Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area
🏆 Pine Ridge Outpost — Rugged pine-covered bluffs overlooking the North Platte Valley — Nebraska’s “mini Black Hills” with pronghorn,
State Parks
Find state parks by state, activity, and visitor needs
Use this directory to browse America's State Parks profiles by destination, activity, facilities, and nearby trip ideas. The finder is built from our park profile database and is designed for planning decisions: compare parks, open detailed profiles, then use official park links for current fees, permits, closures, and reservations.
Current public scope: 4,080 park profiles across all 50 states, including 2,500+ state parks. See our editorial review methodology for how ASP researches, updates, and reviews park information.
Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area
🏆 Sand Pit Lakes — 20 sand pit lakes near Fremont — one of the most popular day-use recreation areas
Lake Minatare State Recreation Area
🏆 Lighthouse Lake — Western Nebraska reservoir with a unique inland lighthouse — one of only a handful of lighthouses
Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area
🏆 Darkest Skies — Remote Sandhills reservoir famous for the darkest night skies in Nebraska — internationally recognized for stargazing
Calamus Reservoir State Recreation Area
🏆 Sandhills Lake — 5,124-acre reservoir in the heart of Nebraska’s Sandhills — one of the best walleye fisheries in
Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area
🏆 Missouri River Explorer — 35,700-acre reservoir on the Missouri River — named for the legendary Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area
🏆 Big Mac — Nebraska’s largest reservoir at 30,000 acres — “Big Mac” draws 1 million+ visitors annually with 100
Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum
🏆 Wild West Museum — State museum in Douglas celebrating Wyoming’s pioneer heritage — housing Native American artifacts, military history,
War Memorial Stadium
🏆 Football Heritage — Historic stadium in Little Rock — home of Arkansas Razorback football and site of major sporting
Trail End
🏆 Cattle Baron Mansion — Magnificent 1913 Flemish Revival mansion built by cattle baron John B. Kendrick — Wyoming’s “Biltmore”
South Pass City
🏆 Gold Rush Ghost Town — Restored 1867 gold rush town at South Pass — where the Oregon Trail crossed
Saginaw River Headwaters Recreation Area
🏆 Saginaw Headwaters — Recreation area at the headwaters of the Saginaw River — Michigan’s largest river system, draining 6,000
Register Cliff
🏆 Trail Registry — 100-foot sandstone cliff where Oregon Trail emigrants carved their names — the “Register of the Desert”
Quebec-One Missile Alert Facility
🏆 Cold War Relic — Decommissioned Minuteman missile alert facility — one of the sites that held America’s nuclear arsenal
Piedmont Charcoal Kilns
🏆 Industrial Giants — Three massive charcoal kilns from the 1869 railroad era — 30-foot stone beehive structures that produced
Oregon Trail Ruts
🏆 Deepest Wagon Ruts — The most dramatic surviving Oregon Trail wagon ruts in America — up to 5 FEET
Oakland Mills Park
🌳 Henry County Conservation Park — county park on the Skunk River near Mount Pleasant with a nature center, four
Names Hill
🏆 Pioneer Guest Book — Cliff face where Oregon Trail emigrants carved their names — a “guest book of the
Granger Stage Station
🏆 Overland Trail Stop — Preserved Overland Stage station from the 1860s — a rare surviving waypoint on the route
Fort Reno
🏆 Powder River Fort — Military post on the Powder River (1865) — established during the Powder River Expedition against
Fort Fred Steele
🏆 Transcontinental Guardian — Military post built in 1868 to protect the transcontinental railroad — guarding the Union Pacific as
Fort Fetterman
🏆 Indian Wars Fort — Military post built in 1867 to protect the Bozeman Trail — key fort during Red
Fort Bonneville
🏆 Mountain Man Fort — Site of Captain Bonneville’s 1832 fur trade fort — where Washington Irving’s famous book brought
Cold Springs State Park
🏆 Prairie Springs — Small park protecting natural cold springs in the Iowa prairie — one of the few remaining
Whirl’s End State Park
🏆 Creek’s End — Small park at the end of a whirling creek — quiet fishing and forest hiking in
Varden Conservation Area
🏆 Pocono Wetlands — 965-acre conservation area in the Pocono Mountains — protecting headwater wetlands and glacial bog habitats Varden
Valley Forge State Park
Valley Forge State Park is a former Pennsylvania state park in Montgomery and Chester Counties. Since 1976 the site has been Valley Forge National Historical Park, run by the National Park Service, and it is not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system.
