Welcome to a Tahoe Tourist / Traveler Challenge:

USA National Parks, 21+ Edition

The cache IS at the posted coordinates. 

You can sign the log anytime, but to claim a find, you need to complete the following challenge:

Welcome to a Tahoe Tourist / Traveler Challenge Cache!

USA National Parks, 21+

By the Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and placed it "under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200 national parks or equivalent preserves. Today, the National Park System encompasses 428 national park sites in the United States. They span across more than 84 million acres, with parks in each state and extending into the territories, including parks in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. Within the system, there are 63 sites that include “National Park” as part of their proper name.

Did you know that Lake Tahoe itself was almost a National Park?  In 1859, a massive silver discovery in the mountains of Nevada kicked off a mining rush that eventually gave the Silver State its nickname. Over the next twenty years, the tall, ancient trees that covered the Tahoe Basin’s slopes were nearly all cut down and shipped to the silver fields to build ever-deeper mine shafts. There were multiple attempts from the 1880s to the 1930s to designate Tahoe a national park, but each one fell short. The history of logging, combined with the development of tourism and private property ownership, left Tahoe lacking the “pristine” natural characteristics required to become a national park. William Penn Mott Jr., a former chief inspector of the National Park Service, said that, in its pristine state, Tahoe could have been included in the national park inventory. However, tourism development around the lake had already “destroyed the possibility of conserving and preserving on a national scale the natural beauty, character, flora, and fauna of this area.” The matter was closed.

However, Tahoe is still an amazing and beautiful place... and has been the focus of significant conservation efforts, making it much better protected and preserved in recent years. This challenge celebrates the Parks we do have, while letting you enjoy the view of what almost was!

To access this take a stroll on the Tahoe East Shore Trail and enjoy the majestic views!  There is long-term parking available by the cafe at Tunnel Creek along the highway, where you can access the East Shore Trail and bikepath heading south.  You can also park short-term at the Memorial Point Scenic Overlook and make your way north.  The Trail / Bikepath connects Sand Harbor to Tunnel Creek covering a delightful 2.5 miles in one direction.

While I've thought of ways to create a challenge like this, I have to credit MamaCobb for finally making happen.  Thanks, Mama for the inspiration and doing some serious legwork in getting the counties compiled.  You can find the original challenge here: GCAH72P: U.S.A National Parks Challenge. 

To complete this challenge and claim your PARK RANGER status, you must find a geocache for 1/3 of the 63 total National Parks:

• For at least 21 of the listed national parks, you must find one geocache anywhere within one of the national park's listed counties, boroughs, census areas, or U.S. territories.  
• Finds can be before or after this geocache was placed
• A geocache can only be used once to fulfill the requirements
• Finds can be any geocache type, except Adventure Lab

• Acadia National Park

  • Hancock County, Maine -or-

  • Knox County, Maine

• American Samoa National Park

  • American Samoa

• Arches National Park

  • Grand County, Utah

• Badlands National Park

  • Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota -or-

  • Pennington County, South Dakota -or-

  • Jackson County, South Dakota

• Big Bend National Park

  • Brewster County, Texas

• Biscayne National Park

  • Miami-Dade County, Florida

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

  • Montrose County, Colorado

• Bryce Canyon National Park

  • Garfield County, Utah -or-

  • Kane County, Utah

• Canyonlands National Park

  • San Juan County, Utah -or-

  • Wayne County, Utah -or-

  • Garfield County, Utah -or-

  • Grand County, Utah

• Capitol Reef National Park

  • Wayne County, Utah -or-

  • Garfield County, Utah -or-

  • Sevier County, Utah -or-

  • Emery County, Utah

• Carlsbad Caverns National Park

  • Eddy County, New Mexico

• Channel Islands National Park

  • Santa Barbara County, California -or-

  • Ventura County, California -or-

  • Los Angeles County, California

• Congaree National Park

  • Richland County, South Carolina

• Crater Lake National Park

  • Klamath County, Oregon

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park

  • Cuyahoga County, Ohio -or-

  • Summit County, Ohio

• Death Valley National Park

  • Inyo County, California

• Denali National Park

  • Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Dry Tortugas National Park

  • Monroe County, Florida

• Everglades National Park

  • Miami-Dade County, Florida -or-

  • Monroe County, Florida -or-

  • Collier County, Florida

• Gates of the Arctic National Park

  • North Slope Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

• Gateway Arch National Park

  • St. Louis County, Missouri

• Glacier National Park

  • Flathead County, Montana -or-

  • Glacier County, Montana

• Glacier Bay National Park

  • Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska -or-

  • Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska

• Grand Canyon National Park

  • Coconino County, Arizona -or-

  • Mohave County, Arizona

• Grand Teton National Park

  • Teton County, Wyoming

• Great Basin National Park

  • White Pine County, Nevada

• Great Sand Dunes National Park

  • Saguache County, Colorado -or-

  • Alamosa County, Colorado

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  • Swain County, North Carolina -or-

