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Top 12 Parks and Sites to Spend Inside During Cold Weather
1. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas – Take a traditional bath or soak in modern pools filled with hot spring water. Plan your visit to Hot Springs and experience relaxation and pampering.
2. Federal Hall National Memorial, New York – Visit exhibit galleries containing historical information about George Washington, the Constitution, and the federal government…in the heart of Wall Street! Plan your visit to Federal Hall and learn about the early beginnings of the United States.
3. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, DC – Take a guided tour at the
house of this famed abolitionist. Discover original objects owned and used by Frederick Douglass and enjoy a great view of DC.
4. Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, California – Explore surviving sites and structures from WWII, visit the Ford Assembly Plant, learn about WWII home front history, and view museum artifacts from the collection.
5. Ellis Island, New Jersey/New York – Walk in the footsteps of millions of immigrants as you learn about their journey to a new life in America. Plan your visit to Ellis Island and explore exhibits, watch an award-winning documentary, and search passenger records in the American Family Immigration History Center's database.
6. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, California – The parks are known for having the world's largest trees. Learn about sequoia trees at the Giant Forest Museum or explore the Foothills and Kings Canyon Visitor Centers.
7. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – Grand Canyon is full of surprises. Visit the Yavapal Geology Museum and enjoy one of the best views from inside a building! Kolb Studio, Verkamp's Visitor Center, and Desert View Watchtower are also rewarding indoor places to explore.
8. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Seattle Unit), Washington – Learn about the stampede to the Yukon gold fields and Seattle's crucial role in this event through exhibits, films, and interpretive walks.
9. Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania – Visit the Liberty Bell Center, Independence Hall, the Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank, and more!
10. Waco Mammoth National Monument, Texas – Visit one of the National Park Service's newest units. This paleontological site represents the nation's only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Columbian mammoths.
11. Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Massachusetts – Frederick Law Olmsted is recognized as the first founder of American landscape architecture and the country's foremost "parkmaker." Visit his home and office, the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design, located right outside of Boston.
12. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Kansas – Tour the galleries of the former Monroe School building, explore a temporary exhibit, or learn about how the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case ended legal segregation in public schools.
Last updated: March 15, 2016