State Parks - Best of the Best

Technorati: state parks,california state parks

Darren Smith, author of Parks Directory of the United States contacted the directors of each of the 50 state parks systems and posed the following question:

If you were trying to showcase your state park system, what would be your recommendation to visitors for 2-3 "must see" parks and why?

I must say, this is a difficult task for any park director, it's like a parent being asked to play favorites. Well, trust Darren to persuade them to share their list of top favorites, so here they are. Some of the park directors stretched it a bit and gave 4 or 5 parks. Darren let it slide.


Alabama	DeSoto SP Joe Wheeler SP Lake Guntersville SP
Alaska	Chugach SP Denali SP Totem Bight SHP Wood-Tikchik SP
Arizona	Kartchener caverns SP Red Rock Sp Tonto Natural Bridge SP (Gila county)
Arkansas	Crater of Diamonds SP Ozark Folk Center SP Petit Jean SP
California	Anza-Borrego Desert SP Big Basin Redwoods SP Huntington State Beach Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Colorado	Mueller SP Roxborough SP Steamboat Lake SP
Connecticut	Dinosaur SP Gillette Castle SP Hammonasset Beach SP
Delaware	Cape Henlopen SP Fort Delaware SP Trap Pond SP
Florida	John Pennekamp Coral Reef SP Myakka River SP Paynes Prairie SP St. Joseph Peninsula SP Wekiwa Springs SP
Georgia	Cloudland Canyon SP Providence Canyon SP Tallulah Gorge SP
Hawaii	Koke'e SP & Waimea Canyon SP Iao Valley SP Diamond Head SM
Idaho	Bruneau Duens SP Ponderosa SP Priest Lake SP
Illinois	Cache River SNA Chain O'Lakes SP Pere Marquette SP
Indiana	Brown County SP Falls of the Ohio SP Indiana Dunes SP
Iowa	Backbone SP Ledges SP Waubonsie SP
Kansas	Cheney SP Scott SP Tuttle Creek SP
Kentucky	John James Audubon SP Kentucky Dam Village SRP Natural Bridge SRP
Louisiana	Bayou Segnette SP Fontainebleau SP Lake Fausse Pointe SP North Toledo Bend SP Tickfaw SP
Maine	Reid SP Sebago Lake SP
Maryland	Assateague SP Elk Neck SP Gunpowder Falls SP Swallow Falls SP
Massachusetts	Mount Greylock SR Nickerson SP Walden Pond SR
Michigan	Ludington SP Porcupine Mountains Wilderness SP Tahquamenon SP Waterloo Recreation Area
Minnesota	Blue Mounds SP Itasca SP Forestville/Mystery Cave SP
Mississippi	John W. Kyle SP Percy Quin SP Tishomingo SP
Missouri	Ha Ha Tonka SP Meramec SP Montauk SP Prairie SP
Montana	Lewis and Clark Caverns SP Makoshika SP Ulm Pishkun SP
Nebraska	Eugene T. Mahoney SP Fort Robinson SP Lake McConaughy SRA
Nevada	Berlin-Ichthyosaur SP Cathedral Gorge SP Valley of Fire SP
New Hampshire	Franconia Notch SP Mount Washington SP Odiorne Point SP
New Jersey	High Point SP Island Beach SP Wharton SF
New Mexico	City of Rocks SP Living Desert Zoo & Gardens SP Sugarite Canyon
New York	Jones Beach SP Niagara Reservation SP Riverbank SP Saratoga Spa SP
North Carolina	Hammocks Beach SP Hanging Rock SP Morrow Mountain SP Stone Mountain SP
North Dakota	Fort Abraham Lincoln SP Icelandic SP Lake Sakakawea SP
Ohio	Hocking Hills Hueston Woods SP Mohican SP
Oklahoma	Beavers Bend SP Quartz Mountain RP Robbers Cave SP
Oregon	Ecola SP Shore Acres SP Silver Falls SP Smith Rock SP
Pennsylvania	Ohiopyle SP Presque Isle SP Ricketts Glen SP
Rhode Island	Beavertail SP Colt SP Goddard Memorial SP Misquamicut SB
South Carolina	Caesars Head SP Huntington Beach SP Jones Gap SP
South Dakota	Custer SP Fort Sisseton SP Lewis and Clark SRA
Tennessee	Fall Creek Falls SP Montgomery Bell SP Paris Landing SP
Texas	Garner SP Goliad SHP Palo Duro Canyon SP
Utah	Antelope Island SP Dead Horse Point SP Wasatch Mountain SP
Vermont	Burton Island SP Coolidge SP Mount Philo SP Silver Lake SP
Virginia	Douthat SP Grayson Highlands SP Kiptopeke SP
Washington	Fort Canby SP Fort Worden SP Sun Lakes-Dry Falls SP
West Virginia	Blackwater Falls SP Pipestem Resort SP Watoga SP
Wisconsin	Copper Falls SP Peninsula SP
Wyoming	Guernsey SP Medicine Lodge SAS Sinks Canyon SP