This page is a listing of National Monuments and Historic Sites of the United States. These links will give you information on park history, lodging, attractions, and just about anything else you are looking for. So sit back and plan your next vacation in America's National Monuments and Historic Sites!
Manassas National Battlefield Park (Virginia)
Manassas National Battlefield park was established in 1940 to preserve the scene of two major Civil War battles. Located a few miles north of the prized railroad junction of Manassas, Virginia, the peaceful Virginia countryside bore witness to clashes between the armies of the North and South in 1861 and 1862.
Today the battlefield park provides the opportunity for visitors to explore the historic terrain where men fought and died for their beliefs a century ago.
Minuteman National Historical Park (Massachusetts)
At Minute Man National Historical Park, the Battles of Lexington and Concord are brought to life through the preservation, restoration and interpretation of significant sites from "that famous day and year" when Colonists took up arms in defense of liberty and touched off the American Revolution.
At Concord's North Bridge, visitors can see the place where, on April 19, 1775, Colonial militia men fired the famous "shot heard 'round the world." Reflect on the meaning of freedom in a tranquil, commemorative landscape that includes Daniel Chester French's Minute Man Statue.
Along our five-mile "Battle Road Trail" you can travel back in time through a restored colonial landscape and retrace the steps of the British Regulars as they made the long and deadly journey back to Boston under fire from thousands of Colonial militia men. Parts of this trail follow the original route of the old "Battle Road" of April 19, 1775.
Along the way, stop in and visit the Hartwell Tavern, a restored 18th-century tavern on Battle Road. It is now a "living history" center staffed by costumed Park Rangers who can offer you a glimpse of life in Revolutionary times.
At the Wayside: Home of Authors, learn about Concord's "second revolution" as you visit the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America's most famous authors of the 19th century who helped define our American identity.
Montezuma Castle National Monument (Arizona)
It's not a castle and Montezuma was never here.
Nestled into a limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley stands one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. The five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling served as a "high-rise apartment building" for prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago. Early settlers to the area assumed that the imposing structure was associated with the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but the castle was abandoned almost a century before Montezuma was born.
With heightened concern over vandalism of fragile southwestern prehistoric sites, Montezuma Castle became a major factor in the nation's historic preservation movement with its proclamation as a national monument. The Castle was described in the December 1906 establishment proclamation as "of the greatest ethnological and scientific interest." Acreage: 840.86, federal: 16.83, non-federal.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota)
The sheer size of the mountain carving on Mount Rushmore evokes a sense of awe in those who view it. We are also amazed when we see ourselves in the faces of the presidents. The four presidents carved in stone represent all Americans. They represent our courage, dreams, freedom and greatness.
The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of a greater, more perfect nation, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln, a nation where all men were free and equal. At the turn of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt envisioned a great nation, a leader on the world stage, our nation was changing from a rural republic to a world power. The ideals of these presidents laid a foundation for the United States of America as solid as the rock from which their figures were carved.
Each president possessed great skills and leadership of the brand our nation needed for the times they represent. We all can look into their faces and gain inspiration and strength from these four great men and ourselves.
Muir Woods National Monument (California)
"This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world," declared conservationist John Muir when describing the majestic coast redwoods of Muir Woods.
Until the 1800's, many northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in Muir Woods National Monument. The forest along Redwood Creek in today's Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Noting that Redwood Creek contained one of the San Francisco Bay Area's last uncut stands of old-growth redwood, Congressman William Kent and his wife, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, bought 295 acres here for $45,000 in 1905. To protect the redwoods the Kents donated the land to the United States Federal Government and, in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a national monument. Roosevelt suggested naming the area after Kent, but Kent wanted it named for conservationist John Muir.
Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)
Natural Bridges protects some of the finest examples of ancient stone architecture in the southwest. Located on a tree-covered mesa cut by deep sandstone canyons, three natural bridges formed where meandering streams eroded the canyon walls. The bridges are named Kachina, Owachomo and Sipapu.
