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About This Quiz
Calling all national park enthusiasts! It's time to load up the RV and hit the road. We're taking you across the country to test your national park skills. Think you can match the state to the park? Let's get going and find out!
From Grand Teton to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite to the Petrified Forest, the United States is home to 61 national parks. Each designated by a sitting president, they are protected, preserved and visited by millions of people each year. Hikers and nature lovers travel near and far to check out all that our nation's parks have to offer. But they don't always have to go too far.
Did you know that 29 states, as well as two U.S. territories, have their own national parks? Whether you're into giant sequoias, burly grizzly bears or coral calcification, each national park has something to offer and excite everyone. So now we want to know, do you have the smarts and the love of mother earth to ace this quiz?
It's time to put your skills to the test. If you can correctly match the national park with its state, we'd say you're the Yellowstone of them all!
Isle Royale
Cuyahoga Valley
Grand Canyon
Alongside the Aurora Borealis, Mount Everest and the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Its geology dates back five million years while its Native American inhabitants are said to have lived there for thousands of years.
Mount Rainier
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Utah
Colorado
The Rocky Mountain National Park is the third most visited park in the United States. Tired of hiking? Just hop in the car and drive two hours across the park's 50-mile width. If you stop to take pictures though, it could take you nearly all day.
Virginia
Indiana
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Shenandoah
Bryce Canyon
Gateway Arch
Zion
Did you know that Zion National Park is home to 289 species of birds, 75 mammals and 32 kinds of reptiles? Located in the southwestern corner of Utah, the park sees more than four million visitors each year.
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California, Texas, Colorado
Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana
Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho
Yellowstone National Park is not only known for its hot springs and geysers, visitors head to the park to catch glimpse of the wildlife as well. Yellowstone is home to 60 different mammal species including grizzly bears, black bears, bison, elk and gray wolves.
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California and New Mexico
Michigan and Wisconsin
Tennessee and North Carolina
The Great Smoky Mountains are the most popular national park destination in the country. The park sees more than 11 million visitors each year, including hikers trekking the Appalachian Trail. In total, 70 miles along the Appalachian journey through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Maine and Vermont
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California
Yosemite National Park is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of Central California. Experts say that the best time to visit the park is in the fall, as crowds dissipate and the daytime temperatures are bearable for hiking and climbing.
South Dakota
Missouri
Arkansas
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Grand Teton
Acadia
Cadillac Mountain is located within Acadia National Park. It has an elevation of 1,530 feet and given its eastern-most location in North America, it is the first place to see the sunrise each morning in the United States.
Capitol Reef
Haleakalā
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Wyoming
In Teton County, along the Teton Mountain Range, lies Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming. While it wasn't established as a national park until 1929, Paleo-Indians are said to have migrated here nearly 11,000 years ago in search of food and shelter.
Washington
Michigan
Massachusetts
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Olympic
Olympic National Park is located near Port Angeles, Washington. Established as an official national park in 1938, Olympic is home to the famous Hoh Rainforest which receives about 150 inches of rain each year.
Indiana Dunes
Theodore Roosevelt
Denali
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North Dakota
South Dakota
North Carolina
Montana
Glacier National Park runs along northwestern Montana just south of the Canadian border. The park stretches over one million acres of land and its visitors can expect to see many large mammals throughout their park treks, including grizzly bears, moose and its staple mountain goats.
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Denali
Joshua Tree
Yucca brevifolia is the scientific name for Joshua trees. These trees are native to the Mojave Desert and can be found in stands throughout the park. Many of the park's annual visitors indulge in rock climbing along the rock ridges and sizable granite boulders.
Mammoth Cave
Saguaro
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Texas
New Mexico
Utah
What are hoodoos you ask? They are distinct rock formations found around the world, but most largely and most distinctively at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. The hoodoos at Bryce Canyon are so vast, that they formed a natural amphitheater near its Paunsaugunt Plateau.
Iowa
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Cuyahoga Valley
Located between two urban areas of Ohio, Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of the most popular national parks in the United States. A point of interest to visitors is the Ohio and Erie Canal, which was built in the 1820s and connects Akron with the Cuyahoga River.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Voyageurs
Great Sand Dunes
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Montana
Idaho
Arizona
Missouri
Did you know that Gateway Arch National Park was formerly known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial? It gained its new name in 2018 when it was designated as an official national park. The Gateway Arch, its main attraction, is the world's tallest man-made arch.
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Washington
Maine
Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Park runs 25 miles along the shores of Lake Michigan. Known for its singing sands, the park covers 15,000 acres and has something for everyone: hiking, swimming, fishing, bird watching and even camping.
New Mexico
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California, Nevada
Death Valley National Park is best known for its extreme weather conditions. It records both the driest climate and hottest temperature in North America each year. Death Valley typically has less than two inches of rainfall annually with temperatures well above 125 degrees.
Florida, Georgia
Massachusetts, Maine
Ohio, New York
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Isle Royale
Kobuk Valley
Arches
Arches National Park is located near Moab, Utah. Did you know that the Delicate Arch stands 52-feet tall and is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the park? The arch is so famous, it is even depicted on the state's license plates.
Pinnacles
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Mount Rainier
The Wonderland Trail runs 93-miles around the base of Mount Rainer. While many hikers enjoy staying low, more than 10,000 hikers attempt to summit the 14,411-foot mountain each year. Only about half are successful in this feat.
Great Sand Dunes
Channel Islands
Katmai
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Oregon
Arkansas
Hot Springs National park was established in 1832 though officially designated as a national park in 1921. As with other hot springs throughout the world, its waters are said to have medicinal properties. Therefore, many of the 1.5 million visitors each year take the plunge.
