All posts by Raven About The Parks

District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

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Overview

The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal was supposed to connect ports in Washington, D.C. with the Ohio River, but it never reached its destination before the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad rendered it obsolete in 1850.  It employed 35,000 laborers (mostly European immigrants) during its 22 years of construction and eventually carried coal out of the Appalachian Mountains for decades.  The canal closed in 1924, but it left behind indelible historic landmarks like locks, dams, aqueducts, historic hotels, and a 3,118-foot long tunnel.

Highlights

Historic locks, boat tours, Great Falls Tavern, boating

Must-Do Activity

C&O Canal National Historical Park is run by the National Park Service (NPS) and offers multiple free visitor centers along the route that are open seasonally.  Near Washington, D.C. both the Great Falls Tavern and Georgetown Visitor Centers offer mule-drawn canal boat rides on a first-come, first-served basis April through October.  We enjoyed touring the historic locks of the canal in Hancock, Maryland after visiting Catoctin Mountain Park and Antietam National Battlefield.

Best Trail

Today you can walk and bike the graded 184.5-mile towpath that follows the Potomac River, camping at designated sites along the way if you choose.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The canal locks at Hancock, Maryland became part of the park that was created in 1971.  The boarding house located there now serves as an NPS visitor center.

Peak Season

Summer, as most of the visitor centers are closed seasonally

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None, except at Great Falls Tavern

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There are primitive drive-in camping areas at five spots along the canal path, as well as 30 backpacking campsites spaced approximately five miles apart.  There is also a nice NPS campground at Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland.

Related Sites

George Washington Memorial Parkway (Virginia-Maryland)

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (West Virginia-Maryland-Virginia)

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)

  • An old lock on the canal
  • Bright blue flower in the cracks of the old lock
  • Tiff on a bridge over the lock
  • Looking down the overgrown lock
  • Fall colors
  • Great Falls on the Virginia side is actually part of George Washington Memorial Parkway

Explore More – At its peak of operation, how many mule-drawn boats were in service on the C&O Canal?

List

Top 10 NPS Sites to See America First

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During the 1930s, there was a travel advertising campaign with the promotional tagline “See America First.”  It was created because many Americans were taking their tourism dollars overseas and never exploring their home country.  With international travel currently restricted due to the pandemic, there has never been a better time to discover the United States of America.  Below we present more than a dozen famous world travel destinations with their similar National Park Service (NPS) counterparts.  For more vacation ideas within American borders, check out all of our Top 10 Lists.

The NPS system also contains some of the world’s best caves (Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Timpanogos Cave National Monument) and places to watch active lava flows (Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park).  Learn more in our guidebook to the 62 National Parks, A Park to Yourself: Finding Adventure in America’s National Parks (available on Amazon).

10. European Alps or Torres del Paine, Chile

Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

See and climb iconic mountain spires in Wyoming or visit California’s three National Parks in the Sierra Nevadas (Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite).

9. Cappadocia, Turkey

Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico)

Native Americans also carved out homes from soft tufa rock between AD 1150 and 1550.

8. Tropical Caribbean Islands

Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

Snorkel in turquoise waters at the farthest west Florida Key, or go fully tropical as the NPS also manages Virgin Islands National Park.

7. Canadian Rockies

Glacier National Park (Montana)

Great hiking and backpacking is found throughout this park and another that borders Canada: Washington’s North Cascades National Park.

6. Amazon River

Everglades National Park (Florida)

Boats provide the best means to explore this subtropical wilderness with incredible wildlife diversity.

5. Iceland’s geysers and hot springs

Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming-Montana-Idaho)

About 75% of the world’s geysers are found within this one park, and similar geologic wonders can be found at California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park.

4. Lascaux Cave art in France

Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

The 3,000-year-old Great Gallery stretches over 200 feet at the bottom of Horseshoe Canyon, or check out the pictographs in Texas’ Amistad National Recreation Area.

3. New Zealand and Norway’s tidewater glaciers

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Witness one of nature’s great spectacles here or at Kenai Fjords National Park (also in Alaska).

2. Galapagos Islands

Channel Islands National Park (California)

Similarly, cold ocean currents create ideal conditions for wildlife above and below the high tide line.

…and finally our #1 place to See America First:

1. African safari

Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Large herds of grazing animals with associated predators can be found in central Alaska or Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.

Honorable Mentions

-Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland

Devils Postpile National Monument (California)

Hexagonal rock columns form when lava cools under certain conditions (they can also be found outside Hong Kong).

-Rainbow Mountains, China

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (Oregon)

Similar to Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, images of the Painted Hills will have you wondering if there is a photo filter

-Mayan and Aztec pyramids, Mexico

Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana)

Named a World Heritage Site in 2014, these 72-foot tall earth mounds were the largest man-made structure in North America about 3,700 years ago.

-Hot springs

Big Bend National Park (Texas)

Everyone loves to soak in a hot spring, either undeveloped (like at Yellowstone National Park) or part of a resort (Olympic National Park).

-Changing of the Guard in London, England

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia)

This ceremony takes place adjacent to an NPS site: Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee National Memorial.

See all 23 of our original posters at Creative Action Network

California

Mojave National Preserve

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Overview

Mojave National Preserve is a massive 1.6-million acres of desert bounded by Interstate 15 to the north and Interstate 40 to the south.  Passed by millions of commuters every year, it does not take many miles of driving to leave behind the bustling freeways for a quiet landscape.  Species diversity is high here given its elevation range from 800 to 7,929 feet and its place at the intersection of three deserts: the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran.  Watch for desert tortoises, Mojave rattlesnakes, roadrunners, ravens, kangaroo rats, mountain lions, mule deer, and some of the 1,000 bighorn sheep that reside in the preserve.

