The National Parks System
THE BEST IDEAAMERICA EVER HAD
Sixty-three national parks. Four hundred twenty-three protected sites. Eighty-five million acres — preserved forever for every American.
0
National Parks
0
Total NPS Sites
0M
Acres Protected
0M+
Annual Visits
Most Visited Parks
Over 325 million annual visits — more than the entire US population — prove that national parks are truly every American's inheritance.
Annual Visits (millions), 2023
Source: National Park Service 2023
Crown Jewels
Yellowstone
World's first national park — 10,000 hydrothermal features
Grand Canyon
277 miles long, 1 mile deep — 6 million years of geology exposed
Yosemite
El Capitan, Half Dome, and the world's tallest waterfall in North America
Denali
20,310 ft — highest peak in North America, park the size of New Hampshire
Glacier
Going-to-the-Sun Road through 700 miles of pristine alpine wilderness
Zion
Towering Navajo sandstone cliffs — the iconic American canyon experience
1872
The World's First National Park System
Top 20 National Parks
| # | Park | State | Est. | Visits/yr | Acres (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains | TN/NC | 1934 | 13.3M | 522 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon | AZ | 1919 | 6.4M | 1,218 |
| 3 | Zion | UT | 1919 | 4.9M | 148 |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain | CO | 1915 | 4.4M | 265 |
| 5 | Acadia | ME | 1919 | 4.1M | 49 |
| 6 | Yellowstone | WY/MT/ID | 1872 | 3.9M | 2,220 |
| 7 | Olympic | WA | 1938 | 3.7M | 922 |
| 8 | Yosemite | CA | 1890 | 3.7M | 748 |
| 9 | Grand Teton | WY | 1929 | 3.3M | 310 |
| 10 | Glacier | MT | 1910 | 2.9M | 1,013 |
| 11 | Joshua Tree | CA | 1994 | 2.9M | 790 |
| 12 | Cuyahoga Valley | OH | 2000 | 2.8M | 33 |
| 13 | Indiana Dunes | IN | 2019 | 2.7M | 15 |
| 14 | Bryce Canyon | UT | 1928 | 2.1M | 36 |
| 15 | Arches | UT | 1971 | 1.8M | 77 |
| 16 | New River Gorge | WV | 2020 | 1.8M | 70 |
| 17 | Hot Springs | AR | 1921 | 1.7M | 6 |
| 18 | Shenandoah | VA | 1935 | 1.7M | 200 |
| 19 | Everglades | FL | 1934 | 1.4M | 1,509 |
| 20 | Denali | AK | 1917 | 0.6M | 6,075 |
In Detail
The NPS protects 423 sites across every US state and territory
Beyond 63 national parks, the NPS manages monuments, seashores, historic trails, battlefields, and recreation areas — a mosaic of American natural and cultural heritage.
National Parks serve as a biodiversity ark for 1,000+ endangered species
From the recovery of the California Condor to the reintroduction of Gray Wolves in Yellowstone, the NPS provides the critical, undisturbed habitat necessary for species that have vanished elsewhere.
The US national park model has been copied by 100+ countries
After Congress established Yellowstone in 1872, nations from Canada to Kenya adopted the American model. The US invented the concept of the national park.
Wrangell–St. Elias (AK) is larger than Switzerland at 13.2 million acres
America's biggest park contains 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the US and more wilderness than most nations' entire protected area systems combined.
The US National Trails System spans 50,000+ miles
The Appalachian Trail (2,190 mi), Pacific Crest Trail (2,653 mi), Continental Divide Trail (3,100 mi), and thousands of local trails form a free public wilderness network.
New River Gorge became the 63rd national park in December 2020
West Virginia's New River Gorge — one of the oldest rivers in the world, predating the Appalachians — protects 70,000 acres of Appalachian wilderness.
The US manages 640 million acres of public land for recreation
Freely accessible to every citizen for hiking, hunting, fishing, and camping, this massive system covers roughly 28% of the US land area — a democratic inheritance of wilderness at a continental scale.
The RV Civilization: 11.2 million households with a mobile home
Over 11 million American households own an RV, with 1 million living in them full-time. This unique mobile lifestyle is supported by cheap gas, 4.1 million miles of roads, and 15,000 campgrounds, generating over $100B in economic activity.
“The national parks are the one thing America has done right that the rest of the world envies. We set aside the best of what we had and said: this belongs to everyone, forever.”
— Wallace Stegner