Places to see in the western US states
(Column 1 through Column 6 indicate columns of states from east to west)
Alaska (Column 6)
N – Gates of the Arctic NP, Kobuk Valley NP
NW – Cape Krusenstern Nat Mon
SE – Wrangell – St. Alias NP, Glacier Bay NP
S – Katmai NP, Kenai Fjords NP (Harding Icefield Trail)
SW – Lake Clark NP, Aniakchak Nat Mon and Reserve
S Central – Denali NP, Chugach SP
Arizona (Column 3)
NE – Canyon de Chelly Nat Mon, Four Corners Monument, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Nat Mon
N Central – Grand Canyon NP, Rainbow Bridge Nat Mon, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Vermillion Cliffs Nat Mon, Coyote Buttes
Central (Flagstaff / Sedona area) – Barringer meteor crater near Winslow, Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness, Tonto Natural Bridge SP, Sunset Crater Volcano Nat Mon, Walnut Canyon Nat Mon, Slide Rock SP, Montezuma Castle Nat Mon, Rim Drive
Central East – Little Colorado River Tribal Park, Petrified Forest NP
S Central (Tucson) – Saguaro NP, Casa Grande Ruins Nat Mon, Onyx Cave, Lost Dutchman SP, Picacho Peak SP, Sabino Canyon, Mt Lemmon Scenic Byway, Ironwood Forest Nat Mon
SE – Chiricahua Nat Mon, Kartchner Caverns SP
S – Organ Pipe Nat Mon
California (Column 4)
N – Lassen Volcanic NP, Lava Beds Nat Mon, Feather Falls
NE – Lake Tahoe
NW – Humboldt Redwoods SP, Redwood National and State Park
Central East – Devil’s Postpile Nat Mon (S of Yosemite), Yosemite NP, Kings Canyon NP, Death Valley NP, Manzanar National Historic Site, Sequoia NP, Wallace Creek near Mckittrick, CA (San Andreas fault), Long Valley Caldera, Crowley Lake Stone Columns, Owens River Gorge
Central West – Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP, Pinnacles NP, Channel Islands NP (not accessible by road)
S – Joshua Tree NP, Anzo-Borrego Desert SP
SW – Crystal Cove SP
Colorado (Column 2)
N Central – Rocky Mountain NP, Boulder Flatirons, Eldorado Canyon SP
NW – Dinosaur Nat Mon
Central W- Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Maroon Bells, Colorado Nat Mon, Rattlesnake Canyon (Arches), Hanging Lake, Cape Hale Continental Divide Nat Mon
Central – Golden Gate Canyon SP, Garden of the Gods, Dinosaur Ridge near Morrison
S Central – Great Sand Dunes NP and Preserve, Indian Springs Trace Fossil Natural Area on the Gold Belt Byway, Florrisant Fossil Beds
SW – Mesa Verde NP (allow minimum half day), Box Canyon Falls, Canyon of the Ancients Nat Mon, Royal Gorge
Hawaii
Hawaii – Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Maui – Haleakala NP, Iao Valley SP
Molokaii – Kalaupapa National Historic Park, where lepers were banished to in 1866
Kauai – Napali Coast SP
Idaho (Column 3)
N – Lake Coeur d’Alene, Heyburn SP (old trees), Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Area
E Central – Craters of the Moon Nat Mon and Reserve, Great Rift
S Central – City of Rocks National Reserve (near state line), Hagerman Fossil Beds Nat Mon, Minidoka Internment National Historic Site, Balanced Rock, Shoshone Falls (Twin Falls), Malad Gorge SP
W Central – Hells Gate SP, Hell’s Canyon Nat Rec Area (Idaho-Oregon Border), Nez Perce NHP,
SW – Bruneau Dunes SP
Kansas (Column 1)
Central – Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kanopolis State Park, Wilson SP
W Central – Monument Rocks, Lake Scott SP
S Central – Rock City
SE – Flint Hills
Montana (Column 2)
NW – Glacier NP, Kootenai Falls (30 feet but has a swinging bridge), Triple Divide Peak, Chief Mountain
E Central – Makoshika SP (Hoodoos and Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum)