Tohickon Valley Park
Tohickon Valley Park is a Bucks County park along Tohickon Creek in Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania, run by the county. It is not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system.
Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center
🏆 Hosiery Baron’s Forest — 665-acre forest on a former hosiery magnate’s estate — one of the finest educational forests
Moosic Lake State Park
Moosic Lake is a private lake community in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, run by the Moosic Lakes Association. It is not a state park and is not open to the public.
Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area
🏆 Mountain Wilderness — 350-acre conservation area on Peter’s Mountain — protecting old-growth hemlock ravines and one of the finest
Jennings Environmental Education Center
🏆 Prairie in Pennsylvania! — 20-acre relict prairie — the ONLY native prairie ecosystem remaining in Pennsylvania, with blazing star
Independence Mall State Park
ℹ️ Status (verified August 2026): Independence Mall is no longer a Pennsylvania state park. The three-block mall north of Independence
Hemlock State Forest Park
Hemlock State Forest Park is a former Pennsylvania state forest park. Today the site is the Hemlocks Natural Area in Tuscarora State Forest, Perry County, managed by DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry, and it is not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system.
Hairy Johns Picnic Area (Formerly Hairy John’s State Forest Park)
📋 Not a state park — Pennsylvania’s DCNR lists this site as Hairy Johns Picnic Area, one of four designated
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Fort Necessity National Battlefield near Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, is run by the National Park Service and is not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system. Entrance is free.
Conrad Weiser Memorial Park
Conrad Weiser Memorial Park is a former Pennsylvania state park. Today the site is the Conrad Weiser Homestead in Womelsdorf, Berks County, a historic site of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), and it is not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system.
Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area
Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area is a 1,025-acre conservation area in Pennsylvania’s state park system, on Blue Mountain in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County, north of Harrisburg. DCNR manages it from nearby Memorial Lake State Park.
Blue Marsh Lake
Blue Marsh Lake near Reading in Berks County is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake project, not part of Pennsylvania’s state park system. The Corps runs its recreation areas.
Strawberry Island State Park
🏆 Niagara Island — Small island in the Niagara River between Grand Island and the mainland — part of the
State Park at the Fair
🏆 State Fair Park — State park at the New York State Fairgrounds — hosting the Great New York State
St. Lawrence State Park Golf Course
🏆 River Golf — 18-hole state park golf course along the St. Lawrence River — playing golf with views of
Saratoga Lake State Boat Launch
🏆 Turning Point Lake — Boat launch on Saratoga Lake — near the site of the Battle of Saratoga (1777),
Planting Fields Arboretum
🏆 Gold Coast Estate — 409-acre Gilded Age estate on Long Island’s Gold Coast — one of the finest arboretums
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park
🏆 Clinton’s Ditch — 36-mile trail along the ORIGINAL 1825 Erie Canal bed — walk in the actual towpath where
Oak Orchard State Marine Park
🏆 Lake Ontario Wildlife — Marine park at the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek on Lake Ontario — one of
Mohawk River Nature Preserve
🏆 Erie Canal Corridor — Park along the Mohawk River — the only water-level route through the Appalachian Mountains and
Canal Park Lock 32
🏆 Erie Canal Lock — Preserved canal lock on the Erie Canal — the engineering marvel that transformed New York
Jay Estate
🏆 Founding Father’s Home — 23-acre estate of John Jay — the FIRST Chief Justice of the United States Supreme
Hudson River Park
🏆 Manhattan’s Waterfront — 550-acre park stretching 5 miles along the Hudson River in Manhattan — one of the most