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The smallest site in the National Park System is acres.
0.02
You could say that visiting Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial is, well, a walk in the park. The diminutive destination commemorates the spot where Kosciuszko, a Polish freedom fighter and military engineer in the American Revolution, rented rooms in 1797–98. And while the place may be pintsized, it’s little wonder why this little wonder is worth a trip. “When Kosciuszko died, Thomas Jefferson remarked that he was ‘as pure a son of liberty’ as he had ever known,” says Andrew McDougall, a special use coordinator at Independence National Historical Park, which manages the memorial. “Kosciuszko’s vision of liberty extended to all people, not just the wealthy.” Small but mighty, indeed.
LAY OF THE LAND The NPS comprises 411 areas, ranging from national parks to seashores. Stretching 13.2 million acres across Alaska, the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the system’s largest expanse.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH DICKINSON
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