At 6,500 feet above sea level, Natural Bridges is home to a variety of plants and animals. Plants range from the fragile cryptobiotic soil crusts to remnant stands of Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine. Natural Bridges was established in 1908, making it the oldest National Park Service site in Utah.
North Country National Scenic Trail (New York to North Dakota)
The North Country National Scenic Trail links scenic, natural, historic, and cultural areas in seven northern states. The approximately four thousand mile long trail incudes a variety of hikes from easy walking to challenging treks.
When completed, through the efforts of many people, the trail will become the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States. From the Missouri River in North Dakota to the shores of Lake Champlain in New York, the trail allows hikers to experience a variety of features, from clear-flowing streams, to thick Northern woods, from vast prairies to clean lakes.
Come and experience your America, at a walking pace.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Arizona)
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in this desert wilderness of plants and animals and dramatic mountains and plains scenery, you can drive a lonely road, hike a backcountry trail, camp beneath a clear desert sky, or just soak in the warmth and beauty of the Southwest. The Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the organ pipe cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the United States. There are also many creatures that have been able to adapt themselves to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight and little rainfall. Acreage: 330,688.86; Federal: 329,316.31; Non-federal: 1,372.55. Wilderness area: 312,600.
Pea Ridge National Military Park (Arkansas)
Pea Ridge National Military Park is a 4,300 acre Civil War Battlefield that preserves the site of the March 1862 battle that saved Missouri for the Union. On March 7 & 8, nearly 26,000 soldiers fought to determine whether Missouri would remain under Union control, and whether or not Federal armies could continue their offensive south through the Mississippi River Valley. Major General Earl Van Dorn led 16,000 Confederates against 10,250 Union soldiers, under the command of Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis. Van Dorn's command consisted of regular Confederate troops commanded by Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch, and Missouri State Guard Forces commanded by Major General Sterling Price. The Confederate force also included some 800 Cherokees fighting for the Confederacy. The Union army consisted of soldiers from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. Half of the Federals were German immigrants. The park also includes a two and one half mile segment of the Trail of Tears. The Elkhorn Tavern, site of bitter fighting on both days, is a NPS reconstruction on the site of the original. The park is one of the most well preserved battlefields in the United States.
Pinnacles National Monument (California)
Rising out of the chaparral-covered Gabilan Mountains, east of central California's Salinas Valley, are the spectacular remains of an ancient volcano. Massive monoliths, spires, sheer-walled canyons and talus passages define millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement. Within the monument's boundaries lie 24,000 acres of diverse wildlands. The monument is renowned for the beauty and variety of its spring wildflowers. A rich diversity of wildlife can be observed throughout the year.
The rock formations of Pinnacles National Monument divide the park into East and West Districts which are connected by trails, but not by a vehicle road. More than 30 miles of trails access geological formations, spectacular vistas and wildland communities. The Pinnacles' rock formations are a popular destination to challenge technical climbers. Pinnacles is a day-use park, with occasional full moon hikes and dark sky astronomical observations led by ranger-interpreters.
Pony Express National Historic Trail
The Pony Express National Historic Trail was used by young men on fast paced horses to carry the nation's mail across the country, from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California, in the unprecedented time of only ten days. Organized by private entrepreneurs, the horse-and-rider relay system became the nation's most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraph. Though only in operation for 18 months, between April 1860 and October 1861, the trail proved the feasibility of a central overland transportation route, and played a vital role in aligning California with the Union in the years just before the Civil War.
Most of the original trail has been obliterated either by time or human activities. Along many segments, the trail's actual route and exact length are matters of conjecture. However, approximately 120 historic sites may eventually be available to the public, including 50 existing Pony Express stations or station ruins.
The Presidio preserves an astonishingly complex cultural and natural heritage within its 1480 acres.
For thousands of years, Native Americans called the Ohlone managed and harvested the natural bounty of what is now the Presidio. In 1776, Spanish soldiers and missionaries arrived, forever disrupting Ohlone culture and beginning 218 years of military use of the area just south of the Golden Gate.
