Outdoors in the Pacific Northwest
National Parks in USA

List with Go Northwest!

The Go Northwest! definition of the Pacific Northwest includes the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, with a small extension into Wyoming via Yellowstone National Park.

National Parks in the United States are administered by the National Parks Service (NPS), which is headquartered in Washington, DC. The NPS is one of four United States federal land management agencies. The other three are the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. The NPS is designated by law to "promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein".

Since 1872 the National Park System has grown to include more than 370 areas covering more than 84 million acres. All have been found to have natural, cultural, or recreational resources of national significance.

National Park System "units" come in many forms:

National Battlefields (1 in the Northwest: Big Hole National Battlefield located in Wisdom, MT)
National Cemeteries Located in these cities: Eagle Point NC in Eagle Point, Willamette NC in Portland and Roseburg NC in Roseburg OR; Tahoma NC in Kent WA; Yellowstone NC in Laurel MT.
National Historical Parks (4 in the Northwest: Nez Perce National Historic Park located in the four states of ID, MT, OR and WA, Klondike Gold Rush in Seattle, WA, Lewis and Clark National Historic Park stretching from Long Beach, WA to Cannon Beach, OR and San Juan Island National Historic Park located in Friday Harbor, WA)
National Historic Sites (5 in the Northwest: Minidoka in Jerome, ID and WA, Fort Union Trading Post in MT, Grant-Kohrs Ranch in Deer Lodge, MT, Fort Vancouver in Vancouver, WA and OR and Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, WA)
National Memorials (1 in the Northwest: Fort Clatsop in Lewis and Clark National Park)
National Monuments (5 in the Northwest: Craters of the Moon in Arco, Carey and Rupert ID, Hagerman Fossil Beds in ID, Little Bighorn Battlefield in Crow Agency, MT, John Day Fossil Beds in Kimberley, OR and Oregon Caves in Cave Junction, OR)
National Parks
The NPS describes these as "generally large natural places having a wide variety of attributes, at times including significant historic assets. Hunting, mining and consumptive activities are not authorized." (7 in the Northwest: Yellowstone NP in MT and WY, Glacier NP in MT, Mount Rainier in Ashford, Enumclaw, Packwood and Wilkeson, WA, North Cascades NP in Marblemount, WA and Olympic NP in Port Angeles, WA)
National Parkways
National Preserves (2 in the Northwest: Craters of the Moon in Arco, Carey and Rupert ID and Oregon Caves in Cave Junction, OR)
National Recreation Areas (3 in the Northwest: Bighorn Canyon in Fort Smith, MT and WY, Lake Chelan in Stehekin, WA and Lake Roosevelt stretching from the Canadian border to Coulee Dam along the Columbia River in WA)
National Reserves (2 in the Northwest: City of Rocks in Almo, ID and Ebey's Landing in Coupeville, WA)
National Rivers
National Seashores
National Historic Trails (California Trail in ID, OR, WY and other states, Lewis and Clark Trail in ID, MT, OR, WA and 7 other states, Oregon Trail in ID, OR, WY and 3 other states, Mormon Pioneer Trail in WY and 4 other states and Pony Express Trail in WY and 7 other states)
Affiliated Areas (2 in the Northwest)

NPS Web Sites

ParkNet
This is the "home page" for NPS. To find pages on a particular National Park at this web site, click "Find a park" and then, scroll down and use the advanced search to find parks by name, location, activity or topic or scroll down to the map and click on a state. (Go Northwest! also has direct links to the individual Parks.)

National Park Reservation Service
Official NPS web site for making online campground and tour reservations.

Park Geology Tour of National Parks
Great tours with descriptions, photos and maps. Find interesting facts about volcanoes, geology, glaciers, fossils, hot springs, rocks, plate tectonics, sand dunes and more.

More Web Sites

National Park Foundation
The official nonprofit partner of the NPS, and whose activities include fundraising and land acquisition. To find pages on a particular National Park at this web site, click "Guide to National Parks". (Go Northwest! also has direct links to the individual Parks.)

National Park Photos
The National Park Service Digital Image Archive is an online resource designed to provide quality, downloadable digital images for print, web, and multimedia use.

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Fodor's National Parks West Guide Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West, 4th Edition by Fodor's. This guide provides information on 36 national parks in the northwest including an overview of each park, illustrated features, trip planning tools, outdoor recreational activities, recommendations and advice. Order now...

Fodor's Pacific NW 21 Fodor's Pacific Northwest: with Oregon, Washington and Vancouver, 21st Edition. Written by local experts, this guide has the latest information with expansive insights, illustrations, recommendations, advice and trip planning tools, such as easy to read maps, to plan your exciting adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Order now...

Trees of Western North America Trees of Western North America (Princeton Field Guide) by Richard Spellenberg, Christopher J. Earle, Gil Nelson and Amy K. Hughes. This easy to use field guide covers 630 species of trees and features detailed descriptions, illustrations, range maps, taxomony and names of each tree. Order now...

American Museum of Natural History Birds American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America Western Region by DK Publishing. This guide is ideal for every age of bird lovers and features information on behavior, nesting and habitat for the wide range of birds commonly seen west across the Great Plains and West Coast. Order now...

Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates by David Moskowitz. This book includes illustrated descriptions for more than 180 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, northern California, Idaho, and western Montana plus maps. Order now...

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Outdoors in the Pacific Northwest National Parks in USA

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Outdoors in the Pacific Northwest
National Parks in USA