There are a few things I bring home from each National Park I visit but it is important to me that these items take up minimal space in my bag. So no cheesy t-shirts or coffee mugs for me. Meaningful experiences, like the ones National Parks provide for me, deserve meaningful mementos so I make sure to only bring home items I intend to keep long term.
One great thing about purchasing something from the National Parks visitor center is that the park typically gets a portion of the proceeds from every purchase.
Postcards – Lightweight, cheap and easy to find
Postcards are probably the cheapest souvenir you can collect while traveling. One major perk of these is that they are small and won’t take up much space in your bag during your return journey. Additionally it is always fun to write some of the highlights of the park (or city if you’re doing some more urban exploring) on the back. I try to grab a few extras along the way so I can send messages to friends and family while traveling.
Patches
Another item I’ve made a point to gather at each National Park I’ve visited is a patch. Either the iron on kind or sew on kind will do but I’ve always preferred the embroidered ones to the printed fabrics. Recently I got a Lands End Tote bag and used fabric glue to attach my patches to it. Usually these patches cost around five dollars and similar to the postcards you won’t be fighting with your backpacks zipper to get them home.
Stamps
Each National Park Visitor Center will have a station for you to get a stamp at. I purchased a smaller National Park Passport book from Amazon before embarking on my trip in the Fall of 2021. You can also buy the more traditional book from a visitor center or online before the start of your trip.
Make sure you stamp your National Park Passport book at each Visitor Center location. I also like to make note of what hikes I completed at each park.
A map (The Ungrid)
When you enter a National Park, typically you will receive a map form the ranger posted at the entrance. If needed Visitor Centers also can provide you with a free to help guide you around the park. I’m a sucker for paper goods and so grabbing a map from each park I’ve visited has been a priority for me. Obviously these maps also help guide you around the park and are increasingly vital when your cell phone’s signal gets lost deeper in the parks. So whether you opt to keep hold of this item after you’ve exited the park is up to you, but make sure you keep it accessible for the duration of your visit to the park.
These visitor brochures/maps are called Ungrids and have been around since the 70s. They all follow a very specific design which you can read more about here.
I have bought a few other items along the way such as a flora and fauna identification guide, an embroidered baseball cap and when desperately in need, a hiking pole. W also try to take a photo with most official signs when entering the park. Sometimes we skip this in an attempt to beat the crowd.
Other items National Parks often have at their visitor centers:
- Walking Stick Medallions
- Enamel Pins
- National Park coins
- Stickers
Practicing Leave No Trace: When visiting national parks, and any wilderness areas (protected or not), it is important to be good stewards of the land. You can do this so easily and it’s the right thing to do so make sure you learn about the seven principles of Leave No Trace before you embark on your next exploration.
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