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U.S. National Parks

U.S. national parks are America's best idea.

National parks I've visited

Up till the summer of 2024, I've visitied 36 out of 63 U.S. national parks.

Pacific (California, Oregon, Washington):

  • North Cascades
  • Olympic
  • Mount Rainier
  • Crater Lake
  • Redwood
  • Yosemite
  • Sequoia
  • Death Valley
  • Joshua Tree

SouthWest (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas):

  • Grand Canyon
  • Saguaro
  • Petrified Forest
  • Zion
  • Bryce Canyon
  • Arches
  • Canyonland
  • Capitol Reef
  • Calsbad Caverns
  • White Sands
  • Great Basin
  • Guadalupe Mountains

Rocky Mountains & Great Plains (Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota):

  • Rocky Mountain
  • Great Sand Dunes
  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison
  • Mesa Verde
  • Glacier
  • Yellowstone
  • Grand Teton
  • Badlands
  • Wind Cave

Alaska:

  • Denali
  • Kenai Fjords

Eastern (Maine, Floria, Virginia):

  • Acadia
  • Everglades
  • Dry Tortugas
  • Shenandoah

Best of all national parks

Glacier

Widely recognized by the hikers community as the most scenic national parks in the contigous U.S.

The park has the highest number of hiking trails among all U.S. national parks.

The park is famous for its biodiversity and wildlife. One of the few national parks in the contiguous U.S. you can see Grizzly bears.

Yosemite

The park is famous for its granite cliffs, magestic waterfalls and wildlife. It is the best national park in California.

Yellowstone

The first national park in the U.S. The ultimate national park experience with numerous activities and attractions.

The park is famous for its geothermal features and wildlife.

Top national parks

Rocky Mountain

The most scenic national park in Colorado. The second most scenic national park in U.S. Rockies - only after Glacier national park.

Mount Rainier

The most scenic national park in the Cascades mountain range along the Pacific coast. The most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous U.S.

Zion

One of the most scenic national parks in the Southwest, if not the best.

Canyonlands

In my opinion, the most scenic canyon landscape in the Southwest, more interesting than the Grand Canyon.

Arches

The Disneyland of natural sandstone arches. The park contains the highest density of natural arches in the world.

North Cascades

In my opinion, the North Cascades section of the Cascades mountain range rivals the Rockies in terms of scenic beauty.

With approximately 312 glaciers, North Cascades National Park has the most glaciers of any US park outside Alaska, and a third of all the glaciers in the contiguous U.S.

Grand Canyon

The most famous canyon in the world.

Crater Lake

The deepest lake in the U.S. The bluest lake in the U.S. The color of the lake looks so unreal that it looks like it has been photoshopped.

Grand Teton

The most iconic skyline of Wyoming. One of the most photographed mountains in the U.S.

Olympic

The 3-in-1 national park: mountains, rainforest and ocean.

Bryce Canyon

One of the most unique canyon landscapes in the Southwest.

Capitol Reef

The least visited and the most underrated national park in Utah.

Acadia

The most scenic national park in New England.

Guadalupe Mountains

The tallest peak in Texas.

Shenandoah

Beautiful park in the Appalachians.

Parks by category

When people think of national parks, they most likely think of exceptional natural beauty, unique geological features and wildlife. However, there are three categories of U.S. national parks: those known for their scenic beauty, those knowns for their unique geological or biological features and those knowns for their cultural or historical significance. It is like comparing apples to oranges if we were to compare Redwoods to Mesa Verde, because they are known for completely incomparable features.

Category 1: Mountains and Sea

  • Glaciers
  • Yellowstone
  • Yosemite
  • Rocky Mountain
  • Mount Rainier
  • North Cascades
  • Grand Teton
  • Denali
  • Kenai Fjords
  • Olympic
  • Acadia
  • Great Basin
  • Guadalupe Mountains
  • Shenandoah
  • Dry Tortugas
  • Crater Lake

Category 2: Canyons, Badlands and Deserts

  • Zion
  • Canyonlands
  • Arches
  • Grand Canyon
  • Bryce Canyon
  • Capitol Reef
  • White Sands
  • Death Valley
  • Great Sand Dunes
  • Badlands
  • Black Canyon of Gunnison
  • Petrified Forest
  • Joshua Tree

Category 3: Flora and Fauna

  • Yellowstone
  • Redwoods
  • Everglades
  • Saguaro
  • Sequoia

Category 4: Caves

  • Carlsbad Cavern
  • Wind Cave
  • Great Basin

Category 5: Culture and History

  • Mesa Verde

How do I rate a national park?

It doesn't make much sense to use a single rule to measure all national parks because parks estiblished for different purposes are so different. It's like comparing apples to oranges if we were to compare Rocky Mountains NP to Mesa Verde NP. Instead, I will rate national parks in Category 1 and Category 2 separately.

Parks are rated by the following aspects.

  • Scenary: The score of the raw natural beauty of the park.

  • Uniqueness: Can you find this type of scenary elsewhere in the world?

  • Wildlife: Is there abundance of wildlife in the park?

  • Activities: Is there any unique fun activities to do in the park?