  • Haywood County, North Carolina -or-

  • Sevier County, Tennessee -or-

  • Blount County, Tennessee -or-

  • Cocke County, Tennessee

• Guadalupe Mountains National Park

  • Hudspeth County, Texas -or-

  • Culberson County, Texas

• Haleakalā National Park

  • Maui County, Hawaii

• Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

  • Hawaii County, Hawaii

• Hot Springs National Park

  • Garland County, Arkansas

• Indiana Dunes National Park

  • Porter County, Indiana

• Isle Royale National Park

  • Keweenaw County, Michigan

• Joshua Tree National Park

  • San Bernardino County, California -or-

  • Riverside County, California

• Katmai National Park

  • Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska

• Kenai Fjords National Park

  • Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

• Kings Canyon National Park

  • Fresno County, California -or-

  • Tulare County, California

• Kobuk Valley National Park

  • Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska

• Lake Clark National Park

  • Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska -or-

  • Bethel Census Area, Alaska -or-

  • Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Lassen Volcanic National Park

  • Shasta County, California -or-

  • Lassen County, California -or-

  • Pluas County, California -or-

  • Tehama County, California

• Mammoth Cave National Park

  • Edmonson County, Kentucky -or-

  • Hart County, Kentucky -or-

  • Barren County, Kentucky

• Mesa Verde National Park

  • Montezuma County, Colorado

• Mount Rainier National Park

  • Pierce County, Washington -or-

  • Lewis County, Washington

• New River Gorge National Park

  • Fayette County, West Virginia -or-

  • Summers County, West Virginia

• North Cascades National Park

  • Whatcom County, Washington -or-

  • Skagit County, Washington -or-

  • Chelan County, Washington

• Olympic National Park

  • Jefferson County, Washington -or-

  • Clallam County, Washington -or-

  • Mason County, Washington -or-

  • Grays Harbor County, Washington

• Petrified Forest National Park

  • Navajo County, Arizona -or-

  • Apache County, Arizona

• Pinnacles National Park

  • San Benito County, California -or-

  • Monterey County, California

• Redwood National Park

  • Humboldt County, California

• Rocky Mountain National Park

  • Larimer County, Colorado -or-

  • Grand County, Colorado -or-

  • Boulder County, Colorado

• Saguaro National Park

  • Pima County, Arizona

• Sequoia National Park

  • Tulare County, California

• Shenandoah National Park

  • Warren County, Virginia -or-

  • Page County, Virginia -or-

  • Rockingham County, Virginia -or-

  • Augusta County, Virginia -or-

  • Rappahannock County, Virginia -or-

  • Madison County, Virginia -or-

  • Greene County, Virginia -or-

  • Albemarle County, Virginia

• Theodore Roosevelt National Park

  • Billings County, North Dakota -or-

  • McKenzie County, North Dakota

• Virgin Islands National Park

  • United States Virgin Islands

• Voyageurs National Park

  • Saint Louis County, Minnesota -or-

  • Koochiching County, Minnesota

• White Sands National Park

  • Otero County, New Mexico -or-

  • Doña Ana County, New Mexico

• Wind Cave National Park

  • Custer County, South Dakota

• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

  • Chugach Census Area, Alaska -or-

  • Copper River Census Area, Alaska -or-

  • Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska -or-

  • Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska

• Yellowstone National Park

  • Park County, Wyoming -or-

  • Teton County, Wyoming -or-

  • Gallatin County, Montana -or-

  • Park County, Montana -or-

  • Fremont County, Idaho

• Yosemite National Park

  • Meriposa County, California

• Zion National Park

  • Washington County, Utah -or-

  • Iron County, Utah -or-

  • Kane County, Utah

You can check your progress with a checker here!

While I have personally visited many more than the required 21 National Parks, much of that was before I began geocaching.  As of publication of the cache, I have cached in enough counties to qualify for 26 of the 63 National Parks:

Acadia, Arches, Badlands, Biscayne, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Channel Islands, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Everglades, Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Haleakala, Hawaii Volcanoes, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest, Pinnacles, Rocky Mountain, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. 

Update 4/11/24:  Added #27 Cuyahoga Valley

Update 2/21/25:  Added #28 Saguaro

Update 2/13/26:  Added #29 Mount Rainier, #30 Denali, #31 Gates of the Arctic, #32 Lake Clark