Texas
Idaho
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Gates of the Arctic
Kenai Fjords
Shenandoah
Shenandoah National Park is home to the scenic Skyline Drive, one of the more favored ways to travel around the park. Stretching 105 miles long, Skyline Drive offers access to campgrounds and resorts and is a popular destination for leaf peeping in the fall.
Crater Lake
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Carlsbad Caverns
Grand Canyon
Rocky Mountain
Sequoia
Giant Forest is known for its giant sequoia trees spread across 1,880 acres of Sequoia National Park. Situated in the center of the park is the famed Moro Rock, a granite dome rock formation offering a nearly 360 degree view of the surrounding park area.
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Maryland
Kentucky
Utah
No, it's not located in our nation's capital. Instead, Capitol Reef National Park is found in the state of Utah. It gets its name, however, from its natural features including cliffs, canyons and sandstone domes that look like the U.S. Capitol building.
Tennessee
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Haleakalā
Haleakalā is a volcano on Maui whose name translates to "house of the sun" in the traditional Hawaiian language. More than one million visitors head to the summit of the volcano each year, particularly in the early morning hours to watch the large orange sun rise from below.
Theodore Roosevelt
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Voyageurs
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Michigan
Minnesota
Massachusetts
South Dakota
Want to know where the Badlands gets its name? The Native American tribe known as the Lakota originally named it for its "bad land" - or exposed rugged terrain. Receiving little to no rain fall each year, the park contains more than 200,000 acres of sharp and eroded buttes, or small hills.
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Congaree
Saguaro
Located in Tucson, Arizona, Saguaro National Park boast the largest cacti in the United States. The cacti are a source of shelter and food for many animals living in the park. This national park is so consumed with cacti, it is even named for a cactus species, Saguaro.
Lake Clark
Acadia
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Georgia
North Dakota
Located in Medora, North Dakota, the Maltese Cross Ranch Cabin sits at the entrance of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Did you know that this park is the only national park named after a single person?
Texas
New Hampshire
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Iowa
Utah
Canyonlands National Park was signed into law by President Johnson in 1964. Divided into four districts, the park includes the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the Green and Colorado rivers. Increasing in popularity each year, the park now welcomes roughly 800,000 visitors annually.
Kansas
Oklahoma
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Delaware
Maryland
Oregon
Crater Lake National Park was established on May 22, 1902. It is the fifth-oldest national park and its famed lake runs 1,949 feet deep. Roughly 13 feet of snow fall at the top of Crater Lake each year, while the lower altitudes have an average temperature of 48 degrees.
South Carolina
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Kings Canyon
Kings Canyon National Park is home to the world's second-largest measured tree, the General Grant Tree. The tree was named in 1867 after U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and is believed to be roughly 1,650 years old.
Guadalupe Mountains
Mesa Verde
Big Bend
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American Samoa
Wind Cave
Not only is Wind Cave one of the world's longest caves, it is also considered the most dense cave in the world. Its calcite formations are found throughout its three levels, the lowest of which has boxwork mixed with frostwork and cave popcorn.
Isle Royale
Kobuk Valley
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Nevada
New York
Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park covers more than 145,000 acres of the Navajo and Apache counties of northeastern Arizona. The forest is known for its Chinle Formation, as well as widespread fossils that are said to be 250 million years old.
Vermont
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Minnesota
Alaska
Some call it global warming while others call it not! Did you know that Glacier Bay was covered in ice when it was first discovered? Today the ice has receded more than 65 miles. Nearly 600,000 glacier enthusiasts head to this national park each year, will it cease to exist one day?
Florida
Arizona
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Gates of the Arctic
Mammoth Cave
Everglades
Everglades National Park is located in Southern Florida. It covers more than 1.5 million acres of land and water making it the third-largest national park in the United States. This park serves to protect various species including the American crocodile and West Indian manatee.
Sequoia
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New Hampshire
Alaska
Did you know that the Native Alaskan people, known as the Koyukon, had referred to Denali as such for centuries? In 1896, however, it was named Mount McKinley in support of presidential candidate William McKinley. The U.S. Department of the Interior changed its name back to Denali in 2015.
Texas
Hawaii
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Big Bend
Mesa Verde
Best known for its Cliff Palace built by the Ancestral Puebloans, Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 as it is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States.
Dry Tortugas
Kobuk Valley
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Kings Canyon
Badlands
Mammoth Cave
Located in central Kentucky near Brownsville, Mammoth Cave National Park was established in 1941 and contains more than 400 miles of underground passageways. Despite cultural suggestions, its name has nothing to do with the existence of the woolly mammoth, the word simply refers to its size.
Mesa Verde
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Massachusetts
New Hampshire
California
Did you know that the Redwood National and State Parks were designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1980? Not only does the park have nearly 39,000 acres of redwood trees, it also boasts 37 miles of protected coastline along the Pacific Ocean.
Rhode Island
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Florida
Established in 1980, Biscayne National Park aims to protect the shoreline mangrove swamp, Biscayne Bay, the coral limestone keys and the Florida Reef. Spanning more than 170,000 acres of mostly water, the park was devastated by the effects of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Kentucky
Minnesota
Texas
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Kenai Fjords
Great Basin
Guadalupe Mountains
Carlsbad Caverns
Aren't a fan of bats? Well stay clear of the Carlsbad Caverns! This national park is home to more than 400,000 Mexican bats, many of which live in "The Big Room", the Caverns' longest cave stretching 120 miles long.
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South Carolina
Alaska
Colorado
Located between Alamose and Sanguache Counties in Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park sees nearly 450,000 visitors each year. While some visitors hike the dunes, others enjoy sandboarding or sledding down all 750 feet of them.
Michigan
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