National scenic areas in the United States

This article lists scenic areas in the United States National Park System: national preserves, national recreation areas, national seashores, national lakeshores, national rivers, national wild and scenic rivers, national reserves, and a few miscellaneous protected areas. This designation is for the purposes of this list and should not be confused with the official type of protected area administered primarily by the US Forest Service; see National Scenic Area

This article doesn't contain all the natural areas in the National Park System. See also United States National Parks and United States National Monuments, together constituting the most spectacular destinations in the system, as well as United States National Parkways and the National Trails System.

New England

Massachusetts

• Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area 📍
• Cape Cod National Seashore 📍
• Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers
• Westfield Wild and Scenic River

Vermont

• Moosalamoo National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), Green Mountains
• White Rocks National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), Green Mountains

Mid-Atlantic

• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 📍 and the Middle Delaware National Scenic River (New Jersey, Pennsylvania)
• Gateway National Recreation Area 📍 (New Jersey, New York)
• Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (New York, Pennsylvania)

Delaware

Maryland

• Assateague Island National Seashore 📍
• Catoctin Mountain Park 📍
• Greenbelt Park 📍, Greenbelt — A wooded park with a campground in the DC suburbs.
• Piscataway Park 📍, Accokeek

New Jersey

• Great Egg Harbor River
• New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve 📍

New York

• Fire Island National Seashore 📍

Pennsylvania

• Allegheny National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), near Warren

Washington, D.C.

• Anacostia Park 📍, Anacostia
• East Potomac Park 📍, Waterfront
• Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens 📍, Anacostia
• Meridian Hill 📍
• Rock Creek Park 📍 (Meridian Hill Park, Old Stone House, Peirce Mill, Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway)

South

• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area 📍 (Kentucky, Tennessee)
• Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS) (Kentucky, Tennessee)

Alabama

• Little River Canyon National Preserve 📍

Arkansas

• Buffalo National River

Georgia

• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area 📍, Atlanta
• Cumberland Island National Seashore 📍
• Ed Jenkins National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

Mississippi

• Gulf Islands National Seashore 📍

North Carolina

• Cape Hatteras National Seashore 📍
• Cape Lookout National Seashore 📍

Tennessee

• Obed Wild and Scenic River 📍

Virginia

• Mount Rogers National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)
• Prince William Forest Park 📍, Triangle

West Virginia

• Bluestone National Scenic River
• Gauley River National Recreation Area 📍
• Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

Florida

• Big Cypress National Preserve 📍
• Canaveral National Seashore 📍 — Contains the second-highest number of endangered species of any U.S. national park.
• Gulf Islands National Seashore 📍
• Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve 📍

Midwest

• Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Michigan

• Grand Island National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 📍
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 📍

Minnesota

• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area 📍, St. Paul

Missouri

• Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Ohio

• Ohio State Parks

Wisconsin

• Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 📍

Texas

• Amistad National Recreation Area 📍
• Big Thicket National Preserve 📍
• Lake Meredith National Recreation Area 📍
• Padre Island National Seashore 📍
• Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

Great Plains

• Missouri National Recreational River (Nebraska, South Dakota)

Kansas

• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 📍, Strong City

Nebraska

• Niobrara National Scenic River
• Pine Ridge National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

Oklahoma

• Chickasaw National Recreation Area 📍
• Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

Rocky Mountains

• Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area 📍 (Montana, Wyoming)

Colorado

• Arapaho National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), near Granby
• Curecanti National Recreation Area 📍

Idaho

• City of Rocks National Reserve 📍
• Sawtooth National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), near Ketchum

Montana

• Rattlesnake National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

Southwest

• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 📍 (Arizona, Utah)
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area 📍 (Arizona, Nevada)

Nevada

• Spring Mountains National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

New Mexico

• Jemez National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), Jemez Mountains
• Valles Caldera National Preserve 📍 (USFS) — A huge volcanic caldera situated in the midst of the Jemez Mountains, now covered in a verdant grassland.

Utah

• Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)

California

• Golden Gate National Recreation Area — Preserves a set of coastal areas in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Mojave National Preserve 📍 – sand dunes, Joshua trees, and volcanoes in a quiet part of the Southern California desert
• Point Reyes National Seashore 📍 – wild beaches and rocky cliffs with abundant wildlife, including elephant seals
• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 📍
• Smith River National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), Crescent City
• Whiskeytown National Recreation Area 📍, near Redding

Pacific Northwest

Oregon

• Hells Canyon National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), near Baker City
• Mount Hood National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)
• Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS), Florence

Washington

• Lake Chelan National Recreation Area 📍
• Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area 📍
• Mount Baker National Recreation Area 📍 (USFS)
• Ross Lake National Recreation Area 📍

Alaska

• Alagnak Wild River
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve 📍
• Noatak National Preserve 📍
• White Mountains National Recreation Area 📍 (BLM), near Fairbanks
• Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve 📍