Massachusetts

Parks

  • National Historical Park

    Adams

    Quincy, MA

    From the sweet little farm at the foot of Penn’s Hill to the gentleman’s country estate at Peace field, Adams National Historical Park is the story of “heroes, statesman, philosophers … and learned women” whose ideas and actions helped to transform thirteen disparate colonies into one united nation.

    Image of the Old House at Peace field

  • National Scenic Trail

    Appalachian

    Maine to Georgia, CT,GA,MA,MD,ME,NC,NH,NJ,NY,PA,TN,VA,VT,WV

    The Appalachian Trail is a 2,180+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers. ...

    Hump Mountain

  • National Heritage Corridor

    Blackstone River Valley

    The Blackstone Valley, MA,RI

    The Blackstone River runs from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI. Its waters powered the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, America's first successful cotton spinning mill. This creative spark began the nation's transformation from Farm to Factory. Today, the Blackstone River Valley is a special type of National Park - a living landscape containing thousands of natural and historic treasures.

    The Slater Mill (yellow) and Wilkinson Mill (stone), along the Blacktone River in Pawtucket RI

  • National Historical Park

    Blackstone River Valley

    RI,MA

    The Blackstone River powered America's entry into the Age of Industry. The success of Samuel Slater's cotton spinning mill in Pawtucket, RI touched off a chain reaction that changed how people worked and where they lived, and continues to reverberate across the nation to this day. Come visit and see how this revolution transformed the landscape of the Blackstone Valley and then the United States.

    Slater Mill and Falls

  • National Historical Park

    Boston

    Boston, MA

    Discover how one city could be the Cradle of Liberty, site of the first major battle of American Revolution, and home to many who espoused that freedom can be extended to all.

    Colonial Boston Map, Faneuil Hall and the Charlestown Navy Yard skyline

  • National Historic Site

    Boston African American

    Boston, MA

    Centered on the north slope of Beacon Hill, the African American community of 19th century Boston led the city and the nation in the fight against slavery and injustice. These remarkable men and women, together with their allies, were leaders in Abolition Movement, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, and the early struggle for equal rights and education.

    The Battle of Fort Wagner

  • National Recreation Area

    Boston Harbor Islands

    Boston, MA

    . . . where you can walk a Civil War-era fort, visit historic lighthouses, explore tide pools, hike lush trails, camp under the stars, or relax while fishing, picnicking or swimming-all within reach of downtown Boston. Youth programs, visitor services, research, wildlife management, and more are coordinated on the park's 34 islands and peninsulas by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.

    Lush vegetation on the top of Spectacle Island's North drumlin dominates the foreground. Boston's skyline can be seen in the distance. The park's logo with tag line minutes away, worlds apart empashises the stark contrast between the city and islands.

  • National Seashore

    Cape Cod

    Wellfleet, MA

    The great Outer Beach described by Thoreau in the 1800s is protected within the national seashore. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod's past and continuing ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors.

    Atlantic Ocean beach at Cape Cod National Seashore

  • National Heritage Area

    Essex

    Essex County, MA

    The Essex National Heritage Area begins just 10 miles north of Boston and covers 500 square miles of eastern Massachusetts to the New Hampshire border. The Area includes hundreds of historical sites, miles of intact landscapes, glistening coastal regions and lifetimes of rich experiences that chronicle the history of our region and of our nation.

    Essex National Heritage Area

  • National Historic Site

    Frederick Law Olmsted

    Brookline, MA

    Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation's foremost parkmaker. Olmsted moved his home to suburban Boston in 1883 and established the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design. During the next century, his sons and successors perpetuated Olmsted's design ideals, philosophy, and influence.

    The Planting/Print Room at Olmsted NHS

  • National Historic Site

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy

    Brookline, MA

    In 1966, Rose Kennedy, the President’s mother returned to her family’s first home and birthplace of John F. Kennedy with the intention of sharing the values and expectations she believed defined her children’s early years. Today, visitors travel back in time through Mrs. Kennedy’s memories to understand the Kennedy family’s early years and how she helped Americans memorialize John Kennedy.

