Tag Archives: National Monument

Georgia

Fort Frederica National Monument

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Overview

The colony of Georgia was established by James Oglethorpe to be an alcohol-free utopia open to commoners in debtors’ prison back in England.  The aristocrats quickly discarded those ideals and introduced slavery after founding a town on the Savannah River in 1733.  That same year, to the south the Spanish constructed Fort Mose as a sanctuary to slaves who fled the British.  In response, Oglethorpe created Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, with a palisade and 10-foot wide moat around the entire town.  Further, he led an unsuccessful siege of St. Augustine, Florida in 1740.  The Spanish retaliated, but were defeated at Bloody Marsh despite owning a two-to-one advantage in soldiers.

Highlights

Museum, ruins of colonial fort, Bloody Marsh Battle Site

Must-Do Activity

Fort Frederica’s regiment was disbanded in 1749 and the town was abandoned within a decade when it was mostly destroyed by fire.  Today, visitors can walk the ruins underneath picturesque live oak trees draped in Spanish moss.  Fort Frederica National Monument is part of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor that honors the unique traditions brought by slaves from West Africa and retained over the centuries on these isolated Atlantic coastal islands.  Cooking gumbo with okra, weaving sweetgrass baskets, and using the word “guber” for peanut are all examples of how the Gullah/Geechee culture has survived into modern times. 

Best Trail

A self-guided tour passes excavated foundations of the town underneath Spanish moss-draped live oak trees.  During our visit in 2016, Hurricane Matthew had knocked down trees closing some of the trails.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The British established Fort Frederica to stop Spanish encroachment from Florida into their American colonies.  The town that formed around the fort peaked at a population of 1,000.  Today it is a beautiful setting with tabby wall ruins and Spanish moss-draped trees.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

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

Fees

None, there is no longer a toll for the F.J. Torras Causeway that accesses St. Simons Island.

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Jekyll Island State Park offers camping 13 miles southeast of Brunswick, Georgia.

Related Sites

Fort Pulaski National Monument (Georgia)

Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia)

Fort Caroline National Memorial (Florida)

  • Tiff inside the NPS museum
  • House ruins
  • These tabby walls are made of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water.
  • Remains of soldiers’ barracks
  • Six miles from the fort, the British made a surprise attack on the superior Spanish force here at Bloody Marsh in 1742.
  • Mangrove crabs on the tidal flats
  • Spanish moss on a live oak tree

Explore More – Fort Frederica was named for which member of the British royalty?

Arizona

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

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Overview

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument outside Flagstaff, Arizona is worth a closer look than a drive-by on your way to Grand Canyon National Park.  As its name suggests, this thousand-foot high cinder cone is stained red as though in perpetual twilight.  Volcanic activity last occurred here in the year 1180 AD, but even though geologists consider this area dormant, it is just possible that a new cinder cone might start erupting at any time.

Highlights

Lava Flow Nature Trail, Bonito Lava Flow, Lenox Crater Trail, O’Leary Peak

Must-Do Activity

A 35-mile loop drive through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument to neighboring Wupatki National Monument passes through ponderosa pine forest and sunflower-filled meadows on its way to an arid, rocky high desert region that is dotted with ruins.  From the road you can see the San Francisco Peaks rising to the west, as well as a series of cinder cones outside the monument’s boundaries.  Several of these mini-volcanoes are accessible by roads, including our favorite: S.P. Crater.

Best Trail

To experience the black cinders you have to get out of your car and hike through them, but take your time as the elevation is around 7,000 feet.  Lava Flow Nature Trail provides interpretive signs along a partially paved one-mile loop.  You cannot climb to the top of Sunset Crater, but you can summit nearby Lenox Crater on a steep one-mile trail.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Sunset Crater and the Bonito Lava Flow are especially eye-catching when viewed from atop 8,900-foot O’Leary Peak, accessible by hiking to a fire lookout tower in adjacent Coconino National Forest.  The awe-inspiring vista will make you glad that movie producers were stopped from dynamiting Sunset Crater in 1928.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$25 per vehicle, which also covers entrance to neighboring Wupatki National Monument.

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

The U.S. Forest Service runs the Bonito Campground across from the Sunset Crater visitor center from May through October.  Dispersed camping is allowed in portions of Coconino National Forest.

Related Sites

Wupatki National Monument (Arizona)

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (Idaho)

Capulin Volcano National Monument (New Mexico)

  • Tiff with a field of sunflowers in September 2009
  • Scott and Wendigo in the Bonito Lava Flow
  • Tiff and Wendigo on Lenox Crater Trail
  • Scott at the NPS visitor center in December 2015
  • Sunset Crater in snow
  • Tiff on the Lava Flow Nature Trail
  • View of the San Francisco Peaks from O’Leary Peak

Explore More – How many millions of years of volcanic activity have occurred in the area around Flagstaff, Arizona?

New York

Stonewall National Monument

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Overview

A raid by New York City police officers at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 was not out of the ordinary, but the response by its patrons secured its place in history.  At the time, it was illegal to serve alcohol to homosexuals, so the Stonewall Inn was operated by the Mafia as a “private” club.  The police raid resulted in six nights of civil rights protests outside the bar around Christopher Park, gathering approximately 2,000 supporters on the second night.  It was not the first gay pride protest in America, but it did have a lasting impact with more than a thousand LGBTQ groups forming in the following year.

