America’s National Parks: There’s a Lot More Than 63
When most visitors think about America’s National Park System, they think of the 63 “official” national parks. The Grand Canyon. Yosemite. Yellowstone. Zion. The names are legendary, the scenery is spectacular—and the crowds can be enormous.
A quick scroll through social media tells the story. These parks dominate the photographs, the bucket lists, and the travel itineraries. But there’s a much bigger story hiding beyond those familiar names.
Consider five of the most visited parks in the country: Yellowstone, Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains. Together, they attract roughly 30 million visitors every year. They are unquestionably spectacular places, but experiencing them can sometimes mean sharing the scenery with thousands of other people.
Now travel to the other end of the spectrum.
Kobuk Valley. Gates of the Arctic. Lake Clark. Isle Royale. Katmai.
Together, these five parks receive just over 100,000 visitors annually. Four are in Alaska. All five endure brutal winters, and none has a road system connecting the park to the outside world. In Gates of the Arctic, you can spend days simply getting from a road to the wilderness of the park.
Compare that with Zion. From the Costco in St. George, Utah, you can be at the park entrance in about 40 minutes.
Both experiences are part of America’s National Park System.
And that is what makes the system so fascinating.
The 63 national parks may get most of the attention, but the National Park Service manages an astonishing variety of places—national monuments, historic sites, battlefields, seashores, lakeshores, rivers, recreation areas, and vast stretches of protected wilderness. Altogether, the National Park Service manages more than 400 sites across the United States and its territories, with at least one in every state, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories.
The real question isn’t whether there is a national park site worth visiting. It’s what are you interested in?
Fascinated by Native American history?
Explore the cliff dwellings and cultural history of Mesa Verde. Visit Navajo National Monument or Bandelier National Monument and discover stories that stretch back centuries.
Love wildlife?
North America offers some of the world’s most extraordinary wildlife viewing, and many national park sites put you remarkably close to it.
In Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton, and Redwood country, you may encounter bison, bears, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, moose, elk, and an astonishing variety of birds. Sometimes the wildlife experience is as memorable as the scenery itself.
And if marine life is your passion, consider something completely different: American Samoa National Park. Much of the park’s protected environment lies beneath the Pacific, offering visitors an opportunity to explore a world that feels a long way from the mountains and forests of the mainland.
Is American history your thing?
The National Park System is also a journey through the nation’s past.
Visit Independence National Historical Park and stand where the founding of the United States unfolded. See the Liberty Bell. Travel to Appomattox Court House and explore the place where the Civil War effectively came to an end.
History isn’t confined to museums here. In many places, the landscape itself is the museum.
Fascinated by geology?
Few places demonstrate the power of the Earth quite like Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, where visitors can witness volcanic forces that continue to reshape the landscape.
Head to Utah and Arizona and the scenery changes again. Hike, drive, or bike through landscapes where enormous sandstone arches rise from the desert floor. Stand at the Grand Canyon and look across cliffs that reveal millions of years of geological history.
Or perhaps your idea of the perfect national park experience is much simpler.
Walk beneath towering redwoods.
Wander through the lush forests of Great Smoky Mountains.
Sit beside a mountain lake.
Watch a sunset.
Look up.
And then there are the stars.
One of the great pleasures of the National Park System is that the experience doesn’t end when the sun goes down. Parks offer ranger talks, lectures, educational programs, guided walks, and nighttime programs. You might join a ranger for a nature walk beside a lake in Grand Teton, learn about the history of a battlefield, or find yourself standing beneath one of the darkest skies in the country, staring into a universe of stars that simply isn’t visible from a city.
That is the real magic of America’s National Park System.
You don’t have to be a serious hiker. You don’t need to visit the most famous parks. And you certainly don’t have to limit yourself to the 63 national parks.
Whether your dream is to stand on the edge of a canyon, watch a bear emerge from the forest, explore ancient Native American sites, walk beneath giant trees, study volcanic landscapes, learn about American history, or simply escape the noise of everyday life for a few hours, there is a National Park Service site waiting for you.
And chances are, there is one closer than you think.
Ready to start exploring?
Your first stop should be nps.gov.