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August 2024: I corrected some links, marked through some sites that no longer allow mail-in badges, and added some new mail-in badges to my list.
July 2023: I crossed out several Junior Ranger badges that are no longer available to earn by mail, but fortunately I also added a few new ones, too, and I updated my map with new Junior Ranger badges that kids can earn on-site.
"How did you figure out where all of the Junior Ranger programs are?" you ask.
Friends, I made a giant freaking map:
Yes, that is EVERY SINGLE NATIONAL PARK SITE WITH A JUNIOR RANGER PROGRAM. I put them all in by hand. I went to every single national park's website, searched for its Junior Ranger program, and if it had one I put it on my map.
When I plan road trips, I check my map for all the national park sites with Junior Ranger programs that we could detour to, and then we detour to them. During our upcoming road trip, for instance, we're visiting Saint Croix Island and Acadia National Park, primarily for their Junior Ranger programs.
But the kids' enthusiasm for earning Junior Ranger badges is unceasing, and yet we cannot spend our entire year traveling to various national parks. If only!
So I went back through every one of those websites, and I noted every park that permits children to earn their Junior Ranger badge by mail. Most of these parks provide the badge book as a downloadable pdf for kids to complete using internet or book research (often the park's own website, but we've also found useful park videos on YouTube). They mail their completed badge books to the park, and in return, the park rangers mail them back their badges and certificates.
It's always, eternally thrilling.
The kids have been doing this for years now, and still have tons of Junior Ranger badges left to earn by mail. They've learned geography, history, and several sciences in the process, experienced the breadth and depth of the national experience in ways they haven't had the opportunity to do in person, and have an intense appreciation for the variety of cultural, historical, and geographic artifacts and monuments that must be explored, preserved, and protected.
Not every national park, or even most national parks, allow their Junior Ranger badges to be earned by mail, mind you. You'll know if one does, because it will say so on its website or on the book, and it will have the book available as a downloadable pdf and include a mailing address for the completed book to be sent to. Many parks will state, kind of pissily in my opinion, that they do NOT allow badges to be earned by mail, and that's their right, but I think everyone loses when they do that--why stifle a kid's desire to learn? Why refuse an opportunity to grow someone's knowledge and love of your national park?
Before you get your kid all revved up on earning these badges by mail, you should know that since you've got to mail the completed badge books to each park, you'll be paying a few bucks for postage and manila envelopes each time. If you're conserving resources, check out the online badges that I've noted in my list--those let kids either do or submit their work online, so you don't have to pay for either supplies or postage.
Fortunately, MANY national parks are happy to have more kids interested in them and working to learn more about them! Here are all the national park Junior Ranger badges that you can earn by mail:
NOTE: I do NOT include Junior Ranger badges in which the badge book is offered as a pdf from the national park site, but kids cannot mail them in or submit them online to earn the badge without a visit to the site. Lots of national park sites offer their badge books as pdfs so that kids can get a head start on the book (which is a great idea!), and some sites even allow kids to mail in their badge books later if they didn't have time to complete them at the park, but this is is solely for badges that kids can earn entirely from home.
I'm also not including any of the newer "virtual Junior Ranger programs," which let kids complete some web activities and then print an image of the Junior Ranger badge. Those can be fun, but this list is solely for physical badges that kid can earn from home.
AND I'm also not including Junior Ranger badges that officially aren't available by mail, but that people have anecdotally or allegedly sent in, regardless. It's cool that it works for some people, and you're always welcome to contact a national park site and ask for an exception, but this particular list is hopefully just for the safe bets.
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (Kentucky)
Adams National Historical Park (Massachusetts)- Aleutian World War II National Historical Area (Alaska)
- Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)
- Amistad National Recreation Area (Texas)
- Andersonville National Historic Site (Georgia)
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (Tennessee)- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin)
- Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (Virginia). Kids can earn this one online!
- Arches National Park (Utah)
- Arizona Junior Ranger Archaeology (Arizona): badge book here; mailing address here
- Arizona Trail Junior Explorer (Arizona)
- Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial (Virginia)
- Assateague Island National Seashore (Maryland)
- Aztec Ruins National Monument (New Mexico). Kids can earn this one online!
- Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial (Washington)
- Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (Alaska)
- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (Wyoming)
- Boston African American National Historic Site (Massachusetts)
- Boston National Historical Park (Massachusetts)
- Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah): Include a self-addressed, stamped bubble mailer to receive a wooden badge by mail.
