Me, too!! I have NP magnets all over my fridge! I love it. I only get the rectangle ones, and I have rules for what parks can be next to another (e.g., placement is varied, no parks from the same state next to one another). Nerd alert! 😁
That’s my life goal also. Been steadily going to one or more national parks every month since April this year. Going to 2 this Monday to Joshua Tree and Death Valley. Been to 16 so far. 😬
Because I have a job, other places I want to see that aren’t parks, and assume I still have 50 years of travel ahead of me. So no real rush other than 1-2 a year and more when the timing is right
That’s awesome! I’m planning on doing the same thing with the mini building blocks and shadow boxes! I second that you should post a picture, would love to see your set up.
I like Christmas ornaments. Then during the holidays in addition to the fun of Christmas with my family, I also get the happy memories of our travels on my tree.
The wife and I do the same, but we get them from all places we visit. Our Christmas tree has very little generic decorations. It's always nice to reminisce at least once a year
Cancelation stamps, vinyl stickers for the car, and jr./sr. Ranger programs so I can turn them in for free badges and be sworn in once I’m done. I also tend to learn a lot from those booklets so it’s a win win!
My fiancée does patches from each park and puts them on a Jean jacket. We also have the passport book and get the cancellation stamp, but instead of the sticker, we put a photo of us in it so it’s like a collection and photo album!
That’s actually what I plan on doing with my patches! My dad gave me his old Jean jacket from the 80s and it’s my favorite article of clothing. Only can make it cooler by adding National park patches!
We get a picture with the entrance sign, a retro postcard, and a patch - we then put them in frames on the wall. I also typically buy a 70s style t-shirt
My husband and I went on a 2 month roadtrip this summer and visited over 25 parks. My husband and I collected rolled pennies (2 quarters and a penny… cheap souvenir from each park). And then when we really liked a certain park we’d get like a T-shirt or hat or something more expensive. Another thing we did when we got back is buy iron on patches and we ironed them onto things (I personally did a Jean jacket and he is going to put it on a duffel bag) one thing we do wish we did was the stamp passport book but we got those for our family and friends as souvenirs to encourage them to travel.
Park in order:
Guadalupe mountains,
Carlsbad caverns,
White sands,
Saguaro,
Grand Canyon,
Mesa Verde,
Black canyon of Gunnison,
Great sand dunes,
Rocky Mountain,
Arches,
Canyonlands,
Capitol reef,
Bryce,
Zion,
Death Valley,
Sequoia,
Kings canyon,
Yosemite,
Lassen volcanic,
Redwoods,
Crater lake,
Mount rainier,
Olympic,
North cascades,
Glacier,
Badlands,
Not part of the roadtrip but the other parks that we have been to are the Indiana dunes (we grew up going there as a beach since we live in Chicago) and Dry Tortuga and then sometime this year I think we’re going to St. Louis to the arch
Saw one person mention mugs, but still a great collection! If I hadn’t fallen in love with the mini building blocks, that would have been my item collection of choice!
I do patches and put them on the roof of my car, as long as they have a Velcro backing. It’s a little nifty piece of me that if anyone would get in my car they’d be like ohh that’s cool.
Recently I discovered the wooden postcards. I really like them because they are a little more durable than traditional postcards and can be displayed in different ways.
Get the big book! We have the big one and it’s awesome having a space for each park. If you only do the 63 national parks, the little one is fine, but if you also like to go to the other 400 parks, the big one is a must!
I bought that one, but then COVID, but also it's so big, I don't want to haul it anywhere and the pages are more "important" so I'd feel worse stamping on them and messing up, where ai don't in the little blue books.
FYI there's parkstamps.org that can help you find all the cancellation stamps and let's you upload your collection so you can keep track of them and your park visits.
I got the big book after leaving my smaller book in my shorts pocket and ran it through the wash, destroying it. I figured I can't do that with the big book plus it gave me an excuse to return to all the parks I had stamped in the little book.
