Decoding National Park Abbreviations

Understanding What National Park Oval Euro Stickers Stand For

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Chances are that if you've ever driven before, you've seen a car with a roof rack that looks exactly like this. I know I have. For some, these sticker clad roof racks are worn like a badge of honor.

But how many of us are actually able to tell what those random letters are for?

In a lot of cases, those stickers contain the abbreviation for a National Park. Every once in awhile, you'll see one for a winery or some other touristy locations, but I'll stick to the National Park ones.

With all the National Parks having such long names (not to mention the fact that there's 63 of them), it makes sense that they'd have to come up with some sort of code names for them. Each park is given a four letter abbreviation for the ease of labeling maps, tracking the places you've been to, and for a range of other uses.

Sometimes, when you look up the abbreviations for the National Parks or find a cute sticker, the abbreviation is not accurate. You'll notice that all these abbreviations are four letters long. A common mistake would be like using the abbreviation GNP for Glacier National Park when it is actually abbreviated as GLAC. To make sure you are using the correct abbreviation, keep this list handy and refer to it whenever you need to decode a National Park abbreviation.

We've created a collection of euro stickers with the correct abbreviation for all 63 of the National Parks. Head to our store to check them out and start showing off your travels!

Here is an alphabetical list of the abbreviations and their corresponding National Parks.

ACAD is the abbreviation for Acadia National Park

ARCH is the abbreviation for Arches National Park

BADL is the abbreviation for Badlands National Park

BIBE is the abbreviation for Big Bend National Park

BISC is the abbreviation for Biscayne National Park

BLCA is the abbreviation for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

BRCA is the abbreviation for Bryce Canyon National Park

CANY is the abbreviation for Canyonlands National Park

CARE is the abbreviation for Capitol Reef National Park

CAVE is the abbreviation for Carlsbad Caverns National Park

CHIS is the abbreviation for Channel Islands National Park

CONG is the abbreviation for Congaree National Park

CRLA is the abbreviation for Crater Lake National Park

CUVA is the abbreviation for Cuyahoa Valley National Park

DENA is the abbreviation for Denali National Park

DEVA is the abbreviation for Death Valley National Park

DRTO is the abbreviation for Dry Tortugas National Park

EVER is the abbreviation for Everglades National Park

GAAR is the abbreviation for Gates of the Arctic National Park

GLAC is the abbreviation for Glacier National Park

GLBA is the abbreviation for Glacier Bay National Park

GRBA is the abbreviation for Great Basin National Park

GRCA is the abbreviation for Grand Canyon National Park

GRSA is the abbreviation for Great Sand Dunes National Park

GRSM is the abbreviation for Great Smokey Mountains National Park

GRTE is the abbreviation for Grand Teton National Park

GUMO is the abbreviation for Guadalupe Mountains National Park

HALE is the abbreviation for Haleakala National Park

HAVO is the abbreviation for Hawai'i Valcanoes National Park

HOSP is the abbreviation for Hot Springs National Park

INDU is the abbreviation for Indiana Dunes National Park

ISRO is the abbreviation for Isle Royale National Park

JEFF is the abbreviation for Gateway Arch National Park

JOTR is the abbreviation for Joshua Tree National Park

KATM is the abbreviation for Katmai National Park

KEFJ is the abbreviation for Kenai Fjords National Park

KOVA is the abbreviation for Kobuk Valley National Park

LACL is the abbreviation for Lake Clark National Park

LAVO is the abbreviation for Lassen Volcanic National Park

MACA is the abbreviation for Mammoth Cave National Park

MEVE is the abbreviation for Mesa Verde National Park

MORA is the abbreviation for Mount Rainier National Park

NERI is the abbreviation for New River Gorge National Park

NOCA is the abbreviation for North Cascades National Park

NPSA is the abbreviation for the National Park of American Samoa

OLYM is the abbreviation for Olympic National Park

PEFO is the abbreviation for Petrified Forest National Park

PINN is the abbreviation for Pinnacles National Park

REDW is the abbreviation for Redwood National Park

ROMO is the abbreviation for Rocky Mountain National Park

SAGU is the abbreviation for Saguaro National Park

SEKI is the abbreviation for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

SHEN is the abbreviation for Shenandoah National Park

THRO is the abbreviation for Theodore Roosevelt National Park

VIIS is the abbreviation for Virgin Islands National Park

VOYA is the abbreviation for Voyageurs National Park

WHSA is the abbreviation for White Sands National Park

WICA is the abbreviation for Wind Cave National Park

WRST is the abbreviation for Wrangell-ST. Elias National Park

YELL is the abbreviation for Yellowstone National Park

YOSE is the abbreviation for Yosemite National Park

ZION is the abbreviation for Zion National Park

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Why are they called euro stickers?

As mentioned previously, these euro stickers contain abbreviations for locations. Today, we use them as collectibles, much like post cards, to show off all the cool places we've been. In the past they were used much differently.

Europe needed a new way to distinguish international travelers. With so many little countries clustered together, crossing borders was extremely common and needed to be regulated. Traditionally, license plates on cars were the identification of one's origin. However, they all sort of looked the same which made that difficult.

Seeing that this system was not working, the United Nations created the euro stickers as the solution. In the mid 1900s, these 9x6 inch bumper stickers included a maximum of three digits to keep them clearly recognizable. For France residents, the letter F was their abbreviation, while Austria was abbreviated AUS.

Over time, systems changed, regulations changed, and the euro stickers went out of date. Though somewhere along the lines, the Americans picked up on it. Though not for official purposes. Looking European was trendy and fun. Having a fun European car labeled as such, or showing which exotic European places you'd been to were part of a big fad.

Now, with American pride taking over the European fad, American travelers use these stickers to represent their own country and the many cool places found within. This is why we see these oval stickers with the National Parks on them.