- Buffalo National River (Arkansas)
- California National Historic Trail (California)
- Camp Nelson National Monument (Kentucky)
- Cane River Creole National Historical Park (Louisiana)
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona)
- Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Cape Krusenstern National Monument (Alaska)
- Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (Maryland)
- Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (North Carolina)
- Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (Washington, DC)
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (Florida)
- Catoctin Mountain National Park (Maryland)
Cedar Breaks National Monument (Utah)- Centennial Junior Ranger (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Cesar E. Chavez National Monument (California)
Channel Islands National Park (California)- Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (Ohio). This one can be earned online!
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (Maryland)- Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Maryland)
Civil War Defenses of Washington (Maryland)- Clara Barton National Historic Site (Maryland)
- Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Cowpens National Battlefield (South Carolina)
- Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (Idaho)
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (New Jersey)
- Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska). This was my younger kid's favorite Junior Ranger badge to earn by mail. She LOVED researching the sled dogs, and was thrilled when the ranger who mailed her badge to her wrote a letter to her that told her even more about them!
- Devils Postpile National Monument (California)
- Dinosaur National Monument (Colorado)
- Discovering the Underground Railroad (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (Washington)
- Effigy Mounds National Monument (Iowa)
- El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (Texas)
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (New Mexico)
- First Ladies National Historic Site (Ohio)
- First State National Historical Park (Delaware)
- Fort Donelson National Battlefield (Tennessee)
- Fort Hunt Park (Virginia)
- Fort Pulaski National Monument (Georgia)
- Fort Scott National Historic Site (Kansas)
- Fort Stanwix National Monument (New York)
- Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (Washington, DC)
- Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
- George Rogers Clark National Historic Site (Indiana)
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: note: you will get a sticker badge, not a pin badge, by return mail (Alaska)
Glacier National Park (Montana)Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Utah)
- Governors Island National Monument (New York)
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Arizona)- Grand Portage National Monument (Minnesota)
- Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Great Falls Park (Virginia)
- Great Lakes Junior Ranger (Michigan)
- Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Colorado)
Gulf Islands National Seashore (Mississippi)Hagerman Fossil Beds (Ohio)Haleakala National Park (Hawaii)- Hamilton Grange National Memorial (New York)
- Hampton National Historic Site (Maryland)
- Harry S. Truman National Historic Site (Missouri)
- Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (Iowa)
- Historic Preservation Junior Ranger (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park (Pennsylvania)
- Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail (Washington)
James A. Garfield National Historic Site (Ohio)- Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana)
- Jimmy Carter National Historic Site (Georgia). This is another badge that had a profound effect on my older kid. She was unexpectedly moved by the story of Jimmy Carter, and he's now one of her heroes.
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (Oregon)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site (Massachusetts)- Johnstown Flood National Memorial (Pennsylvania). Both kids loved earning this one, and it led us to explore more about our own local dam.
- Juan Bautista De Anza Historic Trail (California). This one can be earned online.
- Junior Archaeologist (national)
- Junior Cave Scientist (national)
Junior Civil War Historian (national)- Junior Explorers (Arizona)
- Junior Forest Ranger (national)
Junior Green Ranger (national)- Junior Ranger All About Bats (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Junior Ranger Eclipse Explorer (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Junior Ranger Junior Paleontologist (national)
- Junior Ranger Let's Go Fishing (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Junior Ranger Night Explorer (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Junior Ranger Railroad Explorer (national)
- Junior Ranger River Safety (New York)
- Junior Ranger Underwater Explorer (national)
- Junior Ranger Wilderness Explorer (national): badge book here; mailing address here
- Junior Ranger Wildland Fire (Michigan)
- Junior Snow Ranger (national)
- Katmai National Park and Preserve (Alaska)
- Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens (District of Columbia)- Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield (Georgia)
- Keweenaw National Historical Park (Michigan)
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Alaska)
- Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada). This is another one you can request by email, but I don't know if you can actually complete it without a visit.
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (Washington)
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (Nebraska)- Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois)
- Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (Montana)
- Little River Canyon National Preserve (Alabama)
- Little Rock Central High School (Arkansas). This one got earned in real-life, too.
