Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a national park cancellation?
- How many unique national park cancellations are there?
- Who collects national park cancellations?
- Why would I want to collect national park cancellations?
- Can I collect national park cancellations too?
- What do I need to be able to collect national park cancellations?
- Is it hard to collect national park cancellations?
- Is it always obvious where the cancellations can be found?
- Are there resources available to help me collect the cancellations?
What is a national park cancellation?
Here is an example.
The most common format of the cancellation is a circle with the name of the national park wrapped around the top, the location (city and state) wrapped around the bottom, and a date across the center of the circle. It looks like the cancellation you see on the mail in your mailbox.
How many unique national park cancellations are there?
There are more than 1,200 unique national park cancellations that can be found at the more than 500 national parks, seashores, lakeshores, historic parks, historic sites, battlefields, memorials, monuments, trails, scenic rivers, and heritage areas across the United States and its territories. New cancellations are added each week and some disappear each week, making collecting them one fantastic scavenger hunt.
Who collects national park cancellations?
People in all walks of life from around the world collect national park cancellations. RVers, motorcyclists, home school students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, AARP members, geocaching enthusiasts, retirement community members, grandparents sharing a learning experience with their grandchildren, and national park visitors.
Why would I want to collect national park cancellations?
People collect national park cancellations for a wide variety of reasons. Some people collect because they want their children or grandchildren to learn about the national parks and United States history. Others collect because they enjoy the competitive aspect of find the cancellations. Still others collect because they enjoy sightseeing. Others collect the stamps to evoke memories of their vacations.
Tell us why you collect cancellations here.
Can I collect national park cancellations too?
Absolutely. Every state (except Delaware), the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Saipan and Guam have at least one cancellation. Some states have dozens of unique cancellations.
What do I need to be able to collect national park cancellations?
At the very minimum, you will need a notebook of some type to save the cancellation imprints and a list of the parks you wish to visit.
Is it hard to collect national park cancellations?
Some cancellations are very easy to collect, some are very difficult requiring multiple forms of transportation to reach the cancellation location.
Is it always obvious where the cancellation can be found?
No. Without guidance, for some cancellations, it may take a few hours to find the location of the rubber stamper and the ink pad.
Are there resources available to help me collect the cancellations?
Yes, there are resources available. To select the best fit for you, consider (1) whether or not you have access to the internet, (2) the amount of free time you have available, and (3) how much you enjoy tracking down and integrating information.
If you have access to the internet, lots of free time, and enjoy digging for details and piecing them together, then you'll enjoy plumbing the depths of the dozens of sites, books on national parks and the National Park Service web site.
If you have limited time and would like to focus on collecting the cancellation and enjoying the parks, then the Got the Stamp? site and books are for you. Similarly, if your goal is to collect the greatest number of cancellations in the shortest period of time, then Got the Stamp? is your source.
