California has the most with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four. The newest national parks are New River Gorge National Park established on Dec. 27, 2020, White Sands National Park was upgraded from a national monument Dec.
Look to AlaskaElias National Park & Preserve may be the largest national park in the U.S., but some of its neighbors aren't too far behind. In fact, seven of the 10 biggest national parks can be found in Alaska.
There's a total of 63 national parks in the United States. One might assume the parks would cover most of the country—but that's not the case! While there are dozens of parks, they only exist in a little more than half of the country's states. There are still 20 states that don't have a national park.
States without National Parks are: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (see above,) Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
While the National Park System comprises 423 national park sites, only 63 of them have the National Park designation in their names. The other sites fall into different National Park System categories like National Historic Sites, National Monuments, National Seashores, National Recreation Areas, and others.
Thirty states and two U.S. territories have a total of 63 national parks. California has the most with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four.
Some states are known for their scenic landscapes — like Utah, home of the big five national parks. California has incredible forests, and Wyoming has the prettiest national park in the country.
Thirty states and two U.S. territories have a total of 63 national parks. California has the most with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four.
The New River Gorge was given National Park Service protection in 1978 as a national river, and was expanded to New River Gorge National Park & Preserve — this country's newest national park — in the plague year of 2020 courtesy of legislation drafted by Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.