National Parks History Project

Every U.S. national park has an official story — and a real one. National Parks History Project tells the real one. Honest, fact-checked histories of all 63 national parks: the Indigenous nations who lived on these lands for millennia, how each park actually came to be, who was displaced to create it, and how each place is being reckoned with today. Every park's account has been independently audited against academic scholarship, tribal historians, and investigative journalism. INDEPENDENT — NOT AN OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT APP This app is independently produced. It is not created, endorsed, reviewed, or operated by the National Park Service or any other government agency. Content draws on primary government records — legislation and Federal Register notices via govinfo.gov, park administrative history via nps.gov — cross-checked against academic scholarship, tribal historians, and investigative journalism. Full citations for every park are listed in the app. WHAT'S INSIDE • All 63 parks, each with a brief take, a deep categorized history, and a tappable timeline • The nations and peoples of each park's land, named park by park • Full-text search across parks, peoples, and stories • Filter by state or by tribal nation, sort A–Z or by founding date • Nearby: sorts parks by distance to you — location never leaves your phone • Mark parks as favorites, track the ones you've visited and read • Night reader theme: amber-on-black, easier on your eyes and less attractive to insects when reading outdoors • Adjustable type size and WCAG AA contrast throughout WORKS COMPLETELY OFFLINE Every story, image, and font ships in the app. Read at a trailhead, on a plane, or deep in a park with no signal. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account required. Your favorites, visited parks, and reading history are stored only on your device and never leave it. The land has a longer memory than the plaque. Read what it remembers.