As the days get longer and the weather improves, it's a great time to plan a trip to one the 394 sites run by the U.S. National Park Service. And during National Park Week (April 16-24), admission to every one of these parks is FREE, with special events scheduled at many locations. While Yellowstone, Acadia, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks win the popularity contests, there are dozens of sites within the national park system that are worth visiting as well.
University of South Carolina Professor Emeritus Bob Janiskee writes in National Parks Traveler about ten national cultural-historic sites administered by the NPS that "don't get enough love." This spring and summer, consider visiting one of these hidden gems that Janiskee says "tell America's story." He puts these ten overlooked sites into chronological and thematic categories that trace our country's history from prehistory to the present day.
1. To learn about the Original Inhabitants of the U.S., consider Chaco Canyon National Historic Park near Albuquerque, New Mexico, site of Pueblo Bonito. It's a remote spot that provides visitors a sense of the architectural, administrative, and organizational acumen of the Pueblo people who lived here from A.D. 850-1250.
2. Go back to the days of in Early European Exploration and Settlement, at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Park, also in New Mexico. Check out the Spanish Franciscan mission churches and convents or follow the interpretive trail and go birding.
3. Review Colonial Life and the Revolutionary War at Louisiana's Cane River Creole National Historical Park and Heritage Area, site of two plantations that display frontier and French Creole influence and illustrate what life was like during the days of the "Cotton Kingdom" and slavery.
Seven more "forgotten" NPS sites after the jump.
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