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About Riley
Hello! My name is Riley, and I’m the founder of The Parks Expert. Currently, I’ve visited 52/63 of the National Parks and 269/433 of all National Park Service sites. I think it’s safe to say that I kind of love national parks.
My passion for U.S. National Parks began at a young age. We took many family trips to national parks, including Mammoth Cave, Mount Rainier, and Acadia.
While these parks and the others we went to are all stunning, it was a visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2011 that truly inspired me. From there, a love affair for the outdoors and national parks began and is fostered every day.
About The Parks Expert
Now, I have the absolute pleasure of sharing that passion with you. Writing about national parks is what I enjoy the most (other than visiting them, of course).
My goal is to help you visit the national parks in the best way you can. I’ll provide itineraries, guides, tips, and more to help you have the greatest adventure.
What qualifies me? I’ve had the pleasure of living in local communities near Acadia, Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the national parks in South Florida, and national parks in South Dakota. In total, I’ve lived in nine states, and I love sharing my parks expertise with you!
Parks I’ve Been To (In Order)
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Gateway Arch National Park
- National Mall & Memorial Parks
- Washington Monument
- World War II National Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Redwood National & State Parks
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Canaveral National Seashore
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Natchez Trace Parkway
- Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Everglades National Park
- Big Cypress National Preserve
- San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
- New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve
- Denali National Park
- Denali National Preserve
- Kenai Fjords National Park
- Fort Matanzas National Monument
- Biscayne National Park
- Dry Tortugas National Park
- Congaree National Park
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- Shenandoah National Park
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- Independence National Historical Park
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
- Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
- Valley Forge National Historical Park
- Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
- First State National Historical Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Arches National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Zion National Park
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Death Valley National Park
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Sequoia National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Federal Hall National Memorial
- Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
- Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial
- George Washington Memorial Parkway
- Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial
- Cape Cod National Seashore
- Boston National Historical Park
- Boston African-American National Historic Site
- Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
- Minute Man National Historical Park
- New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
- Antietam National Battlefield
- Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Walnut Canyon National Monument
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
- Gates of the Arctic National Park
- Gates of the Arctic National Preserve
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- First Ladies National Historic Site
- Acadia National Park
- The White House
- Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
- Constitution Gardens
- National Capital Parks
- Fort Washington Park
- Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
- Greenbelt Park
- Clara Barton National Historic Site
- Piscataway Park
- Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac
- Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
- National World War I Memorial
- Monocacy National Battlefield
- Catoctin Mountain Park
- Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park
- Morristown National Historical Park
- Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
- Rock Creek Park
- Assateague Island National Seashore
- Hampton National Historic Site
- Manassas National Battlefield Park
- Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
- Prince William Forest Park
- Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
- Middle Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
- Steamtown National Historic Site
- Gettysburg National Military Park
- Eisenhower National Historic Site
- Flight 93 National Memorial
- River Raisin National Battlefield Park
- Indiana Dunes National Park
- Effigy Mounds National Monument
- Pipestone National Monument
- Badlands National Park
- Jewel Cave National Monument
- Devils Tower National Monument
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial
- Wind Cave National Park
- Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
- Scotts Bluff National Monument
- Fort Laramie National Historic Site
- Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
- Stonewall National Monument
- Castle Clinton National Monument
- Statue of Liberty National Monument
- African Burial Ground National Monument
- Grand Teton National Park
- John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway
- Yellowstone National Park
- Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
- Niobrara National Scenic River
- Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
- Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
- Fossil Butte National Monument
- Golden Spike National Historic Site
- City of Rocks National Reserve
- Minidoka National Historic Site
- Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- Craters of the Moon National Monument
- Craters of the Moon National Preserve
- Mississippi National River & Recreation Area
- Voyageurs National Park
- Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
- Ice Age National Scenic Trail
- Petroglyph National Monument
- El Morro National Monument
- El Malpais National Monument
- Pecos National Historical Park
- Valles Caldera National Preserve
- Manhattan Project National Historical Park
- Bandelier National Monument
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
- Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
- Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
- Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park
- Obed National Wild & Scenic River
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
- Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
- George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
- Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
- Ozark National Scenic Riverway
- Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield
- George Washington Carver National Monument
- Fort Scott National Historic Site
- Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
- Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
- Nicodemus National Historic Site
- Fort Larned National Historic Site
- Missouri National Recreational River
- Homestead National Monument of America
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
- Kaloko-Honokokau National Historical Park
- Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site
- Haleakala National Park
- Pearl Harbor National Memorial
- Honouliuli National Monument
- Fort Caroline National Memorial
- Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve
- Cumberland Island National Seashore
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Natural Bridges National Monument
- Navajo National Monument
- Wupatki National Monument
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- Montezuma Castle National Monument
- Tuzigoot National Monument
- Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
- Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
- Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park
- Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument
- Andersonville National Historic Site
- Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
- De Soto National Memorial
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- Channel Islands National Park
- César E. Chávez National Monument
- Manzanar National Historic Site
- Mojave National Preserve
- Castle Mountains National Monument
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Petersburg National Battlefield
- Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
- Roger Williams National Memorial
- Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
- Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
- Colonial National Historical Park
- Wright Brothers National Memorial
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- Moores Creek National Battlefield
- Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
- Fort Sumter & Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
- Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
- Fort Pulaski National Monument
- Fort Frederica National Monument
- Gulf Islands National Seashore
- Big Thicket National Preserve
- Amistad National Recreation Area
- Big Bend National Park
- Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River
- Fort Davis National Historic Site
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- White Sands National Park
- Chiricahua National Monument
- Saguaro National Park
- Muir Woods National Monument
- San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
- Fort Point National Historic Site
- Cedar Breaks National Monument
- Hovenweep National Monument
- Yucca House National Monument
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Curecanti National Recreation Area
- Colorado National Monument
- Dinosaur National Monument
- Great Basin National Park
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park
- Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
- John Muir National Historic Site
- Pinnacles National Park
- Tonto National Monument
- Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic Site
- Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
- Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
- Salem Maritime National Historic Site
- Lowell National Historical Park
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Glacier Bay National Park
- Glacier Bay National Preserve
- Katmai National Park
- Katmai National Preserve
- San Juan National Historic Site