This blog will briefly describe the parks that I have visited that are managed by the National Park Service. It will eventually include all the National Parks, Monuments and Historic Sites plus a few others. I started the visits about a year ago so I have a few post to catch up on.
We visited Arkansas Post NM located in Gillett, Arkansas in October 2026. There is a large Visitor Center with a movie and a large museum with many displays of the history of the Post. There is a walk to the town site but there are only signs describing what was there, there are no buildings still existing. There is a nature trail which we didn’t do as my foot was very painful. It is better now as I wtite this. The Post was first established in the late 1600’s by the French. The Post location has changed location several times for various reaasons. In the late 1700’s France ceded the land to the Spanish and then it went back to the French who sold it to the US in 1803. It then became a center for hunting and trapping and eventually cotton production. During the Civil War the Post was attacked by Union forces essentially destroying the town from which it never recovered.
We visited President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home NHS located in Hope, Arkansas in October 2026. The home is where Clinton lived for the first four years of his life. He lived with his grandparents while his mother was going to school to be a nurse. His father was killed in a car accident before Clinton was born. There is a very small Visitor Center with a movie and small museum. Ranger guided tours of the house are available and are the only way to see the interior of the home.
We visited Hot Springs NP located in Arkansas in September 2026. It’s not your typical national park as the main attraction is the bath houses located in the downtown of the city. There are scenic drives with views and hiking trails accessible from the scenic drives. There is also an observation tower that gives a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. We didn’t do any hiking as one of my feet was very painful.
There is a large Visitor Center which is mostly museum. The top 2 floors are self guided tours as is the first floor but there is a ranger guided tour of the first floor which gives you more detail of what you are seeing. We also paid for a soaking at one of the baths which was interesting and hot. There is a city parking garage and if you park on one of the top 2 floors it is free. It isn’t advertised until you go to the elevator.
We visited Chickasaw NRA located in Oklahoma in September 2026. The Travertine Nature Center was closed on the day we were there but the Park Administration offices share a building with the Chickasaw Nation Visitor Center where you can get information. We hiked to Antelope Springs and Buffalo Springs along a pretty flat and shady trail. We also hiked around part of the West Bison Pasture where we did see Bison. There was a large area of the park we didn’t visit as it was mostly oriented to boats. Apparently the parking areas fill up on weekends and holidays but we were there mid week.
We visited Alibates Flint Quarries NM located in Texas in September 2026. There is a Visitor Center with a movie and a small museum area. There is a short hike at the Visitor Center but in order to see the quarries you must take the ranger guided tour which is well worth it. If you don’t take the tour you don’t actually enter the monument as the Visitor Center is located in the Lake Meredith NRA. The tour is about a 1 mile hike with some elevation gain and steps. You will see many artifacts scattered on the ground and evidence of the quarry pits which the natives dug in. On a hot sunny day it would be a difficult hike as there isn’t any shade.
We visited Lake Meredith NRA located in Texas in September 2026. There is a small Visitor Center located in Fritch, Texas. It consists of a desk with a helpful ranger. If you have boat you could do more than we did. We visited a couple of areas and did some hikes. We hiked in the Fritch Fortress and McBride Canyon areas.
We visited Washita Battlefield NHS located in Oklahoma in September 2026. The site commorates the destruction of a Cheyenne camp and the killing of many tribe members, mostly women and children also 650 of their ponies. This was similar to the Sand Creek Massacre which ocurred not too far away in Colorado. Neither one was the US Cavalry’s finest moment.
There is a nice Visitor Center with plenty of parking a movie and museum. We stayed in nearby Cheyenne which doesn’t have a lot to offer for either lodging or restaurants but what they have is OK. There are several trails to hike a short drive from the Visitor Center.
We visited Fort Smith NHS located in Arkansas in September 2026. The purpose of the first fort was to keep the peace between the Osage and Cherokee Indian tribes, eventually it was abandoned but then rebuilt. It was primarily a supply depot during the Mexican-American War and later the California Goldrush. During the Civil War it was a supply depot for both sides. Finally it was the Federal Courthouse and Jail for the Western District of Arkansas.
There is a large Visitor Center with a movie with good museum sections of both the jail and the courthouse. On the grounds there is a gallows which was used extensively and a commisary that can be toured. There are also trails along the river but they were under construction so we couldn’t use them.
We visited Little Rock Central NHS in September 2026. The site has good a Visitor Center with plenty of parking, a good film and an excellent Ranger Guided tour. You are not allowed into the school because it is still being used.
The site provides information about the desegregation of schools in Little Rock in 1957 and describes the ordeals that the first four Black students endured. Ranger Jazmyn was our tour guide and did an excellent job. There is a small commemorative garden across the street from the Visitor Center.
We visited Pinnacles NP located in California in July 2025. It was too hot to do anything with warning signs not to hike between 10AM and 5PM. We did a quick drive around and left. We’ll go again when it’s cooler maybe when we visit Yosemite again when there is more water in the falls.
