Nature Powers Past History in Round One of Parks Madness

Shocking Upsets: Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore fall to New River Gorge and Petrified Forest

BETHESDA, MD, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Voters in the 2025 Parks Madness competition showed a clear preference for natural wonders over national heritage in Round One, with lopsided victories by lower seeds. West Virginia’s New River Gorge, the No. 16 seed, became the newest national park just over five years ago – yet it handily defeated No. 1 seed Statue of Liberty in a startling upset, 63-37%.

“New River Gorge is massively under-seeded here— get the upset watch ready for at minimum the first two rounds,” voter Alex Mukai said, lauding the park’s incredible trails and rafting adventures. In Round Two it will go up against another natural wonderland, Minnesota’s Voyageurs National Park, the No. 9 seed.

Another iconic human creation, No. 2 seed Mount Rushmore National Memorial, lost in a 60-40% rout to the Triassic fossils of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, the No. 15 seed. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a No. 3 seed, proved no match for No. 14 Redwood, falling by 89-11%. And in the intra-state rivalries, Haleakala defeated Pearl Harbor and Big Bend overtook The Alamo.

All was not lost in the realm of national heritage, though, with No. 1 seed National Mall and No. 4 seed Gettysburg moving on to Round Two over the Gateway Arch and Indiana Dunes, respectively. This year was the first to include national trails, and all three – the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Lewis & Clark Trail – made it through Round One.

“The AT has so many topographies just in NY alone,” voter Laura Natalie said. “You can go from a cow pasture to a zoo, cross bridges, have water features, wide open spaces, tunnels of leaves, inclines, declines, flat spaces. Expand that by 2000+ miles and think how many types of land and life you can see!”
In the most hotly contested Round One matchups, No. 10 seed Arches National Park barely nipped No. 7 seed Mount Rainier by 50.2-49.8% and No. 13 seed Death Valley beat No. 4 Everglades, 52-48%.

At a time when America’s public lands are under increasing threats from budget and personnel cuts, the Parks Channel and EarthX Media tournament to declare a Park of the Year is showcasing a broad range of treasured places. Round Two voting opens at 8 am ET on May 5 and closes at 8 pm ET on May 8, with the Sweet 16 announcement coming on Friday, May 9. All voters are entered into a raffle for prizes from the America’s National Parks online store, National Park Geek, Anderson Design Group, the Bucket List Traveler and Parks Channel.

Parks Madness is divided into four brackets: Eagle, Bison, Owl and Bear. With Yellowstone, the 2024 champion, sitting out this year and a range of historical sites added to the mix, the field is wide open for a surprise winner. “I think this is a very good idea, because it reminds everyone who comes to this site what's at stake,” voter Beth Anderson said. “We need to protect ALL these places!”
Full Round One results:

EAGLE BRACKET
National Mall over Gateway Arch, 70-30%
Denali over Katmai, 73-27%
Capitol Reef over White Sands, 64-36%
Rocky Mountain over Bryce Canyon, 56-44%
Olympic over Sequoia, 54-46%
Glacier over Niagara Falls, 88-12%
Grand Canyon over Isle Royale, 82-18%

BEAR BRACKET
Zion over Devils Tower, 84-16%
Badlands over Theodore Roosevelt, 69-31%
Grand Teton over Mammoth Cave, 84-16%
Death Valley over Everglades, 52-48%
Canyonlands over Cuyahoga Valley, 80-20%
Redwoods over Golden Gate, 89-11%
Arches over Mount Rainier, 50.2-49.8%
Yosemite over Biscayne, 92-8%

BISON BRACKET
New River Gorge over Statue of Liberty, 63-37%
Voyageurs over Congaree, 65-35%
Lewis & Clark Trail over Independence Hall, 63-37%
Gettysburg over Indiana Dunes, 62-38%
Big Bend over The Alamo, 80-20%
Shenandoah over Hot Springs 87-13%
Haleakala over Pearl Harbor, 65-35%
Acadia over Central Park, 93-7%

OWL BRACKET
Great Smokies over Mount Vernon, 91-9%
Crater Lake over Channel Islands, 78-22%
Pinnacles over Virgin Islands, 51-49%
Wind Cave over Freedom Trail, 58-42%
Joshua Tree over Saguaro, 68-32%
Pacific Crest Trail over Lassen Volcanic 60-40%
Mesa Verde over Historic Jamestowne 125, 79-21%
Petrified Forest over Mount Rushmore, 60-40%

ABOUT THE PARKS CHANNEL

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ABOUT EARTHX MEDIA INC.
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Extending the EarthX mission are two TV entertainment networks that draw on a library of expertly curated original and first-run programming. EarthX is a premium channel available to over 20M U.S. PayTV households and EarthXtra is a 24/7 streaming channel featuring 100's of hours of premier and highly-engaging programming reaching 125 million monthly average users.
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Alanna Zahn Davis
The Azure Group for Parks Channel
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