The Presidio served as a military post under the flags of Spain (1776-1822), Mexico (1822-48), and the United States (1848-1994). As a U.S. Army post, the Presidio protected commerce and trade, and played a logistical role in every major U.S. military conflict from 1848 until closure. World events and those on the home front - from military campaigns to the rise of aviation, from World Fairs to natural disasters - left their mark here.
On October 1, 1994, the Presidio became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since 1998, the Presidio has been jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust. The Presidio Trust is a special public-private governmental agency tasked with managing most of the buildings of the Presidio and making the park financially self-sufficient by 2013.
Today, visitors enjoy the history and beauty of the Presidio. Within its boundaries are more than 500 historic buildings, a collection of coastal defense fortifications, a national cemetery, an historic airfield, a saltwater marsh, forests, beaches, native plant habitats, coastal bluffs, miles of hiking and biking, and some of the most spectacular vistas in the world.
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River (Texas)
The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, or El Rio Bravo del Norte, provides protection and maintenance of the pristine character of the Rio Grande from the Coahuila/Chihuahua, Mexico, state border upstream from Mariscal Canyon to the Terrell/Val Verde County line in Texas downstream. The Wild and Scenic River designation extends for 196 miles along the river’s course.
Approximately 69 miles of The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River designation lies within Big Bend National Park, and an additional 118 miles lies downstream of the Park. The National Park Service manages both the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, and the Rio Grande along Big Bend National Park’s boundary for recreation and preservation.
San Antonio Missions National Historic Park (Texas)
Four Spanish frontier missions, part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries, are preserved here. They include Missions San Jose, San Juan, Espada, and Concepcion. The park, containing many cultural sites along with some natural areas, was established in 1978. The park covers about 819 acres.
Scotts Bluff National Monument (Nebraska)
A prominent natural landmark for emigrants on the Oregon Trail, Scotts Bluff, Mitchell Pass and the adjacent prairie lands are set aside in a 3,000 acre national monument. This site preserves the memory of the historic Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. The monument museum contains exhibits about the human and natural history of the area and also holds a unique collection of watercolor paintings by the frontier photographer and artist William Henry Jackson.
Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee)
Shiloh National Military Park was established in 1894 to preserve the scene of the first major battle in the Western theater of the Civil War. The two-day battle, April 6 and 7, 1862, involved about 65,000 Union and 44,000 Confederate troops. This battle resulted in nearly 24,000 killed, wounded, and missing. It proved to be a decisive victory for the federal forces when they advanced on and seized control of the Confederate railway system at Corinth, Mississippi. The battlefield contains about 4,000 acres at Shiloh and an interpretive center at Corinth, Mississippi. The park has within its boundaries the Shiloh National Cemetery along with the well preserved prehistoric Indian mounds that are listed as a historic landmark. The Shiloh battlefield is located in Hardin County, Tennessee, on the west bank of the Tennessee River nine miles southwest of Savannah, Tennessee, with an additional park unit located in the city of Corinth, Mississippi, twenty-three miles southwest of Shiloh.
Statue of Liberty National Monument (New York)
To better understand this monumental work of art, visitors will be able to view inside the Statue through a glass ceiling, guided by a park ranger and an enhanced lighting and new video system. In addition, visitors can walk out onto the Statue’s observation deck to see the panoramic views of New York City and the Harbor, and witness the Statue up close from her promenade and Ft. Wood. The Statue's crown is not accessible and the torch has been officially closed since July 1916.
Located on 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.
Liberty Island is federal property located within the territorial jurisdiction of the State of New York.
Steamtown National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)
A steam locomotive excites the senses: you can feel the heat from the firebox, hear the bell and whistle, smell the hot steam and oil, feel the ground vibrate under your feet, see the one-ton drive rod push the drive wheels around, hear the chuff-chuff-chuff, experience the past.
Steamtown National Historic Site preserves an era that slipped from public consciousness virtually unnoticed. Today, you can relive that era as the fire-breathing behemoths lumber back to life. The cinders, grease, oil, steam and people of railroading have returned.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (Arizona)
People must have been warned by tremors and earthquakes before red-hot rocks exploded from the ground and rained down on their pit houses and farmland. Perhaps some stayed to watch as their homes and farmland were buried under slow-moving lava flows. Most fled, taking their possessions with them.
