NPS

National Parks to Visit in January

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In case you want to visit all the National Parks in the contiguous US, this year I’m sharing my recommendations for 3-5 National Parks to visit each month. By the end of the year, you’ll have a full list of all 51 parks, evenly spread out over the different seasons with as few compromises as possible.

Since January is typically the coldest month, it makes sense to visit southern Florida, the only tropical climate in the continental US. That means Biscayne, the Dry Tortugas and the Everglades. These are beautiful parks for enjoying snorkeling, beaches and nature outdoors, so January is a great month for avoiding the hot, humid weather with afternoon thunderstorms that would bother you much of the rest of the year.

Hurricane season is lengthening, and now some tropical storms form in May before the official season of June through November. I visited the Dry Tortugas in May with an eye on the weather, and I was lucky. Some see sea turtles up close, but I was not lucky. Nesting beaches are often off-limits, and the water visibility wasn’t as clear for snorkeling as it would be in January. If you want to see the turtles, take the short, low altitude seaplane out to the Dry Tortugas, and you will see them swimming all year long.

Sometimes a winter storm will bring winds down to the keys with cold snaps in the 50s, but they don’t last. Many places that rent snorkel gear will have various wetsuits to keep you comfortable, if needed, but the water temperature usually stays above 70° F. Day highs are around 75° F, and most evenings are very mild.

Since the Everglades are dry in January, wildlife tends to concentrate around reliable water sources, making them easier to spot. Birding is best in January, as many migratory birds are in the park, and large charismatic birds like roseate spoonbills and wood storks are laying eggs. And there are few mosquitoes in January.

Weather makes a big difference in how much we enjoy our park visits, so—despite the high season costs—, I recommend visiting these three tropical parks in January, when most other parks are cold, closed and difficult to access. Plan ahead, be flexible on where to stay, and be efficient with your time to save money. But enjoy your time on a tropical beach or amongst the mangroves while others are home shoveling snow.

Resolutions

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In 2022, I posted my first park visit (now updated), and by year end had visited over 250 parks across the country by EV. ✓

In 2023, I completed all NPS units in the Mid-Atlantic, National Capital, Rocky Mountain, and Southwest regions. ✓

In 2024, I resolved to visit all 10 American Concentration Camps, go to world heritage sites in Canada and Mexico, and complete the Midwest and North Atlantic regions. ✓

In 2025, I resolved to complete all 51 national parks, 344 park units, and 113 related sites in the contiguous 48 states with 6 regional bests and 48 photo summaries, plus see more world heritage sites and biospheres in Canada and Mexico. ✓

For 2026, I resolve to complete all UNESCO sites in half of Canada’s provinces, make a third road trip to Mexico, find even more national monuments and recreation areas in the US, and drive to southeast Alaska. Logistical challenges and new site designations may thwart my plans, but I will do my best.

Weekly Monday posts will continue to be a new visit. Thursdays will still be sporadic summaries and viewpoints. The first Saturday of each month will be park recommendations. And mid-month on Saturdays I will highlight a climate issue. Hope you have a happy New Year!

Maine in Photos

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The Pine Tree State is home to Acadia National Park, Katahdin Woods & Waters, and Saint Croix Island, but Roosevelt Campobello is really in Canada. The multi-state Appalachian Trail starts or ends in Maine. Acadian Village is a park partner at the northern tip of Maine, and the Downeast Maine NHA includes several of the above sites along the coast.

This post wraps up the contiguous states. Next year Saturday posts will cover which parks to visit and some of the challenges facing us each month.

Favorites from All 508 Sites in 48 States

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Late this year, I visited my 395th park site, earning a rare park stamps award for all official NPS sites in the 48 contiguous states (see map). Plus I drove my EV to 29 NPS affiliates, 60 heritage areas, and 24 national trails (not on map). Read about my favorite sites below.

Screenshot of my NPS unit Visitation Map from the National Park Travelers Club website.

‘Best’ is subjective, as it depends so much on your individual taste and experience. If you are lucky enough to have great weather, a lucky wildlife sighting, or an inspiring ranger-led tour, that day will be one of your favorites. Click on the links to read my past favorites from 100, 200, and 300 park units visited, and here are favorites from 400 park sites, including affiliates, heritage areas and trails. I have no changes to my previous favorite park units, but I have a few additions.

Best Civil Rights Affiliate: Robert Russa Moton Museum.

Best Flightseeing Tour: Dry Tortugas.

Best Garden: International Peace Garden.

Best Handshake: Red Hill.

Best National Heritage Area: Muscle Shoals.

Best Paddling Tour: Channel Islands.

Best Partner Site: Acadian Village.

Best Revolutionary War Affiliate: Camden.

Most Demolished Since My Tour: White House.

Most Hauntingly Evocative Past: Cumberland Island.

Most Irrevocably Damaged by Climate Change: Biscayne.

All NPS National Recreation Areas

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There are 18 NRAs managed by the park service for biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, horse riding, swimming and other activities. (I should note that there are also 13 NRAs managed by the US Forest Service, and I plan to visit some of those too.)

Two are in the North Atlantic region: Boston Harbor Islands and Gateway, which is shared with the Mid-Atlantic region. Both are great for birdwatching and hiking along the shorelines.

The Mid-Atlantic has two more: Delaware Water Gap and Gauley River, plus the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. All are great for paddling, although Gauley is more challenging.

Three are in the Pacific Northwest: Lake Chelan, Lake Roosevelt and Ross Lake. All have great lakeside camping.

Three are in the Rocky Mountain region: Bighorn Canyon, Curecanti and Glen Canyon, which is shared with the Western region. Each has great views.

The Western region has four more: Golden Gate, Lake Mead, Santa Monica Mountains and Whiskeytown, each unique.

