The Official Units of the National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service.
As of August 2024, there are 433 official units of the National Park System; [1] however, this number can be misleading. For example, Denali National Park and Preserve are counted as two units, since the same name applies to a national park and an adjacent national preserve. Yet Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is counted as one unit, despite its double designation. Counting methodology is rooted in the language of a park's enabling legislation. Furthermore, the NPS contributes resources to "affiliated areas" which do not fall under its administration, and these do not count toward the official list number. An example is Oklahoma City National Memorial.
These units are a subset of the areas in the United States National Park System, and nearly all participate in the national park passport stamps program. National Park System units are found in all 50 states, in the District of Columbia, and in the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. (The territory of the Northern Mariana Islands has an affiliated area but not an official NPS unit.)
Type | Number |
---|---|
National Park (List of national parks of the United States) | 63 |
National Monument (List of national monuments of the United States) | 87 |
National Preserve | 19 |
National Historical Park | 63 |
National Historic Site | 76 |
International Historic Site | 1 |
National Battlefield Park | 4 |
National Military Park | 9 |
National Battlefield | 11 |
National Battlefield Site | 1 |
National Memorial (List of national memorials of the United States) | 31 |
National Recreation Area | 18 |
National Seashore (List of United States national lakeshores and seashores) | 10 |
National Lakeshore (List of United States national lakeshores and seashores) | 3 |
National River | 14 |
National Reserve | 2 |
National Parkway | 4 |
National Trail | 6 |
Other | 11 |
Total | 433 |
Bold indicates national parks.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value".
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.
There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves. They were established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extractive activities such as hunting and mining may be permitted, provided their natural values are preserved. The activities permitted in each national preserve vary depending on the enabling legislation of the unit. All national preserves are managed by the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the National Park System.
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500, or roughly three percent, of over 90,000 places listed on the country's National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) are recognized as National Historic Landmarks.
Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve is a unit of the National Park Service on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It preserves upland watersheds, mangrove forests, and estuarine and marine environments that support threatened and endangered species. It also contains the Columbus Landing Site, a National Historic Landmark that is the only known site where members of a Columbus expedition set foot on what is now United States territory. The site is marked by Fort Salé, a remaining earthworks fortification from the French period of occupation, about 1617. The park also preserves prehistoric and colonial-era archeological sites including the only existing example of a ball court in the US Virgin Islands.
Passport to Your National Parks is a program through which ink stamps can be acquired at no cost at park visitor centers and ranger stations at nearly all of the 433 units of the United States National Park System and most of the National Park Service's affiliated areas. The program is run by Eastern National, a non-profit organization that operates bookstores in many park locations.
The National Capital Parks was a unit of the National Park System of the United States, now divided into multiple administrative units. It encompasses a variety of federally owned properties in and around the District of Columbia including memorials, monuments, parks, interiors of traffic circles and squares, triangles formed by irregular intersections, and other open spaces.
This is a list of the buildings, sites, districts, and objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Northern Mariana Islands. There currently 37 listed sites spread across the four municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands. There are no sites listed on any of the islands that make up the Northern Islands Municipality.
This is a list of the buildings, sites, districts, and objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places in American Samoa. There are currently 31 listed sites spread across the three districts of American Samoa. There are no sites listed on the unorganized atoll of Swains Island.
This is a list of properties and historic districts in Hawaii listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More than 370 listings appear on all but one of Hawaii's main islands and the Northwestern Islands, and in all of its five counties. Included are houses, schools, archeological sites, ships, shipwrecks and various other types of listings. These properties and districts are listed by island, beginning at the northwestern end of the chain.
This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted November 29, 2024.
This is a list of the buildings, sites, districts, and objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States Virgin Islands. There are currently 91 listed sites spread across 16 of the 20 subdistricts within three islands/districts of the United States Virgin Islands. Four sites are additionally designated National Historic Landmarks and two others as National Historic Sites.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) preserves a series of sites between Atlanta and Lake Sidney Lanier along the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, U.S. The 48-mile (77 km) stretch of the river affords public recreation opportunities and access to historic sites. The national recreation area, a National Park Service unit, was established on August 15, 1978, by President Jimmy Carter.
According to the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), in the state of California, United States, there are over 14,000 inventoried protected areas administered by public agencies and non-profits. In addition, there are private conservation areas and other easements. They include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The California State Parks system alone has 270 units and covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km2), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites, and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.
The National Park Travelers Club is a non-profit 501(c)7 social club organization. Its mission is to provide networking and recognition opportunities for visitors to America's National Park System. This Club acts to support and expand appreciation of the U.S. National Park System.