Billowing ash, falling cinders, and forest fires blackened the land and the daytime sky. At night, the horizon glowed fiery red. A large fire fountain, accompanied by lightning and a tremendous roar, could be seen and heard for hundreds of miles. It must have been the loudest noise these people had ever experienced.
When their world again grew quiet, people faced a dramatically altered land. New mountains, including the 1,000-foot-high cinder cone now known as Sunset Crater, stood where open meadows and forests had been. Black cinders blanketed the region.
Life in the shadow of the volcano was changed profoundly and forever. Some people relocated nearby at Walnut Canyon or Wupatki.
900 years later, Sunset Crater is still the youngest volcano on the Colorado Plateau. The volcano's red rim and the dark lava flows seem to have cooled and hardened to a jagged surface only yesterday. As plants return, so do the animals that use them for food and shelter. And so do human visitors, intrigued by this opportunity to see nature’s response to a volcanic eruption.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial (Washington DC)
Thomas Jefferson-political philosopher, architect, musician, book collector, scientist, horticulturist, diplomat, inventor, and third President of the United States-looms large in any discussion of what Americans are as a people. Jefferson left to the future not only ideas but also a great body of practical achievements. President John F. Kennedy recognized Jefferson's accomplishments when he told a gathering of American Nobel Prize winners that they were the greatest assemblage of talent in the White House since Jefferson had dinner there alone. With his strong beliefs in the rights of man and a government derived from the people, in freedom of religion and the separation between church and state, and in education available to all. Thomas Jefferson struck a chord for human liberty 200 years ago that resounds through the decades. But in the end, Jefferson's own appraisal of his life, and the one that he wrote for use on his own tombstone, suffices: "Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)
The sky was the limit--literally! After the successful flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903, Americans of all races were stung by the love bug of flight. In the late 1920's and 1930's African Americans in great numbers began their love affair with flight. They learned the basics of flight on either American soil or abroad, and created their own flight schools and clubs.
This love affair was kindled in the late 1930's, when the United States Government created Civilian Pilot Training Programs throughout the country to provide a surplus of pilots in case of a national emergency. African Americans were included in these programs, although trained at segregated facilities.
Their love of flight became fully ablaze amid World War II as political pressure challenged the government to expand the role of African Americans in the military. The Army Air Corps was the first agency to accept the challenge. Tuskegee Institute, a small black college in Alabama, was selected to host the "military experiment" to train African American pilots and support staff--thus the Tuskegee Airmen were born.
The outstanding performance of the over 15,000 men and women who shared the "Tuskegee Experience" from 1942-1946, is immortalized at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
USS Arizona Naional Memorial (Hawaii)
Oil droplets bubble to the surface of Pearl Harbor above the USS Arizona, creating a vivid link to the past. On a quiet Sunday morning December 7, 1941 a Japanese surprise air attack left the Pacific Fleet in smoldering heaps of broken, twisted steel. Here, peace was interrupted and paradise lost. In hours, 2,390 futures were stolen, half of these casualties from the battleship Arizona.
Behind the shadows of destroyed airfields, aircraft, and ships, America fought fear, and a determined enemy responding with an unrivaled war effort. An epic battle for democratic ideals and world freedom would bloody the fields of Europe and the islands of the Pacific over the next four years.
Today, visitors come from around the world to see the USS Arizona Memorial, which spans the mid-portion of the sunken battleship. The national memorial is designed to encourage quiet contemplation, and to appeal to our memory and sense of sacrifice.
Valley Forge National Historical Park (Pennsylvania)
The men and women of the Continental Army were ordinary men and women – like many of us, but these everyday men and women were thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Valley Forge National Historical Park commemorates more than the collective sacrifices and dedication of the Revolutionary War generation, it pays homage to the ability of everyday Americans to pull together and overcome adversity during extraordinary times.