    Dining Room

  • National Historic Site

    Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters

    Cambridge, MA

    Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site preserves the home of Henry W. Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost 19th century poets. The house also served as headquarters for General George Washington during the Siege of Boston, July 1775 - April 1776. In addition to its rich history, the site offers unique opportunities to explore 19th century literature and arts.

    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his study, circa 1875.

  • National Historical Park

    Lowell

    Lowell, MA

    Discover the continuing revolution. Lowell’s water-powered textile mills catapulted the nation – including immigrant families and early female factory workers – into an uncertain new industrial era. Nearly 200 years later, the changes that began here still reverberate in our shifting global economy. Explore Lowell, a living monument to the dynamic human story of the Industrial Revolution.

    Boott Mills weave room with two children watching the looms from behind a railing

  • National Historical Park

    Minute Man

    Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, MA

    At Minute Man National Historical Park the opening battle of the Revolution is brought to life as visitors explore the battlefields and structures associated with April 19, 1775, and witness the American revolutionary spirit through the writings of the Concord authors.

    The North Bridge, Concord MA.

  • National Historical Park

    New Bedford Whaling

    New Bedford, MA

    "The town itself is perhaps the dearest place to live in, in all New England..nowhere in all America will you find more patrician-like houses, parks and gardens more opulent, than in New Bedford…all these brave houses and flowery gardens came from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. One and all, they were harpooned and dragged up hither from the bottom of the sea." H. Melville, "Moby-Dick"

    New Bedfords working waterfront and historic buildings

  • National Scenic Trail

    New England

    MA,CT

    From the Sound to the Summits: the New England Trail covers 215 miles from Long Island Sound across long ridges to scenic mountain summits in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The trail offers panoramic vistas and close-ups of New England’s natural and cultural landscape: traprock ridges, historic village centers, farmlands, unfragmented forests, quiet streams, steep river valleys and waterfalls.

    Hikers enjoying the view from Mt. Higby in Middlefield, CT.

  • National Historic Site

    Salem Maritime

    Salem, MA

    When the United States was young, ships from Salem, Massachusetts helped to build the new nation's economy by carrying cargo back and forth from the West to Asia. The historic buildings, wharves, and reconstructed tall ship at this nine-acre National Park tell the stories of the sailors, Revolutionary War privateers, and merchants who brought the riches of the world to America.

    Salem Maritime National Historic Site

  • National Historic Site

    Saugus Iron Works

    Saugus, MA

    In the 1600's, on the banks of the Saugus River, something extraordinary happened. Explore the place where European iron makers brought their special skills to a young Massachusetts colony. This nine-acre National Park includes working waterwheels, hot forges, mills, an historic 17th century home, and a lush river basin.

    Saugus Iron Works Panorama

  • National Historic Site

    Springfield Armory

    Springfield, MA

    For nearly two centuries, the US Armed Forces and American industry looked to Springfield Armory for innovative engineering and superior firearms. Springfield Armory National Historic Site commemorates the critical role of the nation’s first armory by preserving and interpreting the world's largest historic US military small arms collection, along with historic archives, buildings, and landscapes.

    View of Springfield Armory overlooking the city of Springfield, 1855

  • National Historic Trail

    Washington-Rochambeau

    MA,RI,CT,NY,NJ,PA,DE,MD,VA,DC

    In 1781, General Rochambeau’s French Army joined forces with General Washington’s Continental Army to fight the British Army in Yorktown, Virginia. With the French Navy in support, the allied armies moved hundreds of miles to become the largest troop movement of the American Revolution. The effort and cooperation between the two sides led to a victory at Yorktown and secured American independence.

    flags

By The Numbers

These numbers are just a sample of the National Park Service's work. Figures are for the fiscal year that ended 9/30/2015.