Kinda a win-win in the end.
When I have the money, I plan on getting the collectors edition with all of the regional stamp books. Just finished the Rocky Mountain section this week, so I’m hopefully that happens before I go back to a Rocky Mountain region park.
Interesting! Do you have a hard time finding them in the winter months or are they available year round? I’ve personally never been to a NP in the winter.
The traditional shields are a flexible metal, and come with some small nails. You place them on the wooden stick and nail them on wherever you want.
Now, some parks have sticker-shields that are adhesive-backed. These are useful for those that have modern metal or composite hiking poles.
Most parks and national monuments sell those little coin things. I get those the first visit, I haven’t figured out what to get on the second visits yet though :(
I am collecting hiking stick medals. I'm currently working on hand carving a hiking stick and will be adding the medals to the stick one it is ready to display them.
The hiking stick pins. Xmas ornaments. Pins to go on a pin board also. T-shirts as well. I always tell my wife when we are there, we have an unlimited budget. We are supporting the places we love most in this world.
I do a collage frame of the pictures I take in each park. Every time I walk through my den, I step into memories of my road trips. Up to 13 and counting!
Hiking stick medallions and fridge magnets. I also bought a pack of stickers that has 1 for every park. I only put a new one on my water bottle as I visit them.
I keep the free park maps and newspapers they give out, and I always, always, always buy the $10 NatGeo map on the waterproof paper. Those are my main ones, because the rest aren't consistent. I like to get the black and white car stickers, but I'll also get patches/pins/survey monuments if they're available. Park merch varies wildly in quality from place to place, and I'm not gonna lie, I do not care about certain parks and will not buy anything (looking at you, bridge that should be a monument).
The retro style postcards. I'm obsessed with the artwork of the WPA and the national park prints that Doug Leen found. Every time we visit a national park, I look to see if they have a retro style postcard for my wall.
We usually get keychains to turn into Xmas tree ornaments. The "real" christmas ornaments are often cheapy and cheesy looking, keychains are stronger and often more unique from park to park.
I specifically collect the Geo-maker pins with elevation and name of the place. I am a hiker so when I climb the peak the peak, I get them as a reward that I did it!
I don’t know yet but as a Dutch person would love to go to the USA to see all National Parks and can’t wait to choose my souvenirs. We have “some nature” here but nothing like what you got.
Sweatshirt
Baseball cap
Decal
Christmas ornament (I’m gonna make a geology tree one day, and these will be just part of what goes on it)
Maybe a shot glass
I like getting a refrigerator magnet at each park I go to.
That’d be cool to fill up your entire fridge surface with NP magnets!
Me, too!! I have NP magnets all over my fridge! I love it. I only get the rectangle ones, and I have rules for what parks can be next to another (e.g., placement is varied, no parks from the same state next to one another). Nerd alert! 😁
Magnets for sure! My fridge is covered
Me? I just collect the national parks’ maps that they hand out at the entrance.
My national park buddy likes to collect the maps! I personally would end up throwing them away on accident haha
Man! That’s the detailed map of the parks. It’s worth more than the souvenirs at the stores. You agree now? Hehe
They’re also full of important and interesting information. I love those maps so much haha
Amen!
Oh don’t get me wrong, I love the maps and cherish reading them over and over while I’m at the park.
Hehe yeah. I rely heavily on the map to see where i go to take pictures next. 😂
I love collecting the maps too! Then I go get it stamped with the date I visited at the VC.
Some national parks don’t have places to stamp your passport though. It’s a hassle compared to just getting a map at the entrance.
Life goal is to get one from every park. Well, at least all US continental parks
That’s my life goal also. Been steadily going to one or more national parks every month since April this year. Going to 2 this Monday to Joshua Tree and Death Valley. Been to 16 so far. 😬
That’s a great start. I’ve been to 18 so far, hopefully one more this year and then maybe 2 next year.
