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The National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service. This includes all areas designated National Parks and most National Monuments, as well as several other types of protected areas of the United States.

As of 2009, there are 392 units of the National Park System. However, this number is somewhat misleading. For example: Denali National Park and Preserve is counted as two units, whereas Fort Moultrie National Monument is not counted as a unit because it is considered a feature of the Fort Sumter National Monument.

In addition to areas of the National Park System, the National Park Service also provides technical and financial assistance to several affiliated areas authorized by Congress. Affiliated areas are marked on the lists below.

The National Register of Historic Places is administered by the Park Service (with nearly 79,000 entries) and automatically includes all National Park System areas designated due to their historic significance. This includes all National Historical Parks/Historic Sites, National Battlefields/Military Parks, National Memorials, and some National Monuments.

Delaware is the only state without a unit of the National Park System. Units are found in all other states, in Washington, D.C., and in the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Nearly all units managed by the National Park Service participate in the National Park Passport Stamps program.

National Parks

National Parks of the U.S.

As of 2006, there are 58 officially-designated National Parks in the United States and its dependent areas.

• See also:
  • National Park Service
  • List of United States National Parks by state
  • List of United States National Parks by date established
  • List of U.S. National Parks by elevation

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

North Cascades National Park, Washington

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina / Tennessee

Arches National Park, Utah

Everglades National Park, Florida

Disbanded National Parks

National Monuments

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York

Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Muir Woods National Monument, California

As of 2009, there are 100 U.S. National Monuments, 75 of which are administered by the NPS and listed below.

Decommissioned National Monuments

National Preserves

Little River Canyon National Preserve

National Historical Parks

The bell tower atop Independence Hall, formerly home to the Liberty Bell (Independence National Historical Park)

There are 45 National Historical Parks:

National Historic Sites

The National Park Service administers most of the National Historic Sites. However, the U.S. Forest Service manages one, Grey Towers National Historic Site. There are at least 86 National Historic Sites:

Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

Disbanded National Historic Sites

Proposed National Historic Sites

International Historic Site

National Battlefield Parks

National Military Parks

Vicksburg National Military Park

National Battlefields

Fort Donelson National Battlefield

National Battlefield Site

National Memorials

There are 44 National Memorials:

Lincoln Memorial

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Disbanded National Memorials

Proposed National Memorials

National Recreation Areas

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Disbanded National Recreation Areas

National Seashores

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

National Lakeshores

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

There are four National Lakeshores, located in Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

National Rivers

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

Below are the National Rivers (and similar designations) administered as distinct units of the National Park System. There are also some National Wild and Scenic Rivers managed as part of the parks through which they flow. Others are administered by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and various state or local agencies.

National Reserves

City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho, USA

National Parkways

Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia / North Carolina

National Historic and Scenic Trails

Appalachian Trail

These National Park Service trails are part of the larger National Trails System. Only 3 of the trails are considered official units of the Park system.

National Cemeteries

Gettysburg National Cemetery

Most National Cemeteries are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, although a few are managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Army. None of the cemeteries are considered official units of the system; they are all affiliated with other parks.

Transferred National Cemeteries

National Heritage Areas

• See also:
  • U.S. National Heritage Areas

The National Park Service provides limited assistance to National Heritage Areas, but does not administer them.

Other NPS Protected Areas and Administrative Groups

National Mall

There are also various administrative groups of listed parks, such as Manhattan Sites, National Parks of New York Harbor, and Western Arctic National Parklands. The NPS also owns conservation easements (but not the land itself) for part of the area called the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District.

Disbanded Other Areas

See also

• List of all national parks of the world
• List of U.S. state parks
• United States Memorials
• National Park Passport Stamps
• List of National Natural Landmarks

References

• Bureau Historian (2006). "Former National Park System Units: An Analysis".
• National Park Service. "National Monument Proclamations under the Antiquities Act"
• National Park Service Office of Public Affairs (2009). "Units in the National Park System". Last November 5, 2009. (Lists 392 NPS units by classification).

External links

• Alphabetical list of places at the National Park Service website
• Former National Park System Units: An Analysis
• National Park Service
• National Park Foundation
• Parks by Date of Establishment
• United States National Parks travel guide from Wikitravel
• America's Hidden Treasures, an essay on the lesser known National Parks

U.S. National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments