“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” — Henry David Thoreau
Of all the treasures that America holds, its national parks are perhaps the greatest of all.
Yellowstone National Park was the first of its kind, established in 1872 as the first “public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”. And since Woodrow Wilson’s creation of the National Park service, some 400+ additional parks and 150 nearby conservation areas have become a part of America’s outdoor landscape.
While every one of those 424 parks is well worth a visit, you only have so much time. Start with these. Here are the 20 most popular U.S. National Parks to visit this year, arranged in order of their yearly number of visitors.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Yearly visits: 14.1 million
Stretching from eastern Tennessee into Western North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has an incredible diversity of plant and animal life nestled safely amidst ancient mountains. It’s the most popular park in the nation, and a must-visit for anyone visiting the Appalachias—not least because a thriving culture of handicrafts, moonshining, and bluegrass music surrounds it.
And while the Great Smokies will be beautiful any time of year, spring and fall are the most special of all; the former for its profusion of wildflowers, and the latter for its unreal array of changing leaf colors.
Zion National Park
Yearly visits: 5 million
Owing to its location at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, Zion National Park in Utah has an otherworldly wildness to it that could only exist in this part of America. From deserts to woodlands, mesas to natural arches and rivers, Zion has something for everyone.
It is one of the most staunchly protected parks in the nation, with visitors taking the Zion Pledge to maintain its essential natural character at all costs. If you’re feeling up for a challenge that will reward you with views of everything the park has to offer, prepare for the eight-hour round-trip hike on the Kolob Arch trail.
Yellowstone National Park
Yearly visits: 4.9 million
The oldest of America’s national parks is also its most recognizable and sought-after, with reservations for visits booked months in advance. 2.2 million acres of land hold a complete and intact ecosystem unlike anything else in the world, with an incredibly diverse array of geological features, plant and animal life, and geothermal vents.
Yellowstone has been a favorite of artists, visionaries, and outdoorsmen alike for the entirety of its life, and it’s undeniable splendor may be just what you need to restore a little bit of inspiration and connection with the natural world.
Grand Canyon National Park
Yearly visits: 4.5 million
The gem of Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park, contains its namesake Wonder of the World: The Grand Canyon, a tremendous gorge carved out of the earth by the flow of the Colorado River. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, universally beloved for its unforgettable combination of history, geography, and awe-inspiring grandeur. And no matter how many photos you’ve seen of the canyon itself, nothing can quite compare to the sense of scale you get when peering out over the edge at sunset.
It’s enough to make you feel small in a great big world, and help you remember that while everything that lives comes and goes, there is an eternal quality to nature’s beauty.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Yearly visits: 4.4 million
Lying 55 miles northwest of Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park is so gorgeous that it may well feel like John Denver said: “Coming home to a place he’d never been before”. Nestled between the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake, this park is also smack dab in the center of the eastern and western slopes of the Continental Divide, and home to the headwaters of the Colorado River.
With elevations up to 14,000 feet, Rocky Mountain National Park is a hiker’s and climber’s dream—just be sure to plan a few extra days into your trip to acclimate to the change in elevation.
Acadia National Park
Yearly visits: 4.1 million
Located in the far northeast corner of the United States, Maine’s Acadia National Park preserves a diversity not usually associated with the east coast—including its tallest mountain peak, exposed granite domes, u-shaped valley, and cobble beaches. Everything seems to be packed into this park, from mountains to wetlands, forest to meadows, and coastlines to lakes and streams.
Acadia is a remarkably accessible park as well, with a paved loop road offering car and bus touring opportunities, and a network of carriage roads perfect for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding.
Grand Teton National Park
Yearly visits: 3.9 million
What’s in Wyoming? Wide open skies, dreams of the Old West, and two incredible national parks—Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The lesser-known of the state’s duo of parks is every bit as beautiful as the more popular Yellowstone, but significantly more remote; it’s where you should plan to go if you’re looking to get away from everything that’s weighing you down and reconnect with the beauty and peace that nature has to offer us all.
Two hundred miles of trails will give you plenty of time to collect your thoughts and renew your spirit, finding a serenity that’s so often missing from our hectic everyday lives.
Yosemite National Park
Yearly visits: 3.3 million
With nearly 95 percent of its 750,000 acres designated as dedicated wilderness area, Yosemite National Park is about as close to original nature as you can get. Cliffs and waterfalls flow onto crystal-clear streams, giant sequoia groves tower over the land’s inhabitants, and pure blue lakes give way to flower-strewn meadows.
And for the brave of heart and strong of finger, El Capitan looms large as one of the most difficult—and potentially deadly—climbing routes in the world. Best yet, the park’s unique climate offers year-round viewing, hiking, and camping opportunities in comfortable weather.
Joshua Tree National Park
Yearly visits: 3.1 million
Prehistoric. Alien. Otherworldly. Those are just a few of the words that spring to mind after a glimpse at Joshua Tree National Park in southeast California.
The higher Mojave Desert side, home to the park’s namesake trees, and lower Colorado Desert side both contain their own unique ecosystems, giving the park a curious double nature; it’s like visiting two parks in one trip. And trips to Joshua Tree are not for the faint of heart, as scorching midday heat quickly gives way to bone-chilling nighttime temperatures. But if you can endure the weather, this park gives unparalleled views of the night sky.
Glacier National Park
Yearly visits: 3 million
Shared with our neighbors to the north, Glacier National Park spans portions of Montana and British Columbia. It includes more than one million acres of land, parts of two mountain ranges, and over 100 named lakes, making it an explorer’s wonderland.