- Longfellow House Washington Headquarters National Historic Site (Massachusetts)
- Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park (Texas)
- Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site (Virginia)
- Manassas National Battlefield Park (Virginia)
- Manhattan Project National Historical Park (New Mexico, Tennessee, Washington)
- Manzanar National Historic Site (California)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (Georgia)
- Martin Van Buren National Historic Site (New York)
- Mary McLeod Bethune National Historic Site (Washington, DC)
- Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Midwest Archaeological Center Junior Ranger (Nebraska)
- Minidoka National Historic Site (Idaho)
- Minuteman Missile Silo National Historic Park (South Dakota)
- Missouri National Recreational River (South Dakota)
- Monocacy National Battlefield (Maryland)
Montezuma Castle National Monument (Arizona)- Moores Creek National Battlefield (North Carolina)
- Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (Utah)
National Mall (District of Columbia)- National Park of American Samoa Junior Ranger (American Samoa)
Navajo National Monument (Arizona)- New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (Massachusetts)
- New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (Louisiana)
- New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (West Virginia)
- Ninety Six National Historic Site (South Carolina)
- Niobrara National Scenic River (Nebraska)
- Noatak National Preserve (Alaska)
- Ocmulgee National Monument (Georgia). We went there last year!
- Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum (Oklahoma)
Oklahoma City National Memorial 25th Anniversary (Oklahoma)- Old Spanish National Historic Trail (New Mexico)
- Oregon National Historic Trail (Oregon, Utah)
- Padre Island National Seashore (Texas)
- Pea Ridge National Military Park (Arkansas)
Petersburg National Battlefield (Virginia)- Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona). The kids earned this one by mail, because we didn't know about the Junior Ranger program when we visited there.
Pinnacles National Park (California)- Pipestone National Monument (Minnesota)
Point Reyes National Seashore (California). I didn't know about Junior Rangers when we visited here, either--thank goodness for badges earned by mail!- Pony Express National Historic Trail (Wyoming)
- Portland General Electric (Oregon)
- President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home (Arkansas)
- Prince William Forest Park (Virginia)
- Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau (Hawaii)
- Railroad Explorer Junior Ranger (national)
- Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (South Carolina)
- Richmond National Battlefield Park (Virginia)
Roger Williams National Memorial (Rhode Island)- Russell Cave National Monument (Alabama)
- Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (Wisconsin, Minnesota)
- Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site (New York)
- San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (Texas)
- Salem Maritime National Historic Site (Massachusetts)
- San Juan Island National Historical Park (Washington)
- Santa Fe National Historic Trail (New Mexico)
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (California)- Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site (Massachusetts)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (California)Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee)- Sitka National Historical Park (Alaska). Matt and I have been to Sitka, but we weren't thinking about Junior Rangers while we were there!
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Michigan)
- Springfield Armory National Historic Site (Massachusetts)
- Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail (Maryland)
Stones River National Battlefield (Tennessee)- St. Paul's Church National Historic Site (New York)
- Stonewall National Monument (New York)
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas)
- Theodore Roosevelt Island (Virginia)
- Thomas Stone National Historic Site (Maryland)
Timpanogos Cave National Monument (Utah)- Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (New Mexico)
- Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (New York)
- Virtual Junior Ranger Red Rock Canyon (Nevada)
- War in the Pacific National Historical Park (Guam)
- Western Arctic National Parklands (Alaska)
- White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Whitman Mission National Historic Site (Washington)
- Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir (North Carolina)
- Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (Virginia)
- Women's Rights National Historical Park (New York)
- World Heritage Junior Ranger (national)
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska). Matt and I have been to Wrangell without the kids, too!
- Yosemite National Park (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
This is one of my absolute favorite activities that we do in our homeschool, but it's partly so wonderful because it's so adaptable. Sure, it can be your entire geography curriculum, or just an enrichment to another spine. You can include it in your history studies, or in the natural or earth sciences. Even if you don't homeschool, these Junior Ranger books are so fun that kids can simply DO them for fun. My kids do, and they think it's a nifty trick that I also let them count them for school!
If your kids love earning Junior Ranger badges, then they'd likely be interested in learning about the national park system as a whole--there's so much to explore there, from history and culture to geology and the sciences. Here are some of our favorite resources for learning about and exploring the national park system:
- National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks: for kids who like maps
- National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States: this is the best one, because it has EVERY national park site in it!
- National Parks of the USA: the most kid-friendly
- National Parks of the USA Activity Book: for kids who really just want to be doing puzzles!
- Eyewitness National Parks: My older kid has adored every Eyewitness book ever created.
P.S. Want more obsessively-compiled lists of resources and activities for kiddos and the people who want to keep them happy and engaged? Check out my Craft Knife Facebook page!
92 comments:
This is AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing~
THIS IS GREAT!
