Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore stretches along the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina, protecting 56 miles of underdeveloped barrier islands. It feels wonderfully remote where ocean, dunes and marsh create a landscape that moves with the wind and tide.
The seashore was authorized by Congress in 1966 and officially established in 1976, preserving the fragile barrier island system from development. Its protection ensures that this stretch of coastline remains largely untouched, offering a glimpse of what the Atlantic shore once looked like before resort communities reshaped so much of it.

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Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Castillo de San Marcos stands along the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine. Constructed by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695, it protected the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States and guarded Spain’s interests in Florida. St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565. For more […]
Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress is not exactly a national park, but a national preserve. A national preserve allows certain traditional uses to continue while still protecting the land. When Congress established Big Cypress in 1974, it became one of the very first two national preserves in the country, Big Cypress protects nearly 729,000 acres of land, making […]
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
At the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, located at the intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, high atop Cumberland Mountain sits the Hensley Settlement, a restored early 20th century mountain community. To understand this place, you first must understand the Cumberland Gap itself. The gap is a natural pass through the Appalachian Mountains, one of the few […]