Glacier’s ecosystem is vast and pristine—so much so that it’s been called the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem”. And true to its name, everywhere you look in Glacier National Park you’ll see evidence of its glacial past in its uniquely carved cliff faces. Animal lovers in particular will love Glacier, as virtually all of its known historic animal species still survive and thrive in the park today.
Olympic National Park
Yearly visits: 2.7 million
Arboreal enthusiasts will find no end of delights in Olympic National Park, Washington state’s best-protected area of temperate rainforests. Spruce, hemlock, fir, and cedar all intertwine in the park’s acres of tree coverage, bringing a sense of stability and unwavering purpose covered in moss-tinged patience.
Head out to the park’s coastal portion, and you’ll be treated to a strip of rugged, sandy beach just steps away from the treeline. The park is most popular during spring and fall, but winter is an especially beautiful and austere time to visit—there’s nothing like seeing the forest with a fresh dusting of snow.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Yearly visits: 2.6 million
The only national park in Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, more than makes up for the lack of neighboring parks in the area. It’s unique in that while the land is administered by the park service, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is also filled with areas independently managed by townships and local businesses.
This gives it a feeling of being a world entirely unto itself, separated from the rest of Ohio—even while it is connected to major metropolitan areas by a dense system of roadways that make it one of the most accessible parks in the nation.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Yearly visits: 2.1 million
Utah is home to the Mighty Five national parks, of which Bryce Canyon is a star member. A collection of giant natural amphitheaters provides the mind-boggling views inside of Bryce Canyon, resembling a science fictionesque town on a harsh and distant planet.
The park itself is much smaller than neighboring Zion, and sits at a much higher elevation—making it a perfect two-for-one visit if you’re planning a trip to either park. Bryce Canyon’s warm summers and cool winters are both quite dry, making the park an easily accessible place to plan a trip anytime of year.
Arches National Park
Yearly visits: 1.8 million
Eastern Utah’s Arches National Park looks like something out of a surrealist painting, with precariously balanced stones of tremendous weight, and naturally-carved rock formations that seem to defy gravity. It’s a phenomenal place to visit for anyone who is interested in photography, with over 2,000 natural sandstone arches ready for the limelight.
Those arches have formed over the course of about 300 million years, lending them a gravity that’s nearly impossible to comprehend; even so, their enduring beauty and strangeness is apparent to even the youngest of visitors. Fun fact: Arches National Park was where the first scene was filmed for the 1989 film Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.
Shenandoah National Park
Yearly visits: 1.6 million
Virginia’s contribution to the American parks system is a long and narrow park named for the Shenandoah River that runs next to it. The park includes part of the Blue Ridge Mountain range, and is traversed by Skyline Drive—a scenic route that cuts through the park and makes it one of the most gorgeous parks to visit by car.
Along the 105 miles of Skyline Drive, you’ll be able to take in the scenery from atop the ridge of the mountains, overlooking 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail that cut straight through. And if you get off the beaten path, there are waterfalls situated within easy hiking distance of the park’s many campgrounds.
Capitol Reef National Park
Yearly visits: 1.4 million
If you’re thinking by now that Utah is spoiled for parklands, you’re correct—and that continues with Capitol Reef National Park, in south-central Utah. The park’s high desert landscape is open year-round, and easily accessible via State Route 24.
If you happen to be visiting any of the other parks in Utah, it’s an easy trip to make. And indeed, it’s not so difficult to plan a trip to visit all of the Mighty Five in one fell swoop. In fact, a week should do the trick if you plan well in advance and stick to a schedule.
Badlands National Park
Yearly visits: 1.2 million
Originally a reservation of the Oglala Sioux Indians, Badlands National Park is now co-managed by the National Parks Service and the Oglala Lakota Tribe. Its wide windswept prairies are some of the largest in the nation, and its eerie landscapes became the site of the Ghost Dance at the end of the 19th century—a ritual designed to revive the souls of the buffalo and dead warriors that once strode the park’s plains.
Find the park’s steeply eroded bluffs at sunset, and you just might be able to understand why a spectral power could live within their stone facades.
Sequoia National Park
Yearly visits: 1.1 million
Home to the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume, Sequoia National Park is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. It’s also where you’ll find the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, at a towering 14,505 feet above sea level.
Sequoia offers another fantastic deal for any park-going vacationers, as it’s connected to Kings Canyon National Park as well. The bulk of both parks are accessible almost exclusively by foot or horseback, so pack your best pair of hiking shoes to really get the most out of your adventure to Sequoia.
Mount Rainier National Park
Yearly visits: 1 million
The valleys, waterfalls, meadows, and old-growth forests that surround Mount Rainier are all included within its park system—but the real attraction of the park is its namesake mountain.
Circled by the Wonderland Trail at its base, Mount Rainier is one of the most popular mountaineering peaks in the U.S., with some 10,000 climbers making the attempt per year. Snowfall accumulates regularly, and glaciers abound, giving a glimpse into America’s prehistoric past and its bright outdoor future.
Everglades National Park
Yearly visits: 942,000
As the largest tropical wilderness in the United States, Everglades National Park feels far removed from the rest of the nation’s landscapes. And it’s far removed by distance too, as it is situated at the far southern tip of Florida.
Intrepid adventurers who are willing to make the trip, though, will be rewarded with incomparable sights: Wading birds, ghostly stands of mangrove trees, incredibly diverse ecosystems, and some of the finest sunsets in the world. If you’d like your national park trip with a side of beach going, Everglades is the perfect destination.
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