The United States has 61 protected areas known as national parks that are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.
An annual pass to all U.S. National Parks costs $80. Lifetime senior passes are available for all U.S. citizens and permanent residents for $80. An annual senior pass is $20. U.S. Military members and dependents are eligible for a free annual pass. For complete information on passes, follow this link.
Other sites managed by the National Park Service
Besides the National Parks, there are more than 400 sites in the United States that are also under the auspices of the National Park Service. These include national monuments (86), military parks and battlefields (24), trails and parkways (26), natural sites (196), seashores, lakeshores, and rivers (46). Here’s a list of all U.S. National Park Service-administered sites.
There are also National Preserves. A national preserve is a type of National Park Service protected area of the United States that has characteristics normally associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extractive activities such as fishing, hunting, mining, and oil/gas exploration and extraction are permitted.
U.S. National Parks by State
| STATE | NATIONAL PARK | YEAR ESTABLISHED | VISITED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska (8) | Denali National Park and Preserve | 1917 | |
| Gates of the Arctic National Park | 1980 | ||
| Glacier Bay National Park* | 1980 | 2017 | |
| Katmai National Park and Preserve | 1980 | ||
| Kenai Fjords National Park | 1980 | ||
| Kobuk Valley National Park | 1980 | ||
| Lake Clark National Park | 1980 | ||
| Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve* | 1980 | ||
| American Samoa | National Park of American Samoa | 1988 | |
| Arizona (3) | Grand Canyon National Park* | 1919 | 2016 |
| Petrified Forest National Park | 1962 | ||
| Saguaro National Park | 1994 | ||
| Arkansas | Hot Springs National Park | 1921 | |
| California (8) | Channel Islands National Park | 1980 | |
| Death Valley National Park | 1994 | ||
| Joshua Tree National Park | 1994 | ||
| Kings Canyon National Park | 1940 | ||
| Lassen Volcanic National Park | 1916 | ||
| Redwood National Park* | 1968 | ||
| Sequoia National Park | 1890 | ||
| Yosemite National Park* | 1890 | ||
| Colorado (4) | Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park | 1999 | |
| Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve | 2004 | ||
| Mesa Verde National Park* | 1906 | ||
| Rocky Mountain National Park | 1915 | ||
| Florida (3) | Biscayne National Park | 1980 | |
| Dry Tortugas National Park | 1992 | ||
| Everglades National Park | 1947 | ||
| Hawaii (2) | Haleakala National Park | 1916 | 1992 |
| Hawaii Volcanoes National Park* | 1916 | 2000 | |
| Idaho | Yellowstone National Park* | 1872 | |
| Indiana | Indiana Dunes National Park | 1966 | |
| Kentucky | Mammoth Cave National Park* | 1941 | |
| Maine | Acadia National Park | 1919 | |
| Michigan | Isle Royale National Park | 1940 | |
| Minnesota | Voyageurs National Park | 1975 | |
| Missouri | Gateway Arch National Park | 2018 | |
| Montana (2) | Glacier National Park* | 1910 | |
| Yellowstone National Park* | 1872 | ||
| Nevada | Great Basin National Park | 1986 | |
| New Mexico | Carlsbad Caverns National Park* | 1930 | |
| North Carolina | Great Smoky Mountains National Park* | 1934 | |
| North Dakota | Theodore Roosevelt National Park | 1978 | |
| Ohio | Cuyahoga Valley National Park | 2000 | |
| Oregon | Crater Lake National Park | 1902 | |
| South Carolina | Congaree National Park | 2003 | |
| South Dakota (2) | Badlands National Park | 1978 | |
| Wind Cave National Park | 1903 | ||
| Tennessee | Great Smoky Mountains National Park* | 1934 | |
| Texas (2) | Big Bend National Park | 1944 | |
| Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 1966 | ||
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Virgin Islands National Park | 1956 | |
| Utah (5) | Arches National Park | 1971 | |
| Bryce Canyon National Park | 1928 | ||
| Capitol Reef National Park | 1971 | ||
| Canyonlands National Park | 1964 | ||
| Zion National Park | 1919 | ||
| Virginia | Shenandoah National Park | 1935 | |
| Washington (3) | Mount Rainier National Park | 1899 | |
| North Cascades National Park | 1968 | ||
| Olympic National Park* | 1938 | ||
| Grand Teton National Park | 1929 | ||
Note: National Parks with an asterisk (*) are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States. |
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