The Southeast has one: Chattahoochee River, which is great for hiking and maybe tubing near Atlanta. Plus they have the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, which is great for paddling.

And the Southwest region has Amistad, Chickasaw and Lake Meredith, which all take advantage of dams for boating.

Oh, and while the Midwest doesn’t have any NRAs, they do have the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and the Missouri National Recreational River, both with lovely hiking and paddling.

Best of the North Atlantic

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Best Park: Acadia. Wildlife, wilderness, views, varied hiking, boating, camping, forests, mountains, waters. Acadia National Park, above, is the only National Park in the region, the best North Atlantic park in many categories, plus proximity to fresh lobster rolls.

Best State: Massachusetts. Oh, sure, New York has more sites overall, more presidential sites, more historic sites, more Civil Rights sites, more recreation areas, plus 2 world heritage sites, but Massachusetts is still better. Just like the Red Sox are better than the Yankees.

The North Atlantic specializes in history, exemplified by these best-in-class parks.

Best Affiliate: Touro Synagogue.

Best Art: Saint Gaudens.

Best Bicycling: Cape Cod.

Best Forest: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller.

Best Heritage Area: Upper Housatonic.

Best Ranger: Women’s Rights.

Best Trail: Climb Mount Katahdin on the Appalachian Trail.

Best World Heritage Site: Statue of Liberty.

Hidden Gem: New Bedford Whaling.

Read more about all parks in the North Atlantic region.

Vermont in Photos

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I’m wrapping up my park photos for each of the 48 contiguous states this year, just three left in New England, full of childhood memories. Like Connecticut & New Hampshire, Vermont has only one national park unit, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, a long-protected wooded area. Only one park photo, but the state is well worth celebrating. The Green Mountain State also has parts of the Appalachian and North Country trails and the Champlain Valley heritage area.

Frances Perkins National Monument

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Mainers are tough. While other Americans talk incessantly, wear flashy clothes, and spend every day seeking attention, folks here say little, dress simple and get stuff done. It’s a pleasant sail from Boston to coastal Maine in the summer, downwind and northeasterly or ‘down east’ as the area became known. But the coast is rugged and dramatic, with rocky beaches, serious storms, cold winters and endless forests. Not the place for overly dramatic flights of fancy.

Perkins was tough too. Her family made bricks on their large piece of land overlooking the oyster farms on the Damariscotta River south of Newcastle—a “Slow Village” warns a road sign. An ancestor protested ‘taxation without representation’ and survived having his skull cracked by a ‘lobster back’ redcoat in return. Frances got an exceptional education, saw firsthand the social problems of her time, and buckled down to do the hard work of solving them.

She found social worker allies in alleys, witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, learned the tough politics of Tammany Hall, reinvented herself to join the powerful and got stuff done. She worked on worker safety, health and poverty with two Governors of New York, and was singularly qualified when FDR asked her to be his Secretary of Labor. Frances Perkins was the architect and driving force behind his New Deal, including minimum wage and social security.

Perkins had practical training, the courage of her convictions and a moral authority to improve the lives of those in need, especially during the Great Depression. She did not seek the spotlight, but she wielded more power than any other woman in US history. Have you benefited from having drinking water & clean restrooms at work, a sprinkler system & fire escape, unemployment insurance, or not having to work weekends? Then you should remember and thank Frances Perkins.

Her Brick House family home isn’t open yet, but there are photos & exhibits in the barn. And the walk through the woods and meadow to the river is lovely. With this new park unit I re-complete the North Atlantic region and finish all park units the contiguous 48 states, until the next one is designated.

All Southeast Sites *

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The southeast region has more park units (70) than any other region, and I have visited all the units—*except 6 in US Caribbean territories—including all the affiliates, heritage areas and trails in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Given the large number of states and parks involved, the summary below is organized by theme.

Natural Areas

All of the National Parks in the southeast preserve natural areas, including the reef area of the Florida Keys from Biscayne to the Dry Tortugas, the lowlands of Congaree and the Everglades, the Great Smoky Mountains, and even underground at Mammoth Cave. Other park units, Canaveral, Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, Cumberland Island and the Gulf Islands, protect barrier islands. Big Cypress, Big South Fork, Chattahoochee River, Little River Canyon and Obed River all protect diverse riparian areas.

Pre Civil War

Ocmulgee Mounds, Russell Cave and Timucuan stretch back before history, but Horseshoe Bend covers a tragic event in Native American history. Several sites cover early colonial history, including Castillo de San Marcos, De Soto, and Forts Caroline, Frederica, Matanzas and Raleigh. Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Kings Mountain, Moores Creek and Ninety-Six cover the Revolution. Blue Ridge, Cumberland Gap, Lincoln Birthplace, Natchez Historic–Parkway–Trace, and Pinckney, trace the path of history in the southeast, culminating in the war to abolish slavery.

Civil War and beyond

Andersonville, Brices Cross Roads, Camp Nelson, Chattanooga, Forts Donelson, Pulaski and Sumter, Kennesaw Mountain, Mill Springs, Shiloh, Stones River, Tupelo and Vicksburg are Civil War sites. Johnson, Reconstruction, and Tuskegee Institute cover post war struggles. Carter, Sandburg & Wright Brothers are historic highlights. Birmingham Civil Rights & Freedom Riders, Emmett Till, MLK, Medgar Evers, and Tuskegee Airmen reveal the continuing struggle for Civil Rights.

I learned more traveling in the southeast than any other region, as the area is so rich in history and culture. And the preserved natural areas include some of my favorite park experiences, from underwater and underground, to rivers and shores, and to wildlife experiences in mountain forests. And they can all be explored without traveling in a carbon-burning vehicle.