The United States National Park Service manages 424 national monuments, national parks, historic sites and other protected areas. Among these are the 63 national parks that draw 350 million visitors each year. For more than 150 years, the National Park Service has managed millions of acres solely for the “enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.”
The first national park in the United States (and the world) is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. President Ulysses S. Grant established it on March 1, 1872. More than 150 years later, Yellowstone remains the greatest of the parks and draws nearly 5 million visitors annually. The natural beauty of Yellowstone has inspired visitors to bask in the splendor of the park’s lakes, mountains, bison-filled valleys and, of course, its unmatched hot springs and active geysers (of which the park boasts about half of the world’s supply).
Bryce Canyon National park. Utah. USA. (credit: Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group)
General Sherman, Tree, Sequoia National Park, California, USA. (credit: Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group)
Active lava exploding inside the Halemaumau Crater at night. Kilauea Volcano. Volcanoes National Park. Big Island. Hawaii. USA. (credit: Andre Seale/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Aerial view of the rugged mountains of the Alaska Range, including Mt. McKinley, in Denali National Park, Alaska. (credit: Dennis Fast/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Sunset on Everglades over freeway reflects in water, Florida. (credit: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group)
Historic Pendleton barn in the small pioneer farming community of Fruita, now in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. (credit: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Aerial view of Casement Glacier, lateral moraines, and braided outwash river, Glacier Bay National Park, Southeast Alaska. (credit: Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group)
Delicate Arch and Jurassic sandstone of the Entrada Formation, Arches National Park, Utah. La Sal Mountains form the background. (credit: Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group)
The Little River flows along the Little River Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA. (credit: Ron Buskirk/Universal Images Group)
Crater Lake caldera and Wizard Island, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. (credit: Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group)
A wind storm blows over the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park in Texas. Mexico is at right. (credit: Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/Universal Images Group)
Eroded Cutler sandstone on Fossil Point along the Shafer Trail by the Colorado River near Moab, Utah. The Bears Ears National Monument is at left, across the river, with Canyonlands National Park in back. (credit: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Mesa Verde National Park. Colorado. USA. (credit: Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group)
Vew from Grand View observation point, New River Gorge National Park. (credit: David Underwood/Universal Images Group)
Distributary channel of Amargosa River as it empties into Death Valley, California. (credit: Marli Miller/Universal Images Group)
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The National Park Service continues to add more acreage of protected areas. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia was the most recent addition to the national parks roster, designated on December 27, 2020. New River Gorge became only the 15th national park east of the Mississippi River. The other 48 national parks are spread across the Western United States, Alaska and Hawaii. California is the state with the most national parks within its borders, with nine parks.
The largest national park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. It covers an area of about 13.2 million acres. At only 192 acres, Missouri’s Gateway Arch National Park is the smallest of the parks.
Death Valley National Park is famous for its extreme heat and holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth at 134°F (56.7°C), measured at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913. The coldest U.S. national park is generally considered to be Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska, where winter temperatures can drop as low as -50°F (-45°C)!!
View of the Yellowstone River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Calcite Springs Overlook in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (credit: Ron Buskirk/Universal Images Group)
Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (credit: Ron Buskirk/Universal Images Group)
Badlands National Park, South Dakota. (credit: Greg Vaughn/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Draperies and soda straw stalactites in the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. (credit: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Joshua Tree Forest in Death Valley National Park, California. (credit: Greg Vaughn/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Ruby Beach sea stacks, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA. (credit: Greg Vaughn/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Sunrise from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine. (credit: Tyson Paul/Loop Images/Universal Images Group)
Canyon overlook trail at Zion National Park, Utah. (credit: Nano Calvo/VWPics/Universal Images Group)
Panoramic view of Grand Canyon landscapes show vast vistas and layered rock formations. (credit: Nano Calvo/VW Pics/Universal Images Group)
El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (credit: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group)
Cleared roads through the white gypsum dunes at White Sands National Park in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. (credit: Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group)
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, View at Millers Head Observation Point, View of Shenandoah Valley with rainbow. (credit: David Underwood/UCG/Universal Images Group)
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These incredible national parks feature awesome natural wonders and unforgettable terrains, as well as an abundance of protected fauna and flora. Many of the parks have iconic places known worldwide, such as the Old Faithful geyser (Yellowstone), Delicate Arch (Arches NP), El Capitan and Half Dome (Yosemite), Cadillac Mountain (Acadia), the Cliff Palace (Mesa Verde NP), Bryce Amphitheater (Bryce Canyon NP), the General Sherman Tree (Sequoia NP), and the Colorado River as it winds its way through Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Rocky Mountain National Parks.
America’s national park system offers a plentiful amount of bucket-list places to see during your lifetime.
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Sources:
National-Park.com; “List of National Parks in the United States 2026” April 25, 2026 by Thanh Tung