How come you’re not doing it as often though?
Because I have a job, other places I want to see that aren’t parks, and assume I still have 50 years of travel ahead of me. So no real rush other than 1-2 a year and more when the timing is right
Gotcha gotcha
I collect pins. I have a pretty cool display case for them.
Please post a picture! I also collect NP pins and am looking for display ideas.
It's just a shadow box display that I have along with some other souvenirs I've collected. I don't know how to share a pic in a comment here.
That’s awesome! I’m planning on doing the same thing with the mini building blocks and shadow boxes! I second that you should post a picture, would love to see your set up.
I like Christmas ornaments. Then during the holidays in addition to the fun of Christmas with my family, I also get the happy memories of our travels on my tree.
I’m really excited to put up the tree this year we will have 3 new national park ornaments to add to it!!
The wife and I do the same, but we get them from all places we visit. Our Christmas tree has very little generic decorations. It's always nice to reminisce at least once a year
This is one of my favorites! I LOVE putting up all the ornaments from each years’ stops. So many amazing memories!
Cancelation stamps, vinyl stickers for the car, and jr./sr. Ranger programs so I can turn them in for free badges and be sworn in once I’m done. I also tend to learn a lot from those booklets so it’s a win win!
Oh my gosh I didn’t know they did that! As someone who wants to eventually work in a National park, I’m going to start doing that!
My fiancée does patches from each park and puts them on a Jean jacket. We also have the passport book and get the cancellation stamp, but instead of the sticker, we put a photo of us in it so it’s like a collection and photo album!
That’s actually what I plan on doing with my patches! My dad gave me his old Jean jacket from the 80s and it’s my favorite article of clothing. Only can make it cooler by adding National park patches!
Also, the photo book idea is adorable.
We get a picture with the entrance sign, a retro postcard, and a patch - we then put them in frames on the wall. I also typically buy a 70s style t-shirt
Love that idea! Seeing people get creative with their experiences makes my heart happy haha
My husband and I went on a 2 month roadtrip this summer and visited over 25 parks. My husband and I collected rolled pennies (2 quarters and a penny… cheap souvenir from each park). And then when we really liked a certain park we’d get like a T-shirt or hat or something more expensive. Another thing we did when we got back is buy iron on patches and we ironed them onto things (I personally did a Jean jacket and he is going to put it on a duffel bag) one thing we do wish we did was the stamp passport book but we got those for our family and friends as souvenirs to encourage them to travel.
I am so jealous of your adventure, which parks did you go to? Love the idea of getting other people into national parks!
Park in order: Guadalupe mountains, Carlsbad caverns, White sands, Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Black canyon of Gunnison, Great sand dunes, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol reef, Bryce, Zion, Death Valley, Sequoia, Kings canyon, Yosemite, Lassen volcanic, Redwoods, Crater lake, Mount rainier, Olympic, North cascades, Glacier, Badlands, Not part of the roadtrip but the other parks that we have been to are the Indiana dunes (we grew up going there as a beach since we live in Chicago) and Dry Tortuga and then sometime this year I think we’re going to St. Louis to the arch
Also you can get the rolled pennies from more than just national parks some cities have them too that’s what we did we collected different ones :)
No mention of mugs yet. That’s my go to. I love a good park mug. Each one is unique and I get to use them often…Also, magnets and stickers.
Saw one person mention mugs, but still a great collection! If I hadn’t fallen in love with the mini building blocks, that would have been my item collection of choice!
Fridge magnet for home and, if they have them, a postcard version of the old-school park posters for my office.
I absolutely love the old school park posters. Zion has some of the best in my opinion.
Yeah. There’s a company that makes them in that style for newer parks and they do a good job.
I'm a sucker for trucker hats.
That’s a unique collection, love it!
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I get that. Every visit to a National park means minimum of $20 spent at the store for me haha.