W Central – Glacial Lake Missoula, Bison National Range, Lost Creek SP
Central – Gates of the Mountains (Helena), Giant Springs SP
Central – Missouri Headwaters SP, Madison Buffalo Jump SP
SE – Bighorn Canyon Nat Rec Area, Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat Mon
SW – World Museum of Mining (Butte), Lewis and Clark Caverns SP, Ringing Rocks of Montana
S Central – Paradise Valley, Pictograph SP, Devil’s Canyon Overlook, Madison Slide
Nebraska (Column 1)
NE – Ashfall Fossil Beds Historical SP
NW – Toadstool Geological Park
N Central – Smith Falls SP
W – Scott’s Bluff Nat Mon, Agate Fossil Beds Nat Mon, Chimney Rock National Historical Site, Courthouse and Jail rocks
S Central – Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska
Nevada (Column 4)
NE – Ruby Mountains, Wild Horse State Rec Area, South Forks State Rec Area, Lamoille Canyon
NW – Black Rock Desert
Central – Great Basin NP (Lehman Caves and Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive)
Central – Berlin Ghost Town -Ichthyosaur SP
Central East – Cave Lake SP
Central West – Washoe Lake SP, Bowers Mansion, Cave Rock – Lake Tahoe Nevada SP, Sand Mountain Recreation Area
SE – Valley of Fire SP, Cathedral Gorge SP, Gold Butte Nat Mon
SE but north of Las Vegas – Beaver Dam SP, Echo Canyon SP, Spring Valley SP, Kershaw-Ryan SP
S – Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area, Awi Kwa Ame Nat Mon, Hoover Dam
New Mexico (Column 2)
NE – Capulan volcano Nat Mon
N Central (Santa Fe area) – Bandelier Nat Mon, Ghost Ranch, Jemez Mountains Scenic Route (San Ysidro north to White Rock), Rio Grande Gorge, Valles Caldera, Taos Pueblo (World heritage site)
NW (San Juan Basin) – Angel Peak scenic area, Aztec Ruins Nat Mon , Bisti/De-Na-Zin wilderness, Chaco Culture National Historic Park, (last 4 ½ miles very rough dirt road), Four Corners, Lybrook Badlands, Ship Rock
Central (Alamogordo – Roswell area) – Snowy River Cave, Trinity Site
Central East (Albuquerque area) – El Malplais Nat Mon(volcanic area), El Morro Nat Mon (*)(inscription rock), Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Nat Mon, La Ventana Natural Arch, Petroglyph Nat Mon
S Central (Las Cruces area) – Kilbourne Hole Volcanic Crater, Prehistoric Trackways Nat Mon
SE – Carlsbad Caverns NP (world heritage site), White Sands NP
SW – City of Rocks SP, Gila Cliff Dwellings Nat Mon
North Dakota (Column 1)
NW – Lewis and Clark SP
SW – Theodore Roosevelt NP (Badlands and Painted Canyon)
Oklahoma (Column 1)
N Central – Great Salt Plains SP, Gloss Mountain SP
NE – Natural Falls SP, Osage Hills SP
W- Black Mesa SP
SE – McCurtain County Wilderness Area, Robbers Cave SP
S Central – Chickasaw Nat Rec Area
SW – Quartz Mountain SP
Oregon (Column 4)
N Central – Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area
NW – Bridal Veil Falls, Latourell Falls, Silver Falls SP, Mount Hood, Multnomah Falls, Ecola SP, Oswald West SP
Central – Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint, Smith Rock SP, Fort Rock, Newberry National Volcano Monument, Cove Palisades SP, McKenzie Pass – Santiam Pass Scenic byway
Central E – John Day Fossil Beds Nat Mon, Painted Hills
SW – Crater Lake NP, Oregon Caves Nat Mon, Crown Point,
South Dakota (Column 1)
NW – Traverse Gap (Ancient River Warren Channel), Two Top and Big Top Mesa
W Central – Bear Butte, Spearfish Canyon and Scenic Hwy 14A, Journey Museum and Learning Center (Rapid City), Days of 76 museum (Deadwood – plus western tourist attractions)
SE – Sioux Falls
