8 U.S. National Heritage Areas Worth Visiting

Here are eight wonderful NHAs to visit:

 

Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area (Massachusetts and New Hampshire)

Established: 2009

The American Revolution began in 1775 in this region at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first armed conflict between an American militia and British troops (famous for “the shot heard round the world”). The landscape within this NHA, which includes 45 communities through the two New England states — nearly 1,000 square miles — is now a peaceful and rich blend of forests, farms, hills and valleys. Consider a visit to Minute Man National Historical Park (a unit of the National Park System), Walden Pond State Reservation (once home to Henry David Thoreau and a birthplace of the American conservation movement), museums, galleries and plentiful opportunities for outdoor recreation.

Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (Maryland and West Virginia)

Established: 2019

This lovely forested region of the ancient Appalachian Mountains is home to a vital culture and economy, opportunities for recreation and stunning natural beauty. The heritage area encompasses 16 counties in West Virginia and two in western Maryland. Some top destinations within its bounds include the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center (the area’s visitor center), the large, diverse Monongahela National Forest, several national scenic byways and Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, where visitors can ride on an authentic steam-driven logging train.

 

Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida)

Established: 2006

This heritage area celebrates the distinctive culture — language, food, arts and crafts, architecture, music and spirituality — of the thousands of African people who were enslaved in the isolated low country and islands of the American Southeast. The heritage area includes a vast swath of land in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Top destinations here include Cumberland Island National Seashore (a large unit of the National Park System featuring 17 miles of wild Atlantic coast beaches), McLeod Plantation Historic Site (a historic and lovely plantation and a powerful tribute to the African American men and women who endured slavery and ultimately persevered in their quest for freedom, equality and justice), Pinpoint Heritage Museum (where visitors can experience Gullah Geechee culture) and Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, one of the last unspoiled wetlands on the Atlantic coast.

 

Kenai Mountains–Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area (Alaska)

Established: 2009

This beautiful and dramatic NHA on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula showcases the area’s rich history, including land and water routes traveled by indigenous people, corridors used by prospectors and miners looking for gold and other minerals, and dramatic and scenic roads and railroads that now serve the area. It also offers an extensive system of trails for appreciating the area on foot, bicycle and horse. It encompasses Kenai Fjords National Park on the mighty Gulf of Alaska, Iditarod National Historic Trail (a system of trails featuring the iconic 1,000-mile route between Seward and Nome), Seward All American Scenic Highway, and the Alaska Railroad (the Coastal Classic route winds its way south from Anchorage along Turnagain Arm before joining the Kenai Peninsula).

 

Motor Cities National Heritage Area (Michigan)

Established: 1998

The auto industry is a vital component of American history, culture and economy, and this heritage area tells that story, including the emergence of the big three auto companies and the many ways in which the car has helped shape American society. Encompassing 10,000 square miles in southeast and central Michigan, its attractions include the Detroit Historical Museum, the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation (exploring how groundbreaking inventions and ideas, such as the automobile, have changed our world), the Gilmore Car Museum (this 90-acre campus includes nearly 200 historic autos, a 1930s service station and a functioning 1941 diner) and a variety of car-related tours and programs run in partnership with local organizations.

 

Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area (Washington)

Established: 2019

Threatened by booming regional development, Washington’s heritage area has helped preserve and restore the state’s lush forests, rugged mountains, wild rivers, alpine wilderness, flower-strewn meadows and habitat for endangered salmon and other wildlife. Its cultural heritage includes numerous Native American tribes, vibrant cities, small towns and working farms. It encompasses Interstate 90 National Scenic Byway (a dramatic highway that forms the backbone of the NHA, running from the Seattle area through the Cascade Mountains), Snoqualmie Falls (a thundering 268-foot waterfall that’s sacred to the Snoqualmie Tribe), the Pioneer Square–Skid Road and Pike Place Market historic districts (early centers of activity and public gathering places in Seattle), and the Roslyn Historic District (an outdoor recreation community that’s the gateway to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area). The NHA spans 1.5 million acres.

 

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area (New Mexico)

Established: 2006

This NHA of 10,000 square miles in north-central New Mexico celebrates its Native American history, the grand landscape of the Rio Grande del Norte, tall mountains, broad mesas, high desert and its rich cultural heritage. Visit Taos Pueblo, an iconic Native American settlement established in the late 13th and early 14th centuries; Santa Fe’s Palace of the Governors (originally constructed in 1610, and now home to the New Mexico History Museum and a Native American art market); Bandelier National Monument, featuring petroglyphs and ancient Native American dwellings carved into soft rock; and several national and state scenic byways.

 

Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area (California)

Established: 2019

California’s extensive Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is widely recognized for its fertile lands, the water it provides to the farmlands of the state’s Central Valley and the homes of millions of Californians, the immigrant communities it attracted, its recreational opportunities, and the ecological productivity of this estuary, one of the largest in the nation. This large NHA of 1,200 square miles includes the John Muir National Historic Site, Big Break Regional Shoreline (a large regional park located on the delta) and Locke Historic District (built in 1915, this is the most complete example of a rural, agricultural Chinese community in the U.S.).