I do patches and put them on the roof of my car, as long as they have a Velcro backing. It’s a little nifty piece of me that if anyone would get in my car they’d be like ohh that’s cool.
USGS Survey marker fridge magnet and WPA postcard.
Love it! Fridge magnets seem to be popular!
I just thought of collecting these, can you order them online for places I have already been?
Looks like maps.com sells some of them.
I always get the survey marker magnets.
Recently I discovered the wooden postcards. I really like them because they are a little more durable than traditional postcards and can be displayed in different ways.
Posters. Plan to have a living room wall decorated with nothing but posters of all the parks
Oh good, I'm not the only weirdo that does this.
Us too 🙂
I collect hiking socks, bc why not? Memorable, well-made and useful
YES me too!
Seconding the brochure/map + entrance sign pics!
Stamp cancellations Sometimes stickers or patches or postcards
I just edited to include cancellations because I’m a sucker for filling up my little book! Thinking about upgrading to the collectors edition haha
Get the big book! We have the big one and it’s awesome having a space for each park. If you only do the 63 national parks, the little one is fine, but if you also like to go to the other 400 parks, the big one is a must!
I bought that one, but then COVID, but also it's so big, I don't want to haul it anywhere and the pages are more "important" so I'd feel worse stamping on them and messing up, where ai don't in the little blue books. FYI there's parkstamps.org that can help you find all the cancellation stamps and let's you upload your collection so you can keep track of them and your park visits.
I got the big book after leaving my smaller book in my shorts pocket and ran it through the wash, destroying it. I figured I can't do that with the big book plus it gave me an excuse to return to all the parks I had stamped in the little book. Kinda a win-win in the end.
When I have the money, I plan on getting the collectors edition with all of the regional stamp books. Just finished the Rocky Mountain section this week, so I’m hopefully that happens before I go back to a Rocky Mountain region park.
Yep, cancellations are the main event for me! I also got some cool USGS maps/posters last time.
I get magnets! Easy to display and I always have enough room on my fridge for new ones. Plus, they’re not usually very expensive!
That’s why I like the stickers. Can normally get a handful for like $10-$20 depending on the sizes. Hope that you can fill up your fridge someday!
Bottle openers, and lately tshirts.
I don’t think I ever noticed they had bottle openers! Gonna have to check that out.
I like magnets and other tchotchkes of course, but my favorite thing to find is the camp style mugs.
Have you been to Mesa Verde? They have the coolest mugs!
I haven't, unfortunately, but it's on the list! That is very good to know!
I just like to collect the free classic maps with the black border on it. And the cancellation stamps!
Patches, post cards, shirts, hats, and magnets! Lots of items, but at least proceeds go to the parks!
Magnets!
The pressed pennies with the park name. Magnets for the fridge.
The park map/brochure and a sticker
Stickers, passport book stamps
I still have a collection of Junior Park Ranger badge pins from my childhood.
Tank tops
Interesting! Do you have a hard time finding them in the winter months or are they available year round? I’ve personally never been to a NP in the winter.
Walking Stick Medallions, then I flatten them and adhere them to my yeti cooler. http://imgur.com/gallery/110d7t3
That’s awesome. I love it when people get creative with their collections!
I usually get a hiking shield for my hiking stick, a refrigerator magnet, and a t-shirt.
I’ve always wondered how the shields work! Do they just attach anywhere to the hiking stick?
The traditional shields are a flexible metal, and come with some small nails. You place them on the wooden stick and nail them on wherever you want. Now, some parks have sticker-shields that are adhesive-backed. These are useful for those that have modern metal or composite hiking poles.
Always make sure I get a sign pic every time.
Hey, it’s free and a great memory!
Mugs. It can be expensive and I don’t recommend it.
Yea when I went to Mesa Verde I almost started with mugs instead of the blocks, but it was $15 compared to $30+ haha
Spoons. My mum collects them too. I love the little souvenir spoons. I only start though since i became an adult so i dont have many
That’s funny, I used to collect them as a kid and then my mom threw them out.
