Some of the United States’ Most Underrated National Monuments

The United States National Park System maintains more than 50 national monuments throughout the country. These monuments often go ignored as crowds flock instead to national parks, but many of these protected areas offer incredible sights.

The Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado, for example, offers an amazing look at deep canyons and towering sandstone formations. Visitors can follow the trails of explorer John Otto and see golden eagles and coyotes in addition to the beautiful landscape.

Another underrated attraction is White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Here, visitors can walk on sand that is so white that it resembles snow. Exploring the dunes is an experience unlike any other in the U.S.

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon will delight visitors who are interested in paleontology. The area contains fossils of both plants and animals that date back between 7 and 44 million years.

Cedar Breaks National Monument in southern Utah includes a three-mile natural amphitheater with unbelievable vistas dotted by ancient bristlecone pines -- some over 1,000 years old. Visitors can also enjoy challenging day hikes. The best time to visit is during the summer, since snow can largely cover the monument between October and May.

President Obama Establishes Three New National Monuments in Western US

On Friday, July 10, President Obama announced that he would set aside over 1 million acres for preservation in California, Texas, and Nevada to create three new national monuments. While signing the official designation, he referred to America’s national parks and monuments as one of the nation’s “great legacies,” noting that they not only preserve the country’s beauty but also represent its rich history.

The newest national monuments include Northern California’s Berryessa Snow Mountain, a 331,000-acre region comprising Native American cultural sites and numerous diverse ecosystems. In Texas, the Waco Mammoth National Monument boasts preserved remains of a variety of Pleistocene epoch animals, such as saber-toothed cats and giant tortoises. However, the aptly named region is best known for the fossils of 65,000-year-old Columbian mammoths. The third new preserved region, the Basin and Range National Monument, spans 704,000 acres in Nevada. In addition to containing prehistoric rock art and petroglyphs dating back 4,000 years, Basin and Range is the site of City, an abstract sculpture by Michael Heizer that serves as an impressive example of American land-art.

With these three additions, President Obama has established a total of 19 national monuments since taking office, highlighting the historical, cultural, and ecological significance of over 260 million acres of public land.