SW – Badlands NP (Pinnacles Overlook), Jewel Cave Nat Mon, Mount Rushmore Nat Mon, Crazy Horse Monument, Wind Cave NP, Custer SP (Cathedral Spires, Needles rock formations, Needles Scenic Hwy), Mammoth Site of Hot Springs
Texas (Column 1)
N – Palo Duro Canyon SP (South of Amarillo)
Central – Longhorn Cavern SP, Pednernales Falls SP
Cenral E – Dinosaur Valley SP
W – Guadelupe Mountains NP, Odessa Meteor Crater, Monahan Sandhills SP
S Central – Natural Bridge Caverns, Cave without a Name
SW – Big Bend NP, Caverns of Sonora, Capitan Reef, Big Bend Ranch SP
Utah (Column 3)
NE – Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (near Wyoming border)
Central – Timpanogos Cave Nat Mon, Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry
SE – Hovenweep Nat Mon, San Juan River (Valley of the Gods), Gooseneck SP, Natural Bridges Nat Mon, Hovenweep Nat Mon, Canyonlands Nat Pk, Dead Horse Point SP, Muley Point Overlook, Forrest Gump Point (N 37° 6′ 5.4″, W 109° 59′ 26.9″), Sand Island Petroglyph Panel, Blanding (Dinosaur Museum)
S Central – Capitol Reef NP, Glen Canyon Nat Rec Area, Hwy 12 between Escalante and Torrey, Goblin Valley SP (not too far from Capitol Reef), Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase, Rainbow Bridge National Monument (37° 5′ 7.354″ N 110° 58′ 16.633″ W)
SW – Bryce Canyon NP, Cedar Breaks Nat Mon, Zion NP, Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP, Sand Hollow SP, Snow Canyon State Park
Washington (Column 4)
NW – Olympic NP, North Cascades NP, Mount Ranier NP, San Juan Islands NHP, Ebeys Landing National Preserve
Central East – Snoqualimie Falls (268 feet) not too far from Seattle
Central – McNeil Canyon, Haystack Rocks and Sims Corner Eskers and Kames, Grand Coulee SP, Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field, Boulder Park National Natural Landmark, Sun Lakes-Dry Falls SP
West – Cape Disappointment SP
S Central -Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark, Whitman Mission NHS
SE -Palouse Falls SP
SW – Fort Vancouver NHS, Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument
Boulder Park National Natural Landmark along with the nearby Natural Landmarks McNeil Canyon Haystack Rocks and Sims Corner Eskers and Kames comprise several of the best examples of Pleistocene ice stagnation landforms in Washington.
Wyoming (Column 2)
NE – Devil’s Tower Nat Mon, Vore Buffalo Jump
N Central – Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite near Greybull, Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site near Hyatville, Tensleep Canyon near Ten Sleep
NW – Yellowstone NP, Beartooth Pass
E Central – Spanish Diggings, W Central – Grand Teton NP, Intermittent Spring (near Afton, WY south of Grand Teton), Parting of the Waters in the Teton Wilderness Area of Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on the Continental Divide at 44°02.576′N 110°10.497′W (long way from the road)
Central – Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway, Square Top Mountain in the Wind River range, Thermopolis Hot Springs (Dinosaurs, Hot Springs SP), Castle Gardens near Riverton, Hell’s Half Acre 40 miles West of Casper, Bridger Wilderness on west slope of Wind River Mountains
Central E – Ayres Natural Bridge Park
Central W – Sinks Canyon SP
SW – Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (near Wyoming border), Church Buttes near Granger, Fossil Butte Nat Mon near Kemmerer, Heart Mountain (unusual geology and Japanese internment camp), Killpecker Sand Dunes, Boars Tusk
SE – Vedauwoo Recreation Area near Laramie, Douglas Crater Field (secondary impact 280 million year old on private land)