We just did our first two JR badges at Death Valley & Grand Canyon but are heading to Mammoth Cave next week for our 3rd.
Question - I love the pins, but the iron on patches are even better, Did the parks send you both or how did that work? Just curious. I know you can buy some of them online, but was wondering what you ended up receiving in the mail.
Thanks again for posting this guide!
THANK YOU for all the research you did on this and your willingness to share it!
My son got so many badges when we traveled, but that was a few years back and I never knew about anything online.
This is cool!!
This is amazing! Thanks for all your hard work!
How fun to discover another family as wild about these badges as ours! Your obsessive searching sounds just like mine and we're embarking on a massive road trip again this year that will allow us to visit at least 24 NPS sites!
For the parks that you need to visit, how much time is required to get the information they need to complete the badges? I am taking the kids out west this summer and most places we will only be there a few hours.
This is insanely helpful- thank you SO much!!
Sometimes they will send just the badges, and sometimes they will also send patches. Sometimes, the children have also received pencils, stickers, or other small treats, as well. I just took a wander past the kids' vests, and out of the ones they've earned by mail, it looks like Jimmy Carter, Junior Archaeologist, Petrified Forest, and Point Reyes sent them patches. The kids have several other patches from sites, but those were all ones that they visited in person, so I'm not sure what would be mailed from those.
Each park creates its own Junior Ranger book, so the time taken to complete them varies a LOT. In some parks, the kids have earned their badges in an hour or so at the visitor's center before we've even toured the rest of the park, and in some parks, the kids have worked on them for a couple of days and we've seen every part of the park and learned every single thing there is to learn about it in the process, I feel like. And other parks have time commitments of just about every possibility in between. When we're planning a trip, I will usually print out the park's Junior Ranger book (if they've made it available as a pdf online), and ask the kids to complete all of the activities that don't require our presence in the park ahead of time. That way, when we're there we can concentrate on the park, and I won't have to sit on a bench for an hour while they work a crossword puzzle, say. Also, a total of two times this was the only way the kids could earn a badge at a particular park--twice, we've gone to a park and had the ranger tell the kids that they'd run out of badge books. Each time, when the kids excitedly showed them that they'd printed their books at home, the rangers were happy that they could do the work and earn the badge.
Great idea. I think we will use them to form a class at our local library. I do notice that some of these referenced things that can only be done at the park, how do you get around those?
this was an excellent resource for planning our (nearly) crosscountry trip last month. We ended up hitting 18 parks. A couple of additional notes:
1. Some parks will have additional books for certain subject matters, for instance Hot Springs had a second book specifically on Bats, and many of the parks along the path of Totality had a special Eclipse book back in the fall. These weren't offered automatically, typically only the normal park book was presented
2. I found most were free, but at least Great Smoky Mtn Park charges a nominal fee for the program.
3. Most badges are plastic, but some are wood (I was told reclaimed maple), and apparently there are 4 metal ones (Stones River NB is like pewter, and I'm told Lincolns home and Fort Donnelson, not sure what the last is)
4. Arizona has a secondary program as well where by completing a couple of additional activities and visiting 4 AZ based NPS sites you can get a special Arizona National Park patch with park specific minipatchs
5. If you were wondering why some are Parks and some are Monuments, Parks require Congressional approval but Monuments only require the President to declare.
So this is a terrific post. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. My family gets our junior ranger on whenever we can. As a prior commenter shared, sometimes parks run out of books or badges/patches. I thought I'd share another program called Redwood Edventures through the California Parks system. They are great, action/clue oriented activities which earn you patches for each one completed. You can find out more at http://www.redwood-edventures.org.
Great map! We also are planning our vacations around these stops, and the kids are obsessed with the badges! Recently while driving from NC to Cleveland, we randomly noticed a sign for the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, OH. We literally pulled off and called to ask whether they have a Jr Ranger program. They do, and they have these unique round medallion badges. Consider adding this to your map. https://www.nps.gov/fila/index.htm http://www.firstladies.org/
Thank you for letting me know--I added it to the map!
First of all thank you for compiling this amazing resource. Do you find when you mail in the completed activity books that they are returned to you? I was hoping they do because they contain a lot of valuable information.
Thanks
John and Junior Ranger Ian
It depends on the national park. Most parks do return the books, and some will even include other souvenirs, such as pencils or patches.
You can also earn one through mail at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on the island of Guam. It is also regular US postage to mail any mailable items to our patk. Visit our website at www.nps.gov/wapa or email wapa_interpretation@nps.gov
Badlands National Park can also be earned through the mail. Rangers will mail back the badge. There is also a patch, but it is earned by completing a Ranger-led Junior Ranger program.
