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The NPS Wellness Challenge at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

Welcome to your Wellness Challenge at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site!

Begins During National Park Week, April 16-24, 2022

Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site manages White Haven, a historic home lived in and owned by Ulysses S. Grant during the nineteenth century. Located on a ten-acre plot in South St. Louis County, the park offers numerous opportunities to explore Grant's fascinating life story while providing opportunities to enjoy physical, mental, and learning challenges.

Green two-story frame house in background with image of orange head and text that reads "NPS WELLNESS CHALLENGE" in foreground.

What is the NPS Wellness Challenge?

The Wellness Challenge promotes the unique health resources that you can find in all seven Missouri National Parks. Challenge yourself by choosing from a wide range of activites - physical, mental and learning - to promote your health and well-being.

Learn more about The National Park Service Wellness Challenge in Missouri.

Museum at Ulysses S Grant NHS surrounded by blooming flowers

NPS Photo

Discover Your Path to Wellness


Will you stroll along the same paths as Grant’s family? Will you learn something new about his role in the Civil War? Will you sit on White Haven’s lawn and reflect on the challenges he faced and how he overcame them? Personal wellness is out there waiting for you. And, it is well within reach.

Choose Your Challenge

Pick a path, the possibilities are endless! Take a look at Wellness Challenges offered at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site and start earning your badges.

Answer our brief survey, to get your Wellness Challenge Completion Certificate for Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.

  • orange hexagon with a person moving inside and a tree to the left and sun at the top.
    Physical Wellness

    Take part in three physical challenges at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site by exploring history-filled trails.

  • blue circle with lightbulb and growing plant inside. Ranger giving a tour
    Learning Wellness

    Exercise your mind with three learning challenges highlighting the life of Ulysses S. Grant and his impact on the Civil War and civil rights

  • Green diamond with plant inside. People doing yoga behind symbol
    Mental Wellness

    Relax and reflect as you absorb the sights and sounds of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site with three mental challenges.

Red Octagon with person running and tree in the middle. A bike trail is seen in the background.

Physical Wellness at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

The physical challenges invite you to explore the park to improve your physical health. Whether you decide to walk, roll, or bike past historic structures or wander the park grounds and imagine the Grant family’s life with your own eyes — you can take time for yourself and find new ways to move at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.

Once you complete the challenges,download your digital badge to share on social media. You can also get a rubber stamp to add to your Passport Book or NPS Wellness Challenge Guide at the Visitor Center lobby.

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  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Moving Through History

    • Type: Guided Tours
    • Duration: 90 Minutes
    • Reservations: Yes
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Four people in running gear lightly jogging on concrete with grass in the background.

    Join a Park Ranger for a three-mile jog to see the original location of Hardscrabble, a log cabin built by Ulysses S. Grant in the 1850s while he lived in St. Louis.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    A Place Called Home

    • Type: Self-Guided Tours - Walking
    • Duration: 5-15 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: Yes
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    Two women walking on a stone path surrounded by trees

    Walk the park grounds and learn about the Grants, Dents, and enslaved African Americans who lived at White Haven in the 1850s.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Visit the White Haven Estate

    • Type: Self-Guided Tours - Walking
    • Duration: 20-30 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Park Ranger leading a large group of people towards the front gate of a green two-story house.

    Visit the historic White Haven estate.

Blue circle with lightbulb and text that reads "learning wellness." Picture of Park Ranger in the background.

Learning Wellness at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site


Exercise your mind with learning challenges that focus on Grant’s life as an enslaver, General, and president. Whether you interact with exhibits at the museum, learn the stories of enslaved people working in the Summer Kitchen or watch our 18th president’s story come alive on the screen - each activity will grow your knowledge and challenge your perspective.


Once you complete the challenges, download your digital badge to share on social media. You can also get a rubber stamp to add to your Passport Book or NPS Wellness Challenge Guide at the Visitor Center lobby.

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  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Ulysses S. Grant's Life and Accomplishments

    • Type: Museum Exhibits
    • Duration: 15-60 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Museum with computer to the left and textual exhibits on all sides.

    Visit the park's museum to learn more about Ulysses S. Grant's life and times.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    The Legacy of Freedom

    • Type: Park Film
    • Duration: 22 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Bearded man wearing black and white suit with bow tie.

    Watch the park's 22-minute orientation film about Ulysses S. Grant's life.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Bicentennial Celebration

    • Type: Guided Tours
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Two park rangers at a table standing alongside five students with a green house in the background.

    Learn more about the park's efforts to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Ulysses S. Grant's birth in 2022.

Green diamond with leaf and text that reads "mental wellness." A group of people doing yoga are in the background.

Mental Wellness at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

Sometimes you just need a moment to pause, reflect, and heal. The mental challenges invite you to explore the park to improve your mental health. Whether you explore historic trees that have lived on the grounds for centuries, soak in the park’s natural surroundings, or grapple with the stories of enslaved people working at White Haven, these mental challenges will push you to think deeply and reflect on the connections between people and places in time.


Once you complete the challenges, download your digital badge to share on social media. You can also get a rubber stamp to add to your Passport Book or NPS Wellness Challenge Guide at the Visitor Center lobby.

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  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Pause in the Summer Kitchen

    • Type: Guided Tours
    • Duration: 5-15 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: No
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Two-room stone building with man walking through the right side door.

    Learn about slavery at White Haven by visiting the summer kitchen, located behind the main home on the park grounds.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Let Nature Speak

    • Type: Self-Guided Tours - Walking
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: Yes
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Black and orange butterfly perched on top of green grass.

    Take in the beautiful scenery at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.

  • Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

    Historic Trees at White Haven

    • Type: Self-Guided Tours - Walking
    • Duration: 5-15 Minutes
    • Reservations: No
    • Pets: Yes
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time Of Day: Day
    Large gingko tree with red building to the left and stone building to the right.

    View a range of historic and unique trees on the park grounds at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.

The National Park Service Wellness Challenge inspires you to create lasting habits of personal wellness. Healthy Parks, Healthy People advances the fact that all parks - urban and wildland - are cornerstones of your physical, mental and spiritual health, social well-being; and sustainability of the planet.

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Learn More about the Wellness Challenge

Learn more about the National Park Service Wellness Challenge throughout all seven National Park Services in Missouri

Last updated: October 10, 2024