Top 10 National Park Sites of the National Capital Region

The smallest region in the National Park Service is the National Capital region. It’s pretty self-explanatory as this region covers the Washington D.C. area. With so many monuments and historic places, it gets to have a region all for itself. After getting to some of the more off the beaten path memorials (such as the Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial and LBJ Memorial Grove on the Potomac) and seeing the two newest memorials (World War I Memorial and Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial) last year I can now say that I have been to every single national park site in the D.C. region. These are my top 10 favorite:

10. National Capital Parks - East

Being by far the smallest region of the National Park Service, the capital region has some weird classifications for its park sites. Some parks are called memorials while others are called monuments, and some parks sites are combined into mega park sites. That’s the case for my number ten on this list: National Capital Parks - East. This park unit is composed of most of the lesser-known park sites of the region, and most of them are located on the bank of the Anacostia River or the eastern bank of the Potomac River. This park site has a diverse array of parks within it. Some of them honor African American history such as Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site. Others preserve little areas of nature such as Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens and Greenbelt Park. So, there is a lot to see and do here.

9. Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument

This monument is one of the new sites in the area having been established by the Obama administration in 2016. The site is in a great location as it’s right across the street from the Supreme Court. Inside the lone building that composes this site you will find an immense amount of history about the women’s suffrage movement, equal rights amendment movement and women in national politics. It’s all presented in a series of well-organized rooms and exhibits over two floors.

8. Constitution Gardens

Constitution Gardens is quite possibly the most overlooked site in the region. It’s located right next to the much more popular World War II, Lincoln and Vietnam Veterans Memorials. Yet the simplicity of the Gardens is what makes it so great. The small pond at the center of the Gardens attracts all sorts of birds (it’s one of the best places in the downtown D.C. area to look for herons and other water loving birds) and it’s always exciting when you finally find the Garden’s small memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence hidden away on a small piece of land that juts into the pond.

7. Lincoln Memorial

It’s one of the most iconic landmarks in all of the United States so of course it makes the list. It may be a bit smaller than you would imagine if you are seeing it in person for the first time, but there are a lot of small details throughout the memorial that are quite interesting. The two details that really stick out are on the steps of the monument as there are makers dedicated to where Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech and a memorial for Alaska and Hawaii achieving statehood. Looking for them makes for a nice scavenger hunt.

6. World War II National Memorial

The World War II National Memorial is another memorial that ends up getting overlooked. It’s just caught between too many things as it’s located right between two more popular landmarks: the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Having been established during the Bush administration it’s still kind of new, but with so many new additions to the capitol region in even more recent years it may not seem like it. That being said, the Memorial has such a beautiful design. Water features heavily and a series of pillars ascending to the heavens feature a lot about our country’s geography and some of the key moments and places of World War II.

5. Washington Monument

This is another iconic feature of the capitol region, and, if you happen to get a reservation to tour the monument, the best view in the city. If you are able to journey to the top of the monument, you get expansive views on four sides (the one time we were able to go we got a great view of Marine One in action) and an impressive and personal history lesson on the making of this special structure. While I prefer monuments that expand upon simple designs, if you can get inside of this monument, you will discover there is more than meets the eye.

4. Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

One of the best park sites in the DC area just so happens to be one of its most hidden. Many Americans have heard of the monuments honoring Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and even Martin Luther King Jr., but a vast majority of Americans probably didn’t even know there is a memorial honoring Theodore Roosevelt in the capital. In the middle of the Potomac River near the JFK Center for the Performing Arts is Theodore Roosevelt Island which is home to a few miles of trails going through woods and marshland. Hidden amongst these habitats is a stunning statue of the former president. The statue area is one of the few places of solitude that you will be able to find in this bustling city.

3. Thomas Jefferson Memorial

While the National Mall normally gets all of the attention when it comes to Washington D.C., it’s actually the Tidal Basin that is the crown jewel of the city. One of the Tidal Basin’s most iconic features is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Go into the top level of the memorial and you will get some of the best views of the city as they play peekaboo through the monument’s stoic pillars. Go to the hidden bottom level of the memorial and you will find a surprisingly in depth look at the life of this founding father. 

2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Sitting right next to the Jefferson Memorial on the beautiful Tidal Basin is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The memorial comes across as one of the capital’s most unique memorials as it’s statue work tells so much whereas most of the other statues of the capital are just singular works of a person. In this memorial you travel through four different outdoor rooms (one for each of FDR’s presidential terms). Like many other memorials around, water plays an important theme, and it’s really put to wonderful use when on full flow. The memorial is just spectacular at night.

1. National Mall and Memorial Parks

I feel like I’m cheating here, but all of the more popular monuments and memorials are combined into a mega park site known as National Mall and Memorial Parks. Thus, it’s easily my favorite park site of the region. There’s just so much to do at the National Mall and Memorial Parks. You could spend a whole day trying to see all of the monuments and parks and still not fit it all in. That’s also not even including the collection of Smithsonian museums that surround the National Mall or the many great food options nearby (Elephant & Castle and Old Ebbitt Grill are the standouts in my opinion). Walk through this park and you will not only get a great workout but get a view into why the United States of America is so great.