If Every U.S. State Had a National Park

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The United States has 63 national parks, but only 29 U.S. states have national parks. In this video, I am proposing one potential national park for each of the other U.S. states.

States in this video:

Alabama
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Missippi
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Wisconsin

[NationalParkWild]

Stay tuned for a Halloween video tomorrow!

[shawnflaugher]

A strong consideration for Illinois would be Shawnee National Forest and the Garden of the God's. Excellent hiking, great geological features, and great outdoor recreation.

[Sasori]

I live in NH and I’ve always thought that Mt. Washington and the White Mountains should be turned into a National Park

[danahaberman]

I am in total agreement when it come to Wisconsin. The whole Apostle Islands region is incredible. You have Madeline island, the impressive falls of Amnicon and Pattison state parks just west of the area, the Brule river system, and importantly Frog Bay Tribal National Park is nearby. (would love to see a vid on tribal nat parks).

I think Effigy Mounds is the logical choice for Iowa, but incorporating the whole region of the Driftless area would make the best sense. I highly recommend anyone to check out the region. The bluffs of the Mississippi and the cave systems are unique.

[idahojake]

Thanks for the love! How Idaho hasn't gotten its own NP is a true mystery. So many great options.

[zayrocs]

There are so many places in Illinois that were worthy of this video. I don't think any of them are worthy of NPS park status but IL, specifically southern IL is underrated. Giant City, Garden of the Gods, Rim Rock, PereMarquette, most places in the Shawnee National Forest. Mattheisson is definitely nice too though.

It would've been very interesting to get your opinion on MO and AR. I get they both have NPs but I'd love to hear what you think each of those states national parks should be instead of what they currently are.

[rickstetson]

Should have gone with the Pine Barrens for NJ. It has unique animals, plants, and bio diversity that isn't seen anywhere else in the US. The rivers that flow through it are beautiful and the color of the water looks like root beer.

[saurock]

Iowa and Nebraska can have a Cornfield National Park! 😂😂😂😂

[lilywhetsell]

I hope del water gap becomes a park!! I live pretty close and im actually hiking there (for the 1st time surprisingly) this weekend :) pretty sure the AT goes through it and ive always wanted to do a section in that area

[bjledbetter]

Liked the video! Would be interested to see a video with your take on the next new National Parks for every state that already has one.

[j-mass]

Boston Harbor Islands is a great choice for Massachusetts! I would also argue that the Berkshires are another contender, for a more mountainous experience (a genuinely beautiful region of the state). Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard are other strong contenders in my opinion, especially the Provincetown area. MA has a lot of underrated gems that could definitely hit national park status in my opinion, but your choice was excellent!

[hoosiertours]

Cool video and concept, I agree with a lot of your picks! For Illinois, I would lump together Starved Rock and Matthiessen, as they are basically right next to each other. Don't know if you've been there, but Starved Rock is both very historic and geologically interesting, very similar to Matthiessen with waterfalls. It's a very cool place! I also agree with others in the comments that Shawnee National Forest would be good too, haven't been there but I hear it is pretty great.

[muddypaper]

Never been to Craters of the Moon but really want to go, looks amazing. Love volcanoes.

[troutonland]

For those wanting time stamps
0:00 intro
0:39 Alabama
1:03 Connecticut
1:26 Delaware
2:01 Georgia
2:35 Idaho
3:13 Illinois
3:37 Iowa
4:02 Kansas
4:20 Louisiana
4:44 Maryland
5:13 Massachusetts
5:48 Mississippi
6:35 Nebraska
6:55 New Hampshire
7:28 New Jersey
7:48 New York
8:34 Oklahoma
9:14 Pennsylvania
9:48 Rhode Island
10:13 Vermont
10:34 Wisconsin
11:13 outro

[taoiseachjager]

The fact that crators of the moon, and at least one section of the sawtooth range (the area near redfish lake is my favourite) in idaho is astonishing.

[FollowThomas]

This is a cool idea to make this kind of video. Thanks 👍

[natepuffer]

I am shocked that you didn’t say the Sawtooth Mountain range for Idaho. Lived there for 4 years and honestly Craters of the Moon doesn’t deliver much in my opinion.

[thatzestyguy]

Great video idea and great video production! Personally, though, as a Georgian, I have traveled all around the state as well as the country. My vote for Georgia would not be Providence Canyon because its history goes against national park ideals. It was created by man made erosion through over development of peanut farms, though it is beautiful. I would choose Cloudland Canyon SP in northwest Georgia because it is a large canyon with waterfalls and rock formations!

[shawnflaugher]

Georgia has some very interesting areas and Providence Canyon, a man made erosion event would not be my pick for a geological pick. A couple North Georgia areas to consider would be Amicalola Falls, Cloudland Canyon, and Stone Mountain.

[jamesbaumann]

Thanks for this exploration.
I'd choose The NJ Pinelands over the Palisades. Yeah, it lacks a diverse elevation, but it's larger in area, with more undeveloped protected areas and the unique biological diversity and some history that the Palisades lacks. It already has hiking trails, camp grounds and some rivers for canoeing or kayaking.
Also half of the Delaware Water Gap is in New Jersey, thank you. Let's not give all the glory to Pennsylvania!