In the United States, a National Monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government. There are however a handful of “monuments” that are thought of as official US parks, but are not. Four Corners and Monument Valley are two of the more prominently known of those.
In the past, many National Monuments have eventually changed designation and eventually became a National Park. This can only be done by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress.
The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway stretches 512 miles through Utah and Colorado, and is the best road trip for those with kids (or adults!) that love learning about dinosaurs. Paleontologists, who’ve been coming here for over 100 years, continue to…
This road trip centers around three cities, pivotal to the birth and beginnings of the United States as a country. And while this trip allows you to visit at least 4 different National Park Service sites, this is the first…
We’ve seen a lot of interest in road trip ideas starting in Denver, CO and eventually visiting Yellowstone. In this road trip itinerary, we take a meandering route west across Colorado, then north into Wyoming, all while visiting three National…
Yes, this road trip is a long one. However, 1,200 miles of driving will allow you to see three of the most iconic and recognizable national parks in the country. We first fly into Spokane, WA, then head to Glacier…
Route 66 is the iconic American road that stretches over 2,400 miles from Chicago west to Los Angeles. It touches parts of 8 states from the Midwest all the way to the Pacific Coast. Originally built in the 1920’s, this…
This road trip is a bit shorter than our Full Utah trip that included two more state parks on the eastern side of the state (Canyonlands & Arches). We also take a drive through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which…
While this trip only visits one National Park, it visits two of the most famous national landmarks located in Pennsylvania. Cuyahoga National Park is located in Ohio, with no real other national parks located for hundreds of miles. Because of…
In this trip, we are staying mostly within South Dakota, except for a small slice of travel into Wyoming. We visit South Dakota’s only two National Parks, as well as two of the most recognizable National Monuments anywhere. Itinerary Notes…
This trip takes you on a round trip that begins and ends in Phoenix, AZ. We explore two of Arizona’s least visited National Parks as well as a National Forest (Gila) and two National Monuments (Organ Pipe and Montezuma’s Castle)….
This is the FULL UTAH road trip. With this route, you will visit all five National Parks located within Utah. We spend the nights near three of them, and explore the other two (Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon) along the way….
This road trip originates in Washington, DC, and grants almost a full day of exploring the historic monuments that pepper that city. From there, the trip spends a day each at the Shenandoah and New Gorge River National Parks before…
This trip is a beautiful drive from the middle of Oregon down California’s Pacific coastline with stops at Crater Lake and Redwood National Parks. It all wraps up with a return-home flight out of San Francisco. This trip has a…