How Many National Parks Are There in the US?

There are 63 national parks in the United States. If you have ever wondered how many national parks are there and gotten three different answers, that is because "national park" means two different things: 63 sites carry the official National Park title, while the National Park Service manages more than 400 sites in total, including monuments, seashores, battlefields, and historic sites.

How many national parks are there in the United States?

Sixty-three. That number has held since New River Gorge in West Virginia was redesignated from a national river to a national park in December 2020, making it the newest addition. Congress creates national parks by law, so the count only changes when a new act passes — check for recent designations if you are reading this well after publication.

These 63 are spread across 30 states plus American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. You can browse every one of them, plus the hundreds of other federal sites, in our national parks directory.

What counts as a national park versus a national monument?

The distinction is legal, not scenic. National parks are established by an act of Congress and are generally large areas protected for their scenery, wildlife, and recreation, with hunting typically prohibited. National monuments can be created by a president under the Antiquities Act and are usually smaller and focused on a specific natural, cultural, or scientific feature.

Plenty of national monuments are as spectacular as the parks — and several parks, including Grand Canyon and Zion, were monuments first. So if you are building a trip, do not filter by title alone. Some of the least crowded, most rewarding federal land in the country carries a different designation.

Which states have the most national parks?

California leads with nine: Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Redwood, Channel Islands, Lassen Volcanic, and Pinnacles. Alaska is second with eight, most of them roadless and reachable only by bush plane or boat. Utah has five — the "Mighty 5" of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches — and Colorado has four.

See the full breakdown for each of these in our California, Alaska, and Utah state guides, or start from the browse by state index.

Which states have no national parks?

Twenty states have none, including all of New England except Maine, plus Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire. That does not mean there is nothing to visit — New York alone has more than 20 National Park Service sites, they simply carry other designations.

How big and how busy are the 63?

The range is enormous. Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska covers over 13 million acres, larger than nine US states, while Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis covers about 91 acres. Visitation is just as lopsided: Great Smoky Mountains National Park draws more than 12 million recreation visits in a typical year — roughly double the Grand Canyon — while Gates of the Arctic in northern Alaska sees a few thousand.

That skew is useful when planning. Roughly half of all national park visits go to about ten parks, so choosing an off-list park is the single most effective way to avoid crowds.

FAQ

How many national parks are there in the US in total?

There are 63 sites that carry the official National Park designation. The National Park Service manages more than 400 sites overall across 20-plus designations, so "national parks" in the loose sense is a much bigger number than 63.

How many national parks are in California?

Nine — more than any other state. They are Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Redwood, Channel Islands, Lassen Volcanic, and Pinnacles.

How many national parks are in Alaska?

Eight: Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, and Wrangell-St. Elias. Only three are reachable by road.

What is the newest national park?

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia, redesignated in December 2020. Confirm whether Congress has added another since, as the list does change.

What is the most visited national park?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, with more than 12 million recreation visits in a typical year. It has held the top spot for decades, helped by having no entrance fee — though it now requires a paid parking tag, so check the current-year rules.

Can you visit all 63 national parks?

Yes, and hundreds of people have. The hard part is Alaska and the territories: Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley have no roads or trails, and the National Park of American Samoa is a long flight from anywhere. Most people who complete the list spend several years on it and save the remote parks for last.