According to the National Park Service, there are over 5,000 miles of paved roads through the National Park System. Park roads (paved or unpaved) allow us to reach amazing vistas we might not otherwise see within a national park, national monument, or national recreation area. These roads are marvels of construction and merit a nod of appreciation to those builders who may have risked life and limb to ensure completion of that navigable ribbon of gravel or pavement.
I’m calling this particular quiz and trivia piece the Road Edition. How many of these roads have you traveled, what have you seen and accessed via these roads, and how much do you know about them? Test your knowledge first before looking up the answers at the bottom of the page.
1. Glacier National Park has 13 campgrounds. Of these 13, how many are located along Going-to-the-Sun Road?
a) 2
b) 5
c) 7
d) 10
2. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, Chisos Basin Road in Big Bend National Park runs 6 miles from the arid desert into cooler mountain climes, rising _____ feet above the desert floor.
a) 500
b) 1,000
c) 1,500
d) 2,000
3. Drive Historic Route 66 and you’ll find yourself driving through which national park?
b) Guadalupe Mountains National Park
c) Petrified Forest National Park
4. Stretching 92 miles in length, Denali Park Road is the only road through Denali National Park and Preserve. Unless you are lucky enough to win the annual road lottery, you can only drive ____ miles into the park on this road with your personal (or rental) vehicle.
a) 8
b) 15
c) 30
d) 50
5. Twenty-three mile Rim Rock Drive, in Colorado National Monument, was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, local workers, and other agencies. In addition to providing access to Saddlehorn Visitor Center and campground, this road also connects visitors with how many hiking trails?
a) 10
b) 12
c) 14
d) 16
6. True or False: Trail Ridge Road was one of the first auto routes in Rocky Mountain National Park offering access to the park’s high country.
a) True
b) False
7. During the development of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway and tunnel in Zion National Park, the “[National Park] Service adopted a form of architecture meant to harmonize the built environment with the parks' spectacular natural landscapes.” What is this form of architecture known as?
a) NPS Rustic
b) NPS Red Rock
c) NPS Historic
d) NPS Southwest
8. In Crater Lake National Park, “the historic Rim Drive includes 33-miles (53-km) of lake views, panoramic vistas, forests and meadows. The contours of the road were designed to complement the natural landscape, and disappear from view as you look across the lake from any point.” How many overlooks can be accessed via Rim Drive?
a) 27
b) 30
c) 35
d) 37
9. “Parkways are beautifully designed roads and often include pull-offs where visitors can enjoy scenic views. During the 1930s, many parkways were designed as part of the national park system as job creation projects.” There are six completed Congressionally Mandated Parkways, and one parkway that has yet to be completed. Which parkway is that?
a) John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway
c) Baltimore-Washington Parkway
10. A Traveler article notes that Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Loop road “is one of the oldest and most celebrated windshield touring routes in America.” What was the first wheeled vehicle to reach the Old Faithful area?
a) a Ford Model T
b) a Ford Model A
c) a stagecoach
d) a Benz Patent Motor Car
Trivia
“Dedicated on June 23, 1935, at a cost of $2.25 million, the newly named Generals Highway cemented a partnership between Sequoia National Park and General Grant National Park. On the day of the ceremony, 669 cars carried 2,488 people from both the Sequoia and General Grant entrances to create a convoy along the park-to-park highway and meet in the center. By 1940, General Grant National Park was incorporated into the newly-formed Kings Canyon National Park where the highway continued to multiply the visitation between the two parks. A major accomplishment with a beautiful scenic experience, the Generals Highway is a major feature of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.” To read more about the history of the Generals Highway, click here.
“The Needles forms the southeast corner of Canyonlands [National Park] and was named for the colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the area.” There is only one paved road in the Needles District of Canyonlands. From this road you can access short and long trails to such sights as Roadside Ruin, Pothole Point, and Cave Spring. As you drive the road and view the landscape, you can see far out of the park and into Bureau of Land Management land.
No trip to Acadia National Park is complete until you’ve driven the 3.5-mile Summit Road up to 1,530-foot-tall Cadillac Mountain for star or sunrise views. “Cadillac Summit Road is located off the Park Loop Road, and can be accessed at the beginning or end of the loop. It is a windy, paved 3.5 miles up to the summit. Be aware of road cyclists and visitors on and alongside the road. No RVs or trailers are allowed up Cadillac Summit Road.” To learn more about Cadillac Mountain, click here.
Quiz Answers
1b
Five out of 13 campgrounds in Glacier are located along the road: Apgar, Sprague Creek, Avalanche, Rising Sun, and St. Mary. For more information about camping in Glacier National Park, click here.
2d
Rising over 2,000 feet above the desert floor, as you drive the Chisos Basin Road, you may see deer or even a black bear among the pinyon pines and juniper trees, surrounded by rugged mountains such as Emory Peak, Casa Grande Peak, and Lost Mine Peak.
3c
Petrified Forest National Park “is the only park in the national park system containing a section of Historic Route 66. To read more about this route, click here.
4b
“During summer, roughly late May through early September, private vehicles may drive the first fifteen miles of this road, to a place called Savage River.” You can, however, take a tour (narrated trip) or transit (non-narrated trip) bus ride further into the park beyond that first fifteen miles. To learn more about the buses, click here.
5c
The 14 hiking trails accessed via Rim Rock Drive range from ½ to 14 miles round trip. To read more about Rim Rock Drive, click here.
6b False
“Opened in 1920, Old Fall River Road earned the distinction of being the first auto route in Rocky Mountain National Park offering access to the park's high country. In the minds of many park visitors, the relatively subtle old route remains foremost. Unlike Trail Ridge Road, which is well known for being the highest continuous paved road in the nation, the Old Fall River Road is a much more ‘motor nature trail.’" To read more about this road, click here.
7a
“Known today as NPS Rustic, the agency constructed buildings such as visitor centers, park staff housing, roads, and trails with local materials that melded the built environment with the surrounding natural environment.” To learn more about this marvelous highway and the tunnel through which a part of it runs, click here.
8b
You can access 30 overlooks around Crater Lake’s Rim Drive, “… designed between 1931 and 1938. Each overlook highlights a specific view of the lake, a significant geologic formation in the caldera, or an environmental feature such as a subalpine meadow. Some of these stops have exhibits with information about the view. Other viewpoints leave room for visitor curiosity and discovery.” To read more about Rim Drive, click here.
9d
“Foothills Parkway in Tennessee is the only remaining parkway yet to be completed.” Prior to December 2018, “two discontinuous segments totaling 22.5 miles were completed and open.” During December 2018, another 16-mile section of the parkway was completed and open to the public. To learn more about parkways, click here to read the 2010 Traveler article.
10c
“The first wheeled vehicle to reach the Old Faithful area was a stagecoach that got there in 1878, only six years after Yellowstone became the world’s first national park.”
References
In addition to information taken from the NPS.gov sites for each park, I also took information from the links below.
http://npshistory.com/publications/highways/mount_rainier/mount-rainier.pdf
Comments
I really enjoy these looks into the past of the NPS. Thanks for putting this together!