Highlights

Kelso Depot, film, Kelso Dunes, Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail, Rings Loop Trail

Must-Do Activity

If you are driving on I-15 between California and Nevada consider entering the preserve via the Cima Road exit, with a first stop at its gas station’s interesting waterfall urinal in the men’s restroom.   From there drive south on a paved road into a dense Joshua tree forest on the gently sloping flanks of the enormous Cima Dome (an extinct volcano) and then stop at Kelso Depot where the National Park Service (NPS) operates a visitor center and museum.  From there you can continue south to the beautiful Kelso Dunes or take the paved Kelbaker Road back to Interstate 15 at Baker, home of the world’s tallest thermometer.

Best Trail

The one-mile Rings Loop Trail has metal rings cemented into its canyon walls in some places to help you ascend and descend steep portions.  Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail and the six-mile Barber Peak Loop Trail are also found in this area near the NPS campgrounds.

Instagram-worthy Photo

We love sand dunes (see our Top 10 list) and one of our favorites is the nearly 700-foot tall Kelso Dunes, which create a booming sound when the sand shifts and moisture conditions are right.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The main roads are paved, however, most of the 1,000 miles of roads are unpaved and some of them require a high-clearance vehicle, especially if you want to access neighboring Castle Mountains National Monument.

Camping

Dispersed camping is allowed throughout most of the preserve, but there are also NPS campgrounds around the Hole-in-the-Wall Ranger Station.

Related Sites

Castle Mountains National Monument (California)

Joshua Tree National Park (California)

Death Valley National Park (California)

  • Kelso Depot
  • Ring Loop Trail
  • Petroglyphs on Ring Loop Trail
  • Scott on Ring Loop Trail
  • Rock House (circa 1929)
  • Scott on Kelso Dunes
  • Tiff on Kelso Dunes
  • Raven about the park

Explore More – How many acres of Wilderness are designated within Mojave National Preserve?

New Mexico

Aztec Ruins National Monument

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Overview

Aztec, New Mexico is home to the incredible Ancestral Puebloan ruins of a three-story, 400-room ancient apartment building near the Animas River.  Only partially excavated, Aztec Ruins National Monument has a variety of rock walls that display a change in building styles over the centuries.  Similar to Montezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona, Aztec was named for the Central Mexican culture mistakenly believed by earlier archaeologists to have had influence in this region.

Highlights

Museum, film, reconstructed great kiva, ruins

Must-Do Activity

Aztec Ruins National Monument boasts a great kiva that was rebuilt to appear as it may have 800 years ago.  We especially recommend a visit before or after seeing the extensive ceremonial structures at nearby Chaco Culture National Historical Park.  Reconstruction is not appropriate at all National Park Service (NPS) sites, but here it helps the past come alive.  It is easy to imagine costumed dancers coming down the stairs into the smoky kiva to celebrate a religious ritual. 

Best Trail

The half-mile self-guided trail leads through ruins where wooden roofs have been partially reconstructed.  Aztec Ruins also has the same T-shaped doorways you may have seen at Mesa Verde National Park and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Darker stripes in the walls were decorative, and evidence of several architectural styles are evident at this site.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/azru/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There is an NPS campground at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, but we recommend the free campground in Angel Peak Recreation Area run by the Bureau of Land Management east of Highway 550.

Related Sites

Chaco Culture National Historical Park (New Mexico)

Pecos National Historical Park (New Mexico)

Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico)

  • Reconstructed great kiva
  • Inside the reconstructed great kiva
  • Tiff in a T-shaped doorway
  • Scott ducking his way through the self-guided trail
  • Mule deer
  • Inside the NPS museum

Explore More – How far away from Aztec were the nearest Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and aspen trees used in the original roof construction?

North Carolina

Wright Brothers National Memorial

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Overview

The Wright Brothers hailed from Dayton, Ohio but they came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the sustained winds they needed to get their winged contraptions off the ground.  They glided from the top of Kill Devil Hill more than a thousand times between 1900 and 1902.  Then on December 17, 1903 they finally made history: twelve-seconds of motor-powered, man-carrying flight in a heavier-than-air airplane.  After the fourth and longest flight (59 seconds) that day the flying machine was irreparably crashed and the brothers headed back to Ohio. 

Highlights

Museum, replica flyer and glider, monument, sculpture

Must-Do Activity

Since 1932, a massive granite monument has stood atop the 90-foot tall hill, which is actually a sand dune stabilized with planted grass.  Visitors to Kitty Hawk will also find a replica flyer and glider, reconstructed hangar, boulders marking the landing spot of each of the four flights, and a life-size bronze sculpture added on the first flight centennial in 2003. 

Best Trail

A paved walkway connects the Wright Brothers Monument atop Kill Devil Hill with the five boulders marking the lift-off point and four landings that occurred on December 17, 1903.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A full-scale replica of the 1903 flyer is located inside the museum run by the National Park Service (NPS).  Rangers give lectures in that room throughout the day, also explaining details of the replica 1902 glider.

Peak Season

Summer and every December 17

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There are NPS campgrounds located south of the memorial in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Related Sites

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Ohio)

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (North Carolina)

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (North Carolina)

  • Tiff at the end of the 4th flight marker
  • Wondon dressed as an aviator
  • An airplane flying past the monument
  • The front of the monument
  • 2003 centennial sculpture
  • Tiff with a statue who was holding her tripod for the group shot
  • Raven about the park

Explore More – The 1903 flyer on display here is a replica, so where is the original exhibited?

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