Island - not the NP, but a national memorial. 🙂

We have family not too far from there. We will be looking for that one.

[Tom_Barb]

Cascades National park, This park is huge, and very remote, it includes Pasayten wilderness area. (look it up) It extends from Lake Baker on the west to Near Tonasket Wa. on the east, from highway 20 on the south to the Canadian border on the north

Unless you are into remote back packing or horses pack camping you are pretty much limited to the highway 20 corridor, and the camps there.
The exceptions are Hozomene camp, and lake Baker's Kulshan camp.

This park is best known for its remote hiking trails, horse camps and views.

[agesilaus]

We've been to a number of the fossil sites, there are good pay sites near Rawlins WY too. I've noticed several people mention Lava Beds, usually when Lassen is mentioned. The big draw back is that you have to enter California to get there.

We've visited a couple of state park Indian Mound sites in the east.

We've been to a number of Military parks and even with knowledge of the battle, I'm a military history buff, I find the parks underwhelming, They need to come up with a better way to present the history. A stone monument saying the 6th Volunteer Wisconsin lined up here doesn't work. I suspect the topography has changed a lot over 150 years too.

Wiki has good lists of all the parks.

[4runnerguy]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Wonder how many of those might lack any hook-ups? That helps keep the crowds down. But I'm sure many of those would be great and maybe less used.

Many of the NP's and NM's in the west don't have hookups. The season is too short and the winters too cold for many of them. Even major ones like Bryce, Arches, Glacier, Mt. Rainier, Yosemite and Crater Lake are just a few of the "major" NP's without hookups in any CG.

[4runnerguy]

Now let me add some other obscure NM's and NP's:

Effigy Mounds in Iowa. For those of us used to the ruins in the west, Effigy Mounds are much more subtle.

Dinosaur NM is well know for its, well, dinosaur fossils. But there are other, far more obscure NMs highlighting fossils: Florissant Fossil Beds, Fossil Butte, Agate Fossil Beds, John Day Fossil Beds, Hagerman Fossil Beds, Prehistoric Trackways, Waco Mammoth. Many of these fossils may be insects, fish, and mammals instead of dinosaurs. Even though I'm a geologist, there's a good many of these I have yet to visit.

El Morro NM. If you're travelling I-40 through western NM, if you have some extra time it is certainly worth detouring on NM 53 just to stop at El Morro. We went there a few years ago and I was very impressed with all there is to see there considering how small it is (less than 1/2 square mile!). We may head back there again next summer.

Lava Beds NM in northern California. One can explore the lava tubes without guides. Really interesting way to spend a whole day. There's also a historic side where the Modoc wars were fought and the caves were used strategically. The CG is also quite nice. I love waking to the smell of sagebrush in the morning. Quite different than the usual smell of pine or spruce we're used to. There are also lava tubes at El Malpais in NM and at Craters of the Moon but access is often blocked due to bat habiation. Lava River Cave at Newberry Crater NM is usually open and is 1 1/2 mile long.

The further east one travels, the more historic military parks there are. One can spend many days once one is in Virginia and surrounding areas. But further afield, places like Pea Ridge in Arkansas are obscure but important nonetheless.

Many might not realize that many NM's aren't shown on the NPS website as they are on BLM or NFS lands.

[Jayco-noslide]

Wonder how many of those might lack any hook-ups? That helps keep the crowds down. But I'm sure many of those would be great and maybe less used.

[agesilaus]

Great Basin has only been around since 2015 so pretty new.
---------------------------------------------
I think you have GB confused with one of the other new parks.

[4runnerguy]

Some comments on a few on your list:
1) Cedar Breaks NM UT - High elevation means snow lingers late and returns early. Last time we were through there, some of the interior roads on the CG needed some work
4) Death Valley and Great Basin are rarely mentioned. Death Valley is on our to-do list once DW retires and we can travel somethime other than summer. Seem to get to GBNP every five to seven years. Some great hikes. If your rig isn't too big, camping at Wheeler CG even in the summer is quite tolerable temperature-wise. Some great hikes around Wheeler Peak.
5) Guadeloupe Mt NM-- we stopped but it seems to be a serious hiker only park. Little road access. Did little hiking there 35 years ago. Need to return.
6) Kings Canyon CA-- Over shadowed by Yosemite - Don't forget Sequoia neareby.
7) Lassen Volcanic CA--really should be more visited - Nice hike to the top and some of the thermal features give just a glipse of what Yellowstone has in spades.
😎 North Cascades WA - Had to cancel last time because of the fire!
9) Saguaro AZ - Did this between Christmas and New Years. Perfect time to go.
11) Basin and Range--who's ever heard of this one? - Basin and Range has only been around since 2015 so pretty new.
12) Browns Canyon CO ditto above - Browns Canyon is kind of overwhelmed size-wise by the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
14) Colorado CO--Been there a couple times not even good hiking -Nice CG (Saddlehorn) that makes a good base camp when visiting Rattlesnake Canyon arches or mountain biking the various trails around Fruita. Cooler up there at night and great views of the valley.
16) Oregon Caves OR--been there a looong time ago. Did not make any big impression - The caves have suffered a lot of desecration over the years, but the Chateau makes the whole visit worthwhile. The stream that flows out of the cave is channeled to flow through the dining room!

[agesilaus]

ReneeG wrote:
Kolob Canyon - the forgotten side of Zion.

Yeah on our list for summer, good boondocking spot on the lake too I've heard. There is also a road around the backside of Bryce with, IIRC, the Pink Cliffs. Those are smaller hoodoos with no crowds.

[pasusan]

Cuyahoga Valley NP is actually in Ohio - just south of Cleveland.

We've been to Theodore Roosevelt Island - not the NP, but a national memorial. 🙂

[RoyF]

We've been to several of these over the years. Many are of great interest to geologists and archeologists. (The popular National Parks and National Monuments are also of such interest, but that's not why casual visitors seek them out.)

[ReneeG]

Kolob Canyon - the forgotten side of Zion.