As for why some parks charge and why others don’t allow the badges to be earned by mail, the books and badges can become a large budget expense for many parks. The materials are only allowed to be bought with specific funds and some parks do not receive as much as other parks because of size or visitation. The small charge is to help offset the parks cost at times because of the high visitation.
Most of Utah's state parks also offer Junior Ranger programs and we only found one that had a nominal charge for the book. Between the national parks, monuments and state parks you can earn 48 without leaving the state. Kodachrome Basin offers a unique six pointed star badge that was one of my sons favorite badges.
This is awesome - thank you
Thank you so much for making this map!! When we travel, we try to visit as many of these as possible and this is the best resources EVER!
Thank you for this list and the links!
I love the idea of adding Utah's state parks to the map--thanks for that! I only found three of their Junior Ranger programs via Googling, but I added those to the map, and whenever I come across any other state park Junior Ranger programs, I'll add those, too.
I've noticed a few parks are missing. There may be more than even this but we just started. On the Outer Banks in NC, my son received the National Seashore Badge at the lighthouses and a Jr Ranger badge at the Wright Memorial. He also earned a patch and certificate at Jockeys Ridge State Park.
For the National Seashore badge you're looking for Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the map, and for the Wright Memorial badge you're looking for the Wright Brothers National Memorial on the map. Fort Raleigh Historic Site is right there, too, and they've also got a Junior Ranger program.
Thanks for the tip about North Carolina State Parks Junior Rangers! It looks like I can put Chimney Rock, Mount Jefferson, and William B. Umstead State Parks on the map.
I was just going to comment that the Outerbanks ones are missing, although you earn the same one if you visit Cape Hatteras Lighthouse or Bodie Island. There is also the Wright Brother's National Memorial.
I am from Pennsylvania and there are SEVERAL in PA that are not on the list and it shocks me. Geettysburg is the biggest one missed! Also, Steamtown National Hisorical Site, Flight 93 National Memorial and Allegheny Prortage Railroad National Historic Site.
You are absolutely correct that the parks you mentioned have wonderful Junior Ranger Programs. Most of our 419 National Park sites have a Junior Ranger Program. Some even allow you to earn multiple badge and/or patches for completing multiple books or additional activities. It appears that the original intention of this post and list was to highlight the National Park sites that have a program that can be completed from home and then mail your completed book in to receive your reward. I have found some parks only allow you to pick up your activity book at the park and must be returned in person. Others have the book online to print at home but must be turned in at the park in person (this is my favorite because you can work on it even if the Park Visitor Center is not open yet). I agree Pennsylvania has some wonderful National Parks. You mentioned Gettysburg. This park has their book online that you may print from home but it must be turned in at the park. The Eisenhower Farm has its own Junior Ranger Program, its a Secret Service Junior Ranger activity. It can be completed at the site or online as a WebRanger. Hope this information proves to be helpful. Explore-Learn-Protect
If a Junior Ranger program isn't on the list, that's because it's not a Junior Ranger program that you can earn by mail. The list is only for Junior Ranger programs that a child can earn by mail. Look on the map for all Junior Ranger programs that a kid you can earn in person--that's where you'll see all of those Pennsylvania ones that you didn't find on the list.
I currently have over 120 badges and this has really helped me get some of the ones in far places that I may not go to
This is awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to do all this and your willingness to share it with all of us. We just started on our Junior Ranger program journey and we are super excited about it. Your hard work and generosity is greatly appreciated!
Here is one more I found today: The Effigy Mounds in Iowa https://www.nps.gov/wapa/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm
Love this - Although, I am starting to think it is more fun for me than my daughter :)
Thank you so much for sharing! Here are other lesser known parks in Florida. We had such a great time!
https://www.nps.gov/deso/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm (De Soto Nat'l Park)
https://www.nps.gov/foma/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm (Fort Matanzas)
Thank you for this list! I have never thought about doing this by mail, we will have to try a few of theses that we might not be able to get to. We have done 80 junior rangers and aren’t planning on stopping! It’s fun to see ones we don’t have! Also while at Lassen this year I found patches that say 25, 50 and , 100 Junior Ranger trek club. The kids were ecstatic! They are playing a spring trip to work on getting that 100th!! Thanks again for all of your hard work on this list!!
