Rock Creek

Proposed National ParkDistrict of Columbia
Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.Photograph: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress
All proposed National ParksRock CreekBill in Congress
Location
District of Columbia
Current protection
Rock Creek Park (National Park Service)
Status
Redesignation bill in Congress
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
In the book
Not featured in Undiscovered America

Why should it be a National Park?

Rock Creek Park runs for miles through the middle of the nation's capital, a forested stream valley of rocky gorges, tall stands of tulip poplar and oak, and trails a few minutes from the White House. Congress set it aside in 1890 for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the United States, making it the first federally managed urban park and the third federal park ever created, after Yellowstone and Sequoia.

It already has everything a National Park is supposed to have except the name: wild woods, a working 19th-century gristmill at Peirce Mill, the earthworks of Civil War forts, and a century of public access. Calling it what it is would put it on the map for the millions who come to Washington for the monuments and never learn there is a wild valley running through the city.

The history of National Park Campaigns

Rock Creek has been a federal park since 1890, and the National Park Service has run it since 1933. The only campaign has been over its name: Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced a bill to redesignate it Rock Creek National Park in four Congresses, arguing it is already a National Park in everything but title.

Distinct National Park attempts
4 (Rock Creek National Park Act, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2026)
Other designation attempts
0

Sources

  • Office of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, press releases (2019, 2021, 2026)
  • H.R. 9104, Rock Creek National Park Act of 2026 (119th Congress)
  • Wikipedia, List of proposed National Parks of the United States
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. September 27, 1890

    Congress establishes Rock Creek Park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the United States.

  2. 1933

    An executive reorganization moves Washington's federal parks, Rock Creek included, into the National Park Service.

  3. 2017

    Norton first asks Congress to redesignate it Rock Creek National Park.

  4. August 6, 2019

    Norton introduces the Rock Creek National Park Act.

  5. September 27, 2021

    She reintroduces it on the park's 131st anniversary; it stalls in subcommittee.

  6. April 2024

    She introduces it again, as H.R. 8122.

  7. June 2, 2026

    The Rock Creek National Park Act of 2026, H.R. 9104, is introduced and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.