Comments on: ALL 130 BEST US National Monuments Ranked 2022 (+ Photos) https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/ Start Your National Park Adventure Today Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:50:41 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Rich https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-7196 Tue, 23 Jan 2024 00:25:05 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-7196 Came here from your National Parks page, and I must admit, this one got me WAY more excited than the national parks page. Probably because I’ve visited a good number of the NPs, many recently, and the crowds make me sad. NMs, OTOH, lack the crowds and present a lot more wilderness I’m less familiar with.

First, there’s a typo under Jewel Cave NM. The location says it’s in CA.

As a lifelong (well, almost) Utahn, I was actually surprised to see Dinosaur at #2 and GSENM at #3. Tbh, I think that’s high for DNM. It’s got some amazing scenery and scary dinosaurs and it’s a lot of fun, but it’s not 15/15 for scenery. The pic you show of the Yampa R (I assume that’s the Yampa), is awesome, but you can’t see that view or anything like it unless you’re in the air. If there was a category for “family friendly”, it might bring DNM up to top 20.

GSENM, OTOH, deserves a 15/15 scenery & a top 5 ranking. BUT, if you never get out of your car here, it’s one of the most boring places on earth. Scenery score 2/15. Sagebrush, rocks & sand. That’s all. While Hwy 12, a national scenic byway (top 5 IMHO – when is your national scenic byway ranking coming out?), passes through a corner of the park, it’s only a small section. You have to put in some serious legwork to enjoy GSENM. For those who do, GSENM is absolutely worthy of its top 5 ranking. With numerous amazing slot canyons (without the crowds of antelope canyon, but almost as impressive), the popular lower Calf Creek Falls, Devils Garden, Hole in the Rock, the unparalleled Coyote Gulch, and other sights, this place may rival some of UT’s NPs. Thankfully, the sights are all only accessible by rather lengthy hikes, keeping the crowds down.

That said, I think you’ve underrated a few NMs as well. Cedar Breaks scenery is far better than Dinosaur. Way above the 9/15 you gave it. I saw that you said you’re not cave people in some of your other comments, so I’m going to be “that guy” to add that your NM caves are underrated too (I didn’t think your NP caves were underrated, but I’ve never seen Carlsbad, either – have been through Lehman though). Your “scenery” scores for Jewel and Timponogos Caves are too low. While you may not be impressed by caves (a lot of ppl think they’re pretty cool though), take into account the whole picture. Above ground at both of these caves, the scenery is spectacular. And the surface scenery is still part of the NM, not just the cave 😉 Timponogos requires a steep, albeit short, hike along the side of American Fork Canyon in the scenic Wasatch Mountains. Surprisingly, despite a metro of > 1.5 mil (SLC-Provo) only minutes away, Timp isn’t overcrowded. Jewel Cave is located in the scenic black hills, some absolutely gorgeous country. Both caves are surrounded by forest. Scenery scores for these 2 caves definitely should be higher.

Nonetheless, great list! As I mentioned up top, it really got me excited to get out and see some of these places.

]]> By: Will Pattiz https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-7061 Sun, 14 Jan 2024 20:56:39 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-7061 In reply to Rachel.

Hi Rachel,

It’s really wild how many monuments there are and outside of a handful there’s practically no one at these amazing places.

Glad you found the list useful! Eager to hear if you find any particular monuments you love.
Best,
Will

]]> By: Rachel https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-6543 Mon, 11 Dec 2023 22:47:18 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-6543 Wow! I had no idea that there were so many national monuments in the US. I feel like that many of these national monuments are often overshadowed by the ever-popular national parks. 🙂 I’ll definitely need to give some of them a closer look. Thanks for putting this list together!

]]> By: Will Pattiz https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-2921 Tue, 11 Jul 2023 16:06:04 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-2921 In reply to Bob and Kathy Soule.

Hello again Bob & Kathy!

Looks like you stumbled upon this list as well 🙂

Devils Tower is probably a bit low on the list and will be moving up this year.

]]> By: Bob and Kathy Soule https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-2904 Mon, 10 Jul 2023 20:37:16 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-2904 Thanks for doing this list. Devils Tower should be much higher than 28. It is an awesome place with lots of hiking trails for viewing the tower from different angles. And it is a nice day trip from the Black Hills, which is a fantastic area to visit, including Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park. We visited all those places last year as part of our electric road trip to all 51 National Parks in the Lower 48 states, and we loved the day trip we took to Devils Tower.

]]> By: Terry and Ann Krugel https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-2468 Sun, 11 Jun 2023 17:37:57 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-2468 In reply to Will Pattiz.

After having looked at your ranking and listing of the National Parks, I have decided that I live in one of the most wonderful state in the US, Washington. We live near Tacoma and think Mt Rainier National Park deserves #1 over Olympic National Park, however IMHO I love Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics as one of my favorite hikes.

My wife and I need to return to Yosemite, previously visited 2 summers ago when the smoke from forest fires made our camping and trip less than wonderful. We didn’t even get into Crater Lake.

We have a goal of visiting most of the Nat’l Parks in the western part of the US as we are retired. We are also very close to 80 yrs so don’t have a lot of time left but still in pretty good health and condition. Thanks for your site!!

]]> By: Will Pattiz https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-379 Thu, 21 Apr 2022 13:09:49 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-379 In reply to Raven About The Parks.

Thanks so much! Really appreciate the kind words and for stopping by. We’ll have to give it another look when we update the post 🙂

Best,
Will

]]> By: Raven About The Parks https://morethanjustparks.com/national-monuments-us-ranked-list/#comment-378 Wed, 20 Apr 2022 21:16:50 +0000 https://morethanjustparks.com/?p=37775#comment-378 This must have been a fun list to compile! Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument deserves to be much higher on your list.
It is actually pretty easy to access by snorkeling from spots along a paved road or renting a kayak like we did. The mangroves were hit hard by Hurricane Maria and Irma in 2017, but the coral is in pretty good shape.

]]>