I am so intrigued by that Ranger Trek stuff! Did you see their products in the gift shop at the national park, itself? Because I just found their website and they also have STICKERS!!!!!!!
We have loved earning badges on our recent road trip this summer. It was such a hit that we decided to incorporate them into our homeschooling. I love this list, thank you so much.
Lani Derrick,
What a wonderful idea. You may also want to check out Webrangers with the National Park Service. Explore - Learn - Protect
I just discovered your site and I really love your info about the Jr. Ranger pins. However, I clicked on the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (Massachusetts) link and it took me to an article about Peter Earl Diezel, white supremacist from Indiana, also active in Illinois/Chicago instead of the Park site. You may want to check it out.
I just checked the link and it took me the correct page for New Bedford Whaling Junior Ranger.
This is AWESOME! I was about to make this map myself but I thought I'd google it first figuring someone must have done it already. I was able to copy your map to my account. I'm color coding the ones we've already completed. Thank you!
You are very right about how drastically different the amount of time it takes to complete each booklet. The Boston one takes several days as you have to visit several different historical sites around the city. They are not far apart, but it's a lot of walking and T time. I find we can only really do one historical site or park per day because you want to spend time enjoying it and learning, without having to rush. I think doing as much of the book ahead of time is a great idea because the kids have a better understanding of where they are going and the whole family can enjoy being there more. Sitting and waiting for kids to do activities is not fun. I've finally conceded to mailing in completed books later so that we can enjoy where we are more.
I would love to see all your patches and badges you've earned. I didn't realize there was such a variety of styles. Some are really cool designs.
There's also a badge available for the US Virgin Islands (USVI)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS GREAT LIST. We are working through starting with the ones in California where we live. I had my daughter submit the Charles Young for black history month. We tried the Anza online but the email bounced back. I contacted them but haven't heard back yet. We also heard about sending in Flat Rangers when we mail in the completed activity, so we might try that too.
Thank you for such an excellent resource. I’ve reposted this link to a Facebook group, “Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends,” and it seems to be well appreciated and shared. As an educator and caretaker of kids, and then as some who just loves great ideas, and yet again as someone who loves the NPS, thank you again for this incredible list.
Thank you for this excellent. I’ve posted a link to the Facebook group “Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends”, also educators, caretakers, and lovers of the NPS, and it appears to be dearly appreciated. Thank you personally.
Thanks for putting this together. A more complete list of of Junior Ranger Booklets can be found at: http://npshistory.com/agency_history.htm#junior-ranger
One more that didn't make the list!
https://www.nps.gov/mwac/juniorranger.html
The Midwest Region has a Junior Ranger Archeology program that can also be completed through the mail. Reading all of the books is certainly my favorite part of my job, so send them in!! Copies can be downloaded from the link below.
https://www.nps.gov/mwac/juniorranger.html
We have really enjoyed your list! Some others we've found that you may want to add are: Stones River National Battlefield, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, Oregon and California National Historic Trail, Santa Fe National Historic Trail, Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, and Pony Express National Historic Trail. Thanks for a great resource!
Hi since the coronavirus has closed most nps locations Yellowstone should also be on the list
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has a Junior Ranger program not listed. Also, the monument offers a desert ranger program.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument's Junior Ranger program is on the map. It's not on the list, because you can't do it from home.
That's an awesome catch about Yellowstone! You've inspired me to see if any other parks that don't usually offer Junior Ranger programs by mail are now doing so during the pandemic.
The Bureau of Land Management has a site that lists some available Junior Ranger packets. There's a few not listed here. For example, the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area provides a badge and certificate through the mail.
https://www.blm.gov/learn/kids/join
I know this is a 2-year-old post, but do you know if there's anywhere to get the NPS centennial of women's suffrage online?
You haven't listed Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan). I completed their Jr ranger program by mail last November.
Does anyone have any idea where to submit the junior cave scientist or the junior paleontologist packets? I have looked at both packets and searched online and can't figure out where to mail these packets. I have clicked on the links for each but it doesn't indicate where to mail them. Thank in advance!
The park service isn't mailing out the Junior Cave Scientist or Junior Paleontologist badges from their headquarters during the pandemic:
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/junior-cave-scientist-program.htm
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/junior-paleontologist.htm
Sometimes, though, you can find another badge-by-mail national park that also accepts them.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is offering a Junior Ranger badge by mail program anymore:
https://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm
Junior Cave Scientist and Paleontologist
You might try contacting Thomas Stone National Historic Site in Maryland. They have access to a lot of different Junior Ranger books and badges.