Of all the places associated with the American War for Independence, perhaps none has come to symbolize perseverance and sacrifice more than Valley Forge. The hardships of the encampment claimed the lives of one in ten, nearly all from disease. Despite the privations suffered by the army at Valley Forge, Washington and his generals built a unified professional military organization that ultimately enabled the Continental Army to triumph over the British.
Perhaps one of Washington’s soldiers said it best when he described his reasons for not abandoning the field despite the harsh conditions: "We had engaged in the defense of our wounded country and . . . we were determined to persevere." Private Joseph Plumb Martin, 8th Connecticut regiment, December 1777.
Vicksburg National Military Park (Mississippi)
Vicksburg National Military Park was established by Congress on February 21, 1899, to commemorate one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War, the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg.
The Vicksburg campaign was waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. It included battles in west-central Mississippi at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River and 47 days of Union siege operations against Confederate forces defending the city of Vicksburg. Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy." Its surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River.
Today, the battlefield at Vicksburg is in an excellent state of preservation. It includes 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, a 16 mile tour road, antebellum home, 144 emplaced cannon, restored Union gunboat-USS Cairo, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington DC)
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves as a testament to the sacrifice of American military personnel during one of this nation's least popular wars. The memorial consists of three distinct sections. "the wall", the three service men statue and flagpole and the women in service to the vietnam war statue. The purpose of this memorial is to separate the issue of the sacrifices of the veterans from the U.S. policy in the war, thereby creating a venue for reconciliation.
Washington Monument (Washington DC)
Alone among the Founders of the United States George Washington earned the title "Father of his Country" in recognition of his leadership in the cause of American independence. Appointed commander of the Continental Army in 1775, he molded a fighting force that won independence from Great Britain. In 1787 as President of the Constitutional Convention, he helped guide the deliberations to form a government that has lasted for more than 200 years. Two years later he was unanimously elected the first President of the United States. Washington defined the Presidency and helped develop the relationships among the three branches of government. He established precedents that successfully launched the new government on its course. Washington remained ever mindful of the ramifications of his decisions and actions, for he was a consummate statesman. With this monument the citizens of the United States show their enduring gratitude and respect.
White Sands National Monument (New Mexico)
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico.
Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.
White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this gypsum dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment.
National World War II Memorial (Washington DC)
The National World War II Memorial, located on the National Mall in Washington, DC commemorates the sacrifice and celebrates the victory of the WWII generation. The World War II Memorial creates a distinct, evocative and serene tribute yet remains respectful and sensitive to its historic surroundings.
Wright Brothers National Memorial (North Carolina)
The first successful sustained powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine were made here by Wilbur and Orville Wright on December 17, 1903. A 60-foot granite monument dedicated in 1932, is perched atop 90-foot tall Kill Devil Hill commemorating the achievement of these two visionaries from Dayton, Ohio.
A visit should include touring the museum exhibits, participating in a ranger conducted program, touring the reconstructed camp buildings and first flight trail area, and a climb up Kill Devil Hill to view the memorial pylon.
Yorktown Battlefield Colonial National Historical Park (Virginia)
Yorktown Battlefield is the site of the final, major battle of the American Revolutionary War and symbolic end of Colonial English America.
On this battlefield, between September 28 and October 19, 1781, General George Washington and his allied American and French army of 17,600 troops surrounded and besieged General Charles Lord Cornwallis’ 8,300 British, German and American loyalist forces, which were fortified within the port of Yorktown.
American and French artillery crews fired over 15,000 rounds of siege artillery upon the British continuously for nine days. On October 17, Lord Cornwallis, seeing the futility of risking further destruction of his army, requested a cease-fire to discuss surrender terms. Two days later, his army marched out of their defenses to an open field, now known as “Surrender Field,” stacked their weapons and became prisoners of war.
Upon hearing the news of the defeat, the British Prime Minister is said to have clutched his chest and exclaimed, “Oh God, it’s all over.” And indeed it was. After two years of diplomatic negotiations, Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, formally recognizing independence for the United States of America.