U.S. National Parks

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

STATENATIONAL PARKYEAR ESTABLISHEDVISITED
Alaska (8)Denali National Park and Preserve1917
Gates of the Arctic National Park1980
Glacier Bay National Park*19802017
Katmai National Park and Preserve1980
Kenai Fjords National Park1980
Kobuk Valley National Park1980
Lake Clark National Park1980
Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve*1980
American SamoaNational Park of American Samoa1988
Arizona (3)Grand Canyon National Park*19192016
Petrified Forest National Park1962
Saguaro National Park1994
ArkansasHot Springs National Park1921
California (8)Channel Islands National Park1980
Death Valley National Park1994
Joshua Tree National Park1994
Kings Canyon National Park1940
Lassen Volcanic National Park1916
Redwood National Park*1968
Sequoia National Park1890
Yosemite National Park*1890
Colorado (4)Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park1999
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve2004
Mesa Verde National Park*1906
Rocky Mountain National Park1915
Florida (3)Biscayne National Park1980
Dry Tortugas National Park1992
Everglades National Park1947
Hawaii (2)Haleakala National Park19161992
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park*19162000
IdahoYellowstone National Park*1872
IndianaIndiana Dunes National Park1966
KentuckyMammoth Cave National Park*1941
MaineAcadia National Park1919
MichiganIsle Royale National Park1940
MinnesotaVoyageurs National Park1975
MissouriGateway Arch National Park2018
Montana (2)Glacier National Park*1910
Yellowstone National Park*1872
NevadaGreat Basin National Park1986
New MexicoCarlsbad Caverns National Park*1930
North CarolinaGreat Smoky Mountains National Park*1934
North DakotaTheodore Roosevelt National Park1978
OhioCuyahoga Valley National Park2000
OregonCrater Lake National Park1902
South CarolinaCongaree National Park2003
South Dakota (2)Badlands National Park1978
Wind Cave National Park1903
TennesseeGreat Smoky Mountains National Park*1934
Texas (2)Big Bend National Park1944
Guadalupe Mountains National Park1966
U.S. Virgin IslandsVirgin Islands National Park1956
Utah (5)Arches National Park1971
Bryce Canyon National Park1928
Capitol Reef National Park1971
Canyonlands National Park1964
Zion National Park1919
VirginiaShenandoah National Park1935
Washington (3)Mount Rainier National Park1899
North Cascades National Park1968
Olympic National Park*1938
Grand Teton National Park1929
Note: National Parks with an asterisk (*) are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States.
The table US National Parks was last modified at 2022-10-04 13:47:50.

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