I would still try to mail it in. My daughter did the activity book for the Angler this summer and I emailed them to ask if I could send in pics of the completed book instead of mail due to the pandemic. And the replied that they were not sending out actual badges anymore but then several weeks later she received a badge!!! I also mailed in the Women's Right workbook almost three months ago and we got a certificate and badge back just this last week.
We have these junior Ranger Badges in metal as well...
Andersonville NHS, Great Smokey Mountain NP and Jimmy Carter NHS
Amazing list, thank you so much! Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area now has at-home directions for their Junior Ranger book too: https://go.usa.gov/x7HAa
They'll mail out a badge, which is metal and one of the prettiest I've seen.
Thank you so much for this awesome list! I have a question : I don’t understand where to mail the historic preservation junior ranger program booklet. The link is not available anymore I found the new one with the booklet but there is no address mentioned. Any clue ?
Thank you so much for this awesome list! I have a question : I don’t understand where to mail the historic preservation junior ranger program booklet. The link is not available anymore I found the new one with the booklet but there is no address mentioned. Any clue ?
I have a question because the link for the historic preservation junior ranger booklet change. I found the new link with the booklet but there is no mail address. I don’t know where to send it. Do you remember where you send your booklet ?
Thank you so much for this awesome list !
Once upon a time, you could mail it into Petrified Forest National Park, but it's no longer listed with their other Junior Ranger books there. It's possible that after the pandemic, some national park sites might add it back to their lists? I've found that some national park sites offer this one in person even when it's not listed on their website; my kids ended up earning their Historic Preservation badges at Mammoth Cave, of all places!
Thank you for putting this list together! I'm glad to see an update. Your hard work is appreciated.
Army corps, national forests, wildlife refuges and BLM lands all have junior ranger. (Lots of stuff that is not on this map) here is a link that you can go by state by clicking the thing on the bottom and see just about every national site that ever had a junior ranger program. Unfortunately some may have discontinued their programs so calling each site is recommended
https://safefoodcert.wixsite.com/nps-junior-ranger
This is excellent! Thank you so much!
This is excellent! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this list. I am curious if a Badge can be earned in multiple parks (example Big South Fork River & Recreational Area), do activities need to be completed at both parks or just one?
Almost every National Park Service unit has a Junior Ranger program. Each has a unique badge and/or patch associated with their location. Big South Fork Scenic River and Recreation Area is one park service unit and has just one program to complete.
Back in 2012, after a summer trip earning over 20 junior ranger badges, my daughter (then age 9) wrote to the Director of the Interior making suggestions for the Junior Ranger program. One of these recommendations was to create a system for being able to earn junior ranger badges without requiring a trip to the Visitor Center at the end. She was disappointed when our schedule didn’t allow for that and she had done the work but couldn’t get the badge. Her letter was forwarded the regional director in charge of the junior ranger program. He was kind enough to write back and indicated that several of her suggestions would be considered. I am so happy to see that this is true.
This is amazing! Thank you so much! My son is an information hound and has a hunger for new things that I can hardly keep up with! This is going to help for sure! Buying a printer tomorrow so we can get started!
It looks like you can also earn the Manassas National Battlefield junior badge from home! Bonus you can email in your work. :)
This is fantastic! Quick thing I found, since so many sites want us to print and mail these... I've been printing them 4 to a page. I have access to a double-sided printer, but even if you don't, that cuts down on a LOT of trees being killed. (Looking directly at you, Katmai, with your 36-page book!) With 3 kids, sending 108 sheets of paper is kinda crazy, but still cheaper than the flight to Katmai (which I SO WISH that we could do!)
This looks great but when I clicked on the first one you had linked in the intro, it said you could only print out the badges unless the kids came in personally. Have they changed it so they will no longer mail them out?
Yeah, unfortunately I think most of the sites have gone in the direction of no longer mailing out real badges, but instead posting a paper badge that you can print at home. 2021 was the last year that I think kids could really take advantage of earning badges at home. It's too bad, because spending so much time earning Junior Ranger badges by mail is one of the main factors in developing my older kid's deep love for national parks. I'm giving her the grownup version, a national park stamp collector's book, for her nineteenth birthday this summer.
For anyone interested, there is a junior ranger Facebook group that has a google drive of most of the online JR books in existence. It makes it really easy to print books out to complete at home. Also there is lots of good content on which parks are currently mailing out junior ranger badges.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/juniorrangerclub/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF
This is such a wonderful resource.Thank you so much for posting!
