What’s With All These Different Park Units, Anyway?

You readers have been reminded in numerous Traveler articles that there are currently 423 units within the National Park System. Yet most of the nearly 300 million visitors to the National Park System in 2021  visited just 25 of those 400+ units. While I get that the top 25 units are Big Ticket or Bucket List items for many, if not most of you, there are other park units out there – different but just as interesting with far less crowds. Oh, they may not be your primary trip destination, but they are still a destination along your way and worthy of your time.

Have you ever wondered what constitutes a unit and what each unit represents? Do you know what constitutes the difference between a national park versus a national monument versus a national recreation area? What’s the difference between a national historic something-or-other versus a national historical something-or-other? Heck, I contribute to the Traveler and even I need a primer at times when it comes to units within the National Park System. So, I thought I’d write a condensed version summing up what you can find here and here and here and here. Oh, and FYI, units are often referred to as parks. Even if they have different names (national monument, national seashore, national historical site), they are all parks.

National Parks (63 Units)

Considered the “crown jewels” of the National Park System, national parks are “generally large, diverse areas with outstanding natural features and ecological resources.” They are the most “strictly protected” and Congress has “historically” been loathe to allow “consumptive activities” such as mining or hunting in national parks. Based upon my own visits to national parks, I’ve noticed, as a rule, that these particular units possess the best infrastructure, from park buildings to lodging within and outside of the parks, well-maintained trails, and in-park campgrounds. National parks also have more information on their NPS websites, with all sorts of cool bells and whistles for the really large parks (I’m thinking of Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Great Smoky Mountains national parks, for example). Of course, this is because national parks receive the lion’s share of federal monies, and have more and/or larger Friends groups who help raise funds for various national park needs.

National Monuments (84 Units)

National monuments tend to be smaller and less diverse than their Big Sibling, often protecting a “single significant resource … rather than a variety of natural and historical attractions.” Many national monuments have ultimately been redesignated as national parks. Not all national monuments have campsites within their boundaries, much less brick-and-mortar lodging. For instance, you cannot camp in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, but there are nearby BLM and USFS lands on which you may pitch your tent. Not all of these national monuments have any real infrastructure to speak of, and often, there are no nearby services (make sure your car is gassed up and you have packed water and food). National monument websites also tend to be a little more bare bones and you may need to drill down a bit to reach the desired information.

National Preserves (19 Units)

National preserves can be as large and diverse as national parks, but they “explicitly allow certain activities not generally permitted in national parks [like hunting and oil and gas exploration].” Half of the national preserves are located in Alaska (Noatak National Preserve, for example).

National Reserves (2 Units)

National reserves are like national preserves, but they are managed “in partnership with state, local, or private entities” (ex. City of Rocks National Reserve)

National Recreation Areas (18 Units)

National recreation areas were originally designated around regions with water, such as Lake Mead National Recreation Area, so water-based recreation like boating and fishing are authorized in these places. Now, other outdoor areas too – particularly those near urban centers – are also included as NRAs, and hunting is often authorized within these particular units.

National Lakeshores (3 Units) and National Seashores (10 Units)

Guess what features these units center around. Yes, lakefront and coastal areas, like Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Padre Island National Seashore. “Recreation is the primary focus of these units.” You’ll find such infrastructure as roads, parking areas, and other facilities designed to enable recreational pursuits. Some of these particular units also allow hunting.

National Rivers (4 Units) and Wild and Scenic Rivers and Riverways (10 Units)

These units, like Buffalo National River and Niobrara National Scenic River, were designated to protect and preserve rivers and the landscapes around those rivers “in their natural state, unaltered by dams or channels.” Canoeing, hiking, and other outdoor activities (hunting in some) are on offer here.

National Scenic Trails (3 Units)

The national scenic trails, “managed as full park units” and winding through multiple states, are administered for recreational pursuits, mainly hiking. Appalachian National Scenic Trail is an example of this type of unit, running through 14 states.

National Parkways (4 Units)

Vroom vroom! These units encompass roads and surrounding landscape as well as cultural sites. Designed for recreational driving, some of them, like George Washington Memorial Parkway, for example, are also “heavy commuter routes.”

Ok, before we go any further, let’s work on the difference between the terms “historic” and “historical.” According to merriam-webster.com, “historical is used as the general term for describing history … while historic is now usually reserved for important and famous moments in history.” So, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park encompasses the history, life, and living conditions of Lewis, Clark, and their Corps of Discovery during their sojourn and activities in this area, while Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail focuses upon the details of a particular time and event in history: their trek through 16 states to reach the Pacific Ocean while searching for the fabled “Northwest Passage.”

National Historic Sites (73 Units) and International Historic Sites (1)

Historic sites, like Fort Larned National Historic Site (about which the Traveler has written a number of articles, including this one) designate places significant to U.S. History. These tend to be smaller than national parks or national preserves – some only have a single building and cover an area less than one acre.

National Historical Parks (62)

National historical parks are “notable for their connection of events or people of historical interest. They usually have more than a single building or even a single property, are urban tracts or “historically interesting buildings,” and might contain “natural attractions in addition to historical resources.” So, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, mentioned earlier, is a park connected to the history of the arrival of the Corps of Discovery at the Pacific Ocean and the people themselves, such as Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

National Battlefields (11 Units), National Battlefield Sites (1 Unit), National Battlefield Parks (4 Units), National Military Parks (9 Units)

These units (ex. Big Hole National Battlefield) “designate locations of significant military actions.” This includes landscapes upon which battles occurred as well as military and civil structures. Of these units, the largest are most often national battlefield parks and national military parks.

National Memorials (31 Units)

National memorials commemorate people or events (think Lincoln Memorial or the World War II Memorial) but they don’t need to be located at historically significant sites to commemorate said people or events.

Other Designations (11 Units)

There are a number of areas in the Washington, D.C. region, administered by the National Park Service but which don’t fit neatly into any of the previously listed units. This includes such places as the White House, Catoctin Mountain Park, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

If you take out your calculator and add up these numbers, they come to 423 units within the National Park System that are administered by the National Park Service. Not included, however, are what the NPS calls “related areas,” including but not limited to, national historic trails (such as the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail), commemorative sites, and national heritage areas.

“Related areas are linked in importance and purpose to places managed directly by the National Park Service by preserving important segments of the nation's natural and cultural heritage. They are designated by acts of Congress or by the Secretary of the Interior (affiliated areas). The majority of related areas are not units of the National Park Service and are managed by other government agencies or non-government organizations and landowners. The National Park Service is involved in related areas by directly managing the entire or sections of a related area, or by providing technical or financial assistance.”

Interestingly enough, I cannot find any mention of National Natural Landmarks as even a related area in any of the links at the top of this article, even though the “National Park Service has designated over 600 sites” as such “in recognition of their outstanding biological or geological features.” As a matter of fact, one of my future photo columns deals with my exploration of a national natural landmark (Drumheller Channels) in eastern Washington state, located along the route of a national geologic trail (Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, which also isn’t mentioned as even a related area in any of the links at the top of this article).

Ok, this article is just a “CliffsNotes” version, really. It’s one thing to read about all this, but another thing to actually visit some of these units. I’ve read that people have more buy-in to a place once they’ve actually visited. Sure, go visit the national parks if they are on your list, but why not add a different park unit to your itinerary, along the way. You might learn something new, definitely see new vistas, and experience it all with fewer crowds! That’s pretty sweet buy-in, if you ask me.