Highlights

Christopher Park, George Segal sculpture

Must-Do Activity

In 2016, President Obama designated Stonewall National Monument in Christopher Park, across the street from the Stonewall Inn.  During the summer, park rangers are on site approximately 11-1 and 3-4 every day, but we were told it is best to call beforehand to verify.  The Stonewall Inn is still a business and not owned by the National Park Service (NPS), so nobody under age 21 is allowed in. 

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

A sculpture by George Segal entitled Gay Liberation Monument was commissioned in 1979, but not installed in Christopher Park until 1992 due to public opposition.  It depicts two standing men and two seated women comforting one another in their shared struggle for acceptance.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Roads are heavily trafficked and there is no designated parking so we recommend you take the subway.

Camping

None

Related Sites

Women’s Rights National Historical Park (New York)

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site (Arkansas)

César E. Chávez National Monument (California)

  • Tiff outside the current Stonewall Inn
  • The statue of a Civil War general predates Christopher Park’s creation as Stonewall National Monument.

Explore More – The original bar closed following the protests, so when did the current iteration of the Stonewall Inn open?

California

César E. Chávez National Monument

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Overview

César Estrada Chávez was a Latino-American labor leader in the 1960s who led the fight for better working conditions and pay for all agriculture workers.  He helped form the National Farm Workers Association (NWFA) labor union, which became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).  Similar to Martin Luther King, Jr., Chávez was an advocate of nonviolent protests, including fasts.  Chávez passed away in 1993 and César E. Chávez National Monument was established in 2012.

Highlights

Chávez gravesite, memorial garden, museum, Chávez office

Must-Do Activity

The National Park Service site is located at the historic Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz property in Keene, California where César E. Chávez lived and the UFW was headquartered from 1970-84.  The site is now the home of the National Chávez Center, his gravesite, and a memorial garden.  The museum here includes exhibits, videos, and an audio program at Chávez’s old office.  A quick Spanish lesson before you go: “Huelga” translates to “Strike” and “Sí, se puede” means “Yes, we can.”

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

César Estrada Chávez is buried at the National Chávez Center in Keene, California surrounded by a well-landscaped memorial garden.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The entry road is paved, but is located off the steeply inclined highway through Tehachapi, California in the southern Sierra Nevadas.

Camping

North of Keene, California, there are camping opportunities in Sequoia National Forest and around Isabella Lake.

  • Scott at the entrance
  • Chávez’s office is preserved exactly as it was when he died in 1993.
  • Chávez holding a National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) banner.
  • The memorial garden at the National Chávez Center is beautiful and well-manicured.

Explore More – Which famous U.S. Senator called Chavez “one of the heroic figures of our time” in the 1960s?

Colorado, Utah

Dinosaur National Monument

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Overview

As its name suggests, Dinosaur National Monument was first created in 1915 to protect an archaeological dig.  The 200-foot long wall of unexcavated fossils at Dinosaur Quarry outside Jensen, Utah is still the park’s main attraction.  A major addition of 200,000 acres was added in 1938, stretching into the neighboring state of Colorado.  More than 90% of the National Monument (click here to see where it ranks in our Top 10) is managed as wilderness and is best explored by whitewater rafting the Green and Yampa Rivers.

Highlights

Dinosaur Quarry, Harpers Corner Road, Fremont pictographs, Jones Hole Trail, whitewater rafting

Must-Do Activity

Whitewater rafting trips on the Green River can last a few hours or multiple days depending upon where you put in.  We highly recommend a three night trip starting at the Gates of Lodore with Adrift Dinosaur or one of several other outfitters.  They also offer multi-day trips down the Yampa River, which is undammed and only navigable during the spring snowmelt.  If you do not feel like getting wet, simply enjoy a quiet picnic on the shoreline at easily-accessible Split Mountain (or take a high-clearance vehicle down the rough road to scenic Echo Park).

Best Trail

The 4-mile long Jones Hole Trail is accessible to rafters on the Green River and from a fish hatchery at the end of a paved road near the Utah-Colorado border.  It provides access to Ely Creek Falls and the Deluge Shelter pictographs, which are approximately 800 to 1,400 years old.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Dinosaur Quarry may be the only mountainside in America surrounded by its own glass-enclosed, air-conditioned building.  It contains thousands of fossilized bones of giant creatures sitting in the same place they have been for the past 148-million years.  It is a completely different experience than seeing dinosaur skeletons reconstructed in a museum, although they have those, too. 

Peak Season

Spring and summer

Hours

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

Fees

No entrance fees for the Colorado side, but $25 per vehicle to enter the Utah side to view the Dinosaur Quarry.

Road Conditions

There are many dirt roads in the National Monument, some of which are impassable when wet, so check at a visitor center before entering.  The roads to the Dinosaur Quarry, Jones Hole Trailhead, Deerlodge Park, and Harpers Corner are paved.

Camping

There are several campgrounds within the park accessible by paved or unpaved roads, as well as numerous backcountry campsites located along the Green and Yampa Rivers (plus, one on the Jones Hole Trail). 

  • Mitten Park Fault is bisected by the Green River near Echo Park
  • Outside the NPS visitor center near Jensen, Utah
  • Tiff on the tram to the Dinosaur Quarry in 2012
  • Tiff at the Dinosaur Quarry in 2012
  • Whitewater rafting on the Green River in 2019
  • Bighorn sheep along the Green River
  • Deluge Shelter pictographs on the Jones Hole Trail
  • Steamboat Rock at Echo Park

Explore More – Who was the one-armed Civil War veteran that led the first exploration of the Green River (and named the Gates of Lodore after a poem) in 1869?

WONDON WAS HERE