So what is a national park, really? You probably think you know. Most people do. But the answer is more specific, and more interesting, than almost anyone assumes.
Here is the short version: there are only 63 actual national parks in the United States, every one of them created by an act of Congress, all of them bound by a single 1916 law and the impossible balancing act written into it. Everything else, and there is a lot of everything else, is something different. Let us clear it up.
National Parks vs. The National Park Service
National parks are administered by the National Park Service, a federal agency inside the Department of the Interior. But the Park Service runs far more than the parks themselves.
Alongside parks like Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountains, the agency also manages places such as Gettysburg National Military Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In all, the Park Service oversees 433 sites, of which only 63 are national parks.
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The 1916 Law That Defines Them All
To understand what a national park is, you have to start with the law that created the agency that runs it. On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, bringing the scattered parks and monuments of the day under one agency for the first time.
The Organic Act spelled out the mission in a single, famous sentence. The Park Service exists:
to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.
National Park Service Organic Act, 1916
Read it twice and you will spot the tension at the center of every national park. Conserve the place unimpaired, and provide for the enjoyment of the public. Protect it, and open it. This is the dual mandate, and it is the defining puzzle of the national parks. How do you let millions of people experience a place without loving it to death? Every decision the Park Service makes, from where to build a road to how many cars to let into a valley, is an attempt to hold those two duties in balance.
The National Park System
Together, all 433 of these sites (called “units” in federal parlance) make up what is known as the national park system.
Within the system there are more than a dozen kinds of designation: national monuments, national historical parks, national battlefields, national historic sites, national seashores, national recreation areas, and national parks, among others. Each designation carries a different meaning, a different path to creation, and a different level of protection.
For the complete roster, see our List of National Parks by State, with a free printable map and checklist.
Read The Name Carefully
The name of a site tells you its designation. Devils Tower National Monument is not a national park, it is a national monument. Fort Laramie National Historic Site is not a national park, it is a national historic site. These are not trivial labels. They reflect how the place was established and how it is managed today.
There Are Only 63 National Parks
To be clear, there are only 63 national parks. A national park can be created only by an act of Congress. That is the single biggest thing that sets the designation apart. Many other units in the system can be established by executive action, such as a presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act, or even by an order from the Secretary of the Interior. A national park requires a vote on the floor of Congress and a presidential signature.
The most recent addition was New River Gorge in West Virginia, redesignated a national park and preserve in December 2020.
No, A National Historical Park Is Not A National Park
The word “park” inside a name can mislead you. National historical parks are not national parks, even though the phrase appears in their title. The same goes for national preserves, national monuments, national seashores, national military parks, national rivers, and anything else not named simply “[Name] National Park.” These are remarkable places. They are just not national parks.
What Are All These Other Designations?
Here is the full breakdown, drawn directly from the National Park Service.
National Monument
The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the President to declare by public proclamation landmarks, structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest situated on lands owned or controlled by the government to be national monuments.
Source: National Park Service
National Preserve
National preserves are areas having characteristics associated with national parks, but in which Congress has permitted continued public hunting, trapping, oil and gas exploration and extraction. Many existing national preserves, without sport hunting, would qualify for national park designation.
Source: National Park Service
National Historical Park
This designation generally applies to historic parks that extend beyond single properties or buildings.
Source: National Park Service
National Historic Site
Usually, a national historic site contains a single historical feature that was directly associated with its subject. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of historic sites were established by secretaries of the Interior, but most have been authorized by acts of Congress.
Source: National Park Service
National Seashore
Ten national seashores have been established on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts; some are developed and some relatively primitive. Hunting is allowed at many of these sites.
Source: National Park Service
National Battlefield
This general title includes national battlefield, national battlefield park, national battlefield site, and national military park. In 1958, an NPS committee recommended national battlefield as the single title for all such park lands.
Source: National Park Service
National Recreation Area
Twelve NRAs in the system are centered on large reservoirs and emphasize water-based recreation. Five other NRAs are located near major population centers. Such urban parks combine scarce open spaces with the preservation of significant historic resources and important natural areas in locations that can provide outdoor recreation for large numbers of people.
Source: National Park Service
National River
There are several variations to this category: national river and recreation area, national scenic river, wild river, and others. The first was authorized in 1964 and others were established following passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.
Source: National Park Service
National Trail
National scenic trails and national historic trails are the titles given to these linear parklands (over 3,600 miles) authorized under the National Trails System Act of 1968.
Source: National Park Service
National Lakeshore
National lakeshores, all on the Great Lakes, closely parallel the seashores in character and use.
Source: National Park Service
National Parkway
The title parkway refers to a roadway and the parkland paralleling the roadway. All were intended for scenic motoring along a protected corridor and often connect cultural sites.
Source: National Park Service
National Memorial
A national memorial is commemorative of a historic person or episode; it need not occupy a site historically connected with its subject.
Source: National Park Service
National Cemetery
There are presently 14 national cemeteries in the National Park System, all of which are administered in conjunction with an associated unit and are not accounted for separately.
Source: National Park Service
Every Unit Carries The Country’s Story
The national park system holds the natural and cultural heritage of the United States, from the battlefield where the country nearly broke apart to the granite walls of a valley that helped invent the very idea of preservation.
These places, from Gettysburg National Military Park to Yosemite National Park, all deserve protection that fits their place in the American story. So whether your favorite Park Service unit is a national park, a national monument, a national recreation area, or something else entirely, the point is that they all matter. There are simply only 63 that carry the congressionally designated title of national park.
One More Wrinkle: Other Agencies
Here is the caveat that trips up almost everyone. Some national monuments and national recreation areas are not managed by the National Park Service at all. They are run by the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management.
A few examples: Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Forest Service), Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (Forest Service), and Carrizo Plain National Monument (Bureau of Land Management).
Why does the managing agency matter? Because the rules and protections for public lands vary widely by both designation and agency. As a rule of thumb, the National Park Service offers the strongest protections, the Bureau of Land Management typically the lightest, and the Forest Service usually falls somewhere in between.
Related: National Forest vs. National Park (Here’s the Difference)
Further Reading
- All 63 National Parks, Ranked
- National Forest vs. National Park (Here’s the Difference)
- Map and List of National Parks by State (Printable Checklist)
- How Many National Parks Are There?
What’s Your Favorite Park Service Unit?
National park, national monument, national battlefield, or any other designation: tell us your favorite Park Service unit and what makes it matter to you. Leave a comment below.