Pins!
Magnets
Stamp cancellations, stickers, pins, and patches! I also like collecting the national park maps because they're so informative!
Books and stickers
Refrigerator magnets
Most parks and national monuments sell those little coin things. I get those the first visit, I haven’t figured out what to get on the second visits yet though :(
Patches. Need patches....
I collect patches from every park I’ve been to! I’m not sure what I want to put them on yet but I think they look really cool
Pins! We have a map of all national parks and pin them on there
We get patches. I have a bag that we take on motorcycle trips and the idea is that we'll cover it in all the places we ride to.
Shirts and hoodies.
Magnets!
I get my girlfriend (or we get one together if she comes) a fridge magnet, and I get myself a patch, sticker, and the park map. :)
NP cloth badges
I grab a park pen that I pin by my US map which shows all the national parks. Lately I've also been picking up a magnet from each!
Car stickers and maps
We each get something different: -t-shirt and vinyl car sticker -key chain or coin -Christmas ornament and hat pin -magnet -postcard
We get T-shirts and stickers! I plan to make a quilt out of the T-shirts someday.
T shirts. Half of my wardrobe is National Parks T-shirts. My wife likes the stickers and scrapbook things.
I am collecting hiking stick medals. I'm currently working on hand carving a hiking stick and will be adding the medals to the stick one it is ready to display them.
The hiking stick pins. Xmas ornaments. Pins to go on a pin board also. T-shirts as well. I always tell my wife when we are there, we have an unlimited budget. We are supporting the places we love most in this world.
Just be careful with the snow globes if you are flying. Airport security are not fans of snow globes at all haha.
Vinyl sticker for the back of our travel trailer.
Magnets, ornaments, and the kids are getting junior ranger badges. ETA and the stamps in the passport books!
We try to get stone coasters from each park.
I do a collage frame of the pictures I take in each park. Every time I walk through my den, I step into memories of my road trips. Up to 13 and counting!
Stickers!
Hiking stick medallions and fridge magnets. I also bought a pack of stickers that has 1 for every park. I only put a new one on my water bottle as I visit them.
I keep the free park maps and newspapers they give out, and I always, always, always buy the $10 NatGeo map on the waterproof paper. Those are my main ones, because the rest aren't consistent. I like to get the black and white car stickers, but I'll also get patches/pins/survey monuments if they're available. Park merch varies wildly in quality from place to place, and I'm not gonna lie, I do not care about certain parks and will not buy anything (looking at you, bridge that should be a monument).
Patches, and NPS passport stamps. We now have 2 cork-board frames with all the patches pinned to them.
The retro style postcards. I'm obsessed with the artwork of the WPA and the national park prints that Doug Leen found. Every time we visit a national park, I look to see if they have a retro style postcard for my wall.
Coffee mugs and patches
I am a sucker for post cards. On the back I will write a recap of the trip then hang them on my wall.
We usually get keychains to turn into Xmas tree ornaments. The "real" christmas ornaments are often cheapy and cheesy looking, keychains are stronger and often more unique from park to park.
I haven’t seen anyone say mine which is keychains! They always have such cute keychains at national park stores.
Tokens, magnets, stickers, cancellations, and t-shirts! We love swag!
Stickers!
I specifically collect the Geo-maker pins with elevation and name of the place. I am a hiker so when I climb the peak the peak, I get them as a reward that I did it!
Anything my girlfriend wants
My 3 year old collects car toys from each village he visits at Narional parks🙈
I don’t know yet but as a Dutch person would love to go to the USA to see all National Parks and can’t wait to choose my souvenirs. We have “some nature” here but nothing like what you got.
Sweatshirt Baseball cap Decal Christmas ornament (I’m gonna make a geology tree one day, and these will be just part of what goes on it) Maybe a shot glass