2025 parks and museums

In the previous post I covered the National Parks we visited in 2025, but we also visited many National Monuments and other National Park Service units, plus state parks, museums, and such. So this post summarizes those.

Again, you can also see the attractions from 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021. And you can see all of the attraction-related blog posts via the exploring category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top, or more specifically the park category (with earliest or latest posts at the top), and the museum category (with earliest or latest posts at the top).

Florida’s Forgotten Coast:

Seeing hundreds of manatees at Three Sisters Springs in Florida:

Rainbow Springs State Park headsprings:

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park:

Crooked River State Park trails:

Driftwood Beach:

Fort Frederica National Monument:

Fort Sumter National Historical Park:

Fort Moultrie National Historical Park:

Colonial Williamsburg:

Cape May Lighthouse:

Hershey’s Chocolate World:

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site:

Independence National Historical Park:

Hershey Gardens:

St Clair River and Lake Huron:

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:

Niagara Falls: Cave of the Winds:

Niagara Falls: Maid of the Mist:

Niagara Falls: viewpoints:

Old Fort Niagara:

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park:

Fort Williams Park & Portland Head Light:

Salem Maritime National Historic Site:

Cape Cod National Seashore:

Boston National Historical Park:

USS Constitution:

Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan:

Iron Mountain and Needles drive:

Gordon Stockade:

Custer Wildlife Loop drive:

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park:

Some fascinating places.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

We visited the Seattle unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Klondike Gold Rush

USS Constitution

We explored the USS Constitution, aka “Old Ironsides”, the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy. It is operated by the Navy in partnership with Boston National Historical Park.

USS Constitution

Boston National Historical Park

We visited the Boston National Historical Park in Massachusetts, and walked about half of the Freedom Trail.

An interactive map of our walking route:

Faneuil Hall:

Faneuil Hall

The Freedom Trail:

The Freedom Trail

Irish Famine Memorial:

Irish Famine Memorial

Ironically a popular place to eat lunch:

Ironically a popular place to eat lunch

Latin School memorial:

Latin School memorial

Graveyard:

Graveyard

The Freedom Trail

Boston Common:

Boston Common

Massachusetts State House:

Boston Common

MLK sculpture:

MLK sculpture

Visitor info and the end (or start) of the Freedom Trail:

Boston Common

Mary Chilton

Back to Faneuil Hall:

Back to Faneuil Hall

Cape Cod National Seashore

We took a drive out to the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Here’s an interactive map of our route:

Entering Cape Cod:

Cape Cod

A small visitor center at a rest area:

Visitor Center

Salt Pond Visitor Center:

Salt Pond Visitor Center

Map:

Map

Shells:

Shells

Other exhibits:

Exhibits

Pond:

Pond

Boat:

Boat

Highland Lighthouse:

Highland Lighthouse

Province Lands Visitor Center:

Province Lands Visitor Center

What drew you here?

Province Lands Visitor Center

Three Sisters Lighthouses:

Three Sisters Lighthouses

Nauset Light:

Nauset Light

Salem Maritime National Historic Site

We visited the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, Massachusetts. It was the first National Historic Site in the US, established March 17, 1938.

The Salem Armory Visitor Center:

Salem Armory Visitor Center

Visitor Center exhibits

Custom House:

Custom House

A couple of neighboring buildings in the park:

Building

Waterfront:

Waterfront

Light:

Light

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park

We briefly visited the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont.

Entrance sign

Billings Farm visitor center, which serves as the visitor center for the NHP when its one is closed, as it was when we visited:

Visitor center

The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion:

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion:

Info sign:

Info sign

The Belvedere:

The Belvedere

Pool:

Pool

Gardens:

Gardens

The mansion again:

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion:

An interesting place.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

We visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan.

The visitor center:

Sleeping Bear Dunes visitor center

Map and info:

Map and info

Covered bridge on a scenic drive:

Covered bridge

Picnic lunch:

Picnic lunch

View of dunes from an overlook:

Dunes

Selfie

Lake:

Lake

Scenic drive:

Scenic drive

“Avoid getting stuck at the bottom! … Rescues cost $3000”:

Avoid getting stuck at the bottom!

Steep dune and Lake Michigan:

Steep dune and Lake Michigan

Selfie

Steep dune and Lake Michigan

Blacksmith in a historic village:

Blacksmith in historic village

Inn:

Inn in historic village

Canning building:

Canning building in historic village

Dune climb:

Dune climb

Independence National Historical Park

We visited the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

An interactive map of our walking route:

View of Independence Hall:

View of Independence Hall

But first, Campo’s cheesesteaks for lunch:

Campo's cheesesteaks for lunch

Old post office:

Old post office

Passage to Franklin Court:

Passage to Franklin Court

Ghost structures representing Benjamin Franklin’s house in Franklin Court:

Ghost structures representing Benjamin Franklin's house in Franklin Court

Benjamin Franklin sign:

Benjamin Franklin sign

Bicentennial Bell in Benjamin Rush garden:

Bicentennial Bell in Benjamin Rush garden

Second Bank of the United States:

Second Bank of the United States

President’s House Site:

President's House Site

Liberty Bell Center:

Liberty Bell Center

Visitor center:

Visitor center

Jenn getting her passport stamps; this roll of paper is an excellent idea we haven’t seen elsewhere:

Visitor center

Cranking for smashed pennies:

Visitor center

Snack at the cafe in the visitor center:

Visitor center

Independence Hall:

Independence Hall

Flag reflected in a circular window:

Independence Hall

Court room:

Independence Hall

Our tour guide:

Independence Hall

Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed:

Independence Hall

We did the expanded guided tour (40 minutes vs 20) that got to go upstairs:

Independence Hall

Historical.

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

We visited Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Pennsylvania, which showcases an early American landscape of industrial operations from 1771-1883.

Visitor center:

Visitor center