Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area – Atlanta, GA
Today the river valley attracts us for so many reasons. Take a solitary walk to enjoy nature’s display, raft leisurely through the rocky shoals with friends, fish the misty waters as the sun comes up, or have a picnic on a Sunday afternoon. Experience your Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
Augusta Canal National Heritage Area – Augusta, GA
Scenic route along the August Canal Augusta Canal National Heritage Area in east central Georgia interprets the August Canal story and its role in the development of the nation. Visitors can float past 200 years of Georgia history on a replica canal cargo boat, visit the award-winning Canal Interpretive Center in a restored textile mill, view the Confederate Powderworks chimney, or hike, bike or paddle along the historic waterway.
HAWAII
USS Arizona Memorial – Honolulu, HI
The USS Arizona Memorial is the final resting place for many of the battleship’s 1,177 crew members who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. The national memorial commemorates the site where World War II began for the United States. Experience history through the national memorial’s program tour, museum, and wayside exhibits.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Hilo, HI
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution — processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with unique ecosystems, and a distinct human culture. The park highlights two of the world’s most active volcanoes, and offers insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and views of dramatic volcanic landscapes.
IDAHO
Yellowstone National Park – Yellowstone National Park, ID,MT,WY
Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America’s first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world’s most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
ILLINOIS
Lincoln Home National Historic Site – Springfield, IL
“I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington.” Abraham Lincoln left his home of seventeen years to serve as president of a nation on the verge of Civil War. The Lincoln home has been restored to its 1860 appearance, revealing Lincoln as husband, father, and politician and is open to the public for guided tours.
INDIANA
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park – Vincennes, IN
The British flag would not be raised above Fort Sackville Feb. 25, 1779. At 10 a.m., the garrison surrendered to American Col. George Rogers Clark. His American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to gain this victory. The fort’s capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states.
IOWA
Effigy Mounds National Monument – Harpers Ferry, IA
Before Europeans arrived, a unique American Indian “Effigy Mound” culture developed in the upper Midwest building thousands of earthen mounds in the shape of animals across the landscape. Today, over two-hundred mounds are preserved intact here; thirty-one are effigies in the shape of bears and birds found along hiking trails offering magnificent views of the Mississippi River.
KANSAS
Fort Scott National Historic Site – Fort Scott, KS
Promises made and broken! A town attacked at dawn! Thousands made homeless by war! Soldiers fighting settlers! Each of these stories is a link in the chain of events that encircled Fort Scott from 1842-73. All of the site’s structures, its parade ground, and its tallgrass prairie bear witness to this era when the country was forged from a young republic into a united transcontinental nation.
KENTUCKY
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area – Oneida, KY,TN
Encompassing 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. The area boasts miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, is rich with natural and historic features and has been developed to provide visitors with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities.
Mammoth Cave National Park – Mammoth Cave, KY
Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world’s longest cave system, with more than 365 miles explored. Early guide Stephen Bishop called the cave a “grand, gloomy and peculiar place,” but its vast chambers and complex labyrinths have earned its name: Mammoth.
LOUISIANA
Cane River Creole National Historical Park – Natchez, LA
Wander thoughtfully through the grounds of Oakland and Magnolia Plantations. While admiring a hand-wrought door hinge or a cleverly-worked wooden gate, we might reflect on the social and agricultural practices that built these tenant houses, pigeonniers, carpenter and blacksmith shops. The hand-hewn cypress beams, ancient bousillage walls, and weathered fencerows may
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park – New Orleans, LA
A story rich with innovation, experimentation, controversy and emotion, the park provides an ideal setting to share the cultural history of the people and places that helped shape the development and progression of jazz in New Orleans.