Me and me kids have fallen in love with this program.We have done California NHT,Crater Lake NP,Cesar Chavez NM and World Heritage JR Ranger.
Here are some parks that offer By Mail Options:Death Valley National Park,Effigy Mounds National Monument,Alcatraz Island National Monument,White House and Presidents Park,Theodore Roosevelt Island,Muir Woods National Monument,Marin Headlands,San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park,Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site,New River Gorge National Park,Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park,Saguaro National Park,Tuzigoot National Monument,Agua Fria National Monument,Canyon De Chelly National Monument,Nevada State Parks,Mojave National Preserve,Inyo National Forest,Umpqua National Forest,Stanislaus National Forest,Flight 93 National Memorial and Joshua Tree National Park.
*Most of these said inside the book or I emailed them and they said yes.
Hope this helps!
Lake Roosevelt NRA in Washington State and Kenai Fjords NP and Lake Clark NP in Alaska all offer Mail in and/or Email options,as stated on the website.
Fort Pulaski in Georgia offers a book online and a mail in option.
George rogers clark nhp in Indiana has a mail in option,as listed on the website.
The George Rogers Clark update is VERY interesting, because when my family went there several years ago, I mentioned to a park ranger that we usually liked to download and print the Junior Ranger books in advance but they weren't available on the George Rogers Clark site. The park ranger that I was speaking to gave me a VERY salty reply along the lines of how they wanted to make sure that people who earned the Junior Ranger badge at THEIR site had to do so in person. I'm glad to see that they've moved to a more equitable model!
https://www.nps.gov/gero/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
Tagged @CraftKnife in the Junior Ranger Club Facebook group, there is some additional info that you might want to add for the at home badges and the map that some of the members found.
Hello-By any chance,will you update this list soon?
I have a few more.
Cowpens NB has a web ranger program that can be mailed back to the park for a badge
Southern Campaign junior ranger program can bae completed by email
Fort Pulaski in Georgia allows books to be completed at home and mailed back to the park.
I'm planning to do Congaree by mail soon.
I'm also doing a junior ranger project over the summer and I'm mailing 16 booklets around the country as a homeschool project.
Ozark Scenic Riverway is a wonderful source of badges:it has the underwater explorer and wildland firefighter,as well as the angler badge.
Fort Frederica in georgia has Archeologist,Angler,And Underwater Explorer badges,as well as a master patch fpr completing those three,and the parks book.
Joshua Tree and Yosemite in California have virtual junior ranger programs that can be sent to the park by email for badges.Agua Fria Nm and Saguaro,both in Arizona have mail in options and swear in videos online.
Missisippi River NRA is a wonderful source of badges.They have 6 of the national booklets.
The link above for "Discovering the Underground Railroad" took me to a NPS page-not-found, but I found the booklet here:
http://npshistory.com/publications/interpretation/junior-ranger/ugrr-se.pdf
The mailing address is included at the end of the book.
The NPS says that some of the junior ranger booklets available on the web are outdated. This page lists all the current ones:
https://www.nps.gov/kids/parks-with-junior-ranger-programs.htm
Camp Nelson National Monument in Kentucky will accept books by mail.
https://www.nps.gov/cane/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm
It looks like The Wildland Fire JR book can be mailed to indiana dunes for a badge.
https://www.nps.gov/indu/learn/management/jrwildlandfirefighters.htm
Cuyahoga National Park has a mail in option.It is listed on page 18 in this booklet.
https://npshistory.com/publications/interpretation/junior-ranger/cuva-7-12.pdf
Nebraska Hudson-Beds National forest has a mail in option listed on page 26
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd670421.pdf
St Louis County has an email jr ranger program
https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/programs-activities/junior-ranger/
Shoreline Park in California has a email jr ranger program.
https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/programs-activities/junior-ranger/
I'm currently at badge # 33 and this resource has helped me a lot.
Thank you so much!
It looks like San Juan NHS offers an option for books to be mailed to the park.
I found some not on this list.
Mesa Verde National Park (Email/Mail)
https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
Saguaro National Park (Mail)
https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/kidsyouth/junior-rangers.htm
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Email/Mail)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4203380189715755&id=111028315617650&set=a.511566898897121
Springfield Armory National Historic Site (Mail)
https://www.nps.gov/spar/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
This is amazing of you! We love earning Junior Ranger badges, we plan our road trips around National Parks and national historic sites but some of these we haven’t been to or we didn’t know about it when we visited! Thank you SO much!
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