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.
Florida, Arizona, and Washington boast three national parks each, while Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas are proud owners of two.
Biggest of Them AllThe uncontested heavyweight champion of the National Park System is Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. At 13.2 million acres, it's larger than Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined.
The smallest park is Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri, at 192.83 acres (0.7804 km2). The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.4 million acres (212,000 km2), for an average of 833 thousand acres (3,370 km2) but a median of only 220 thousand acres (890 km2).
The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km2), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states. The next three largest parks are also in Alaska.
California is the state with the most national parks including Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia, and Yosemite, offering diverse landscapes ranging from pristine islands, vast deserts, iconic trees, dramatic canyons, volcanic peaks, and majestic ...
Great Smoky Mountains remains America's most visited national park by a long shot. Nearly 13 million people visited the park straddling North Carolina and Tennessee last year, according to newly released National Park Service numbers.
Remember the criteria to become a National Park. Of all the land in the Adirondack Park, only 2.6 million acres are owned by New York State. With more than half of the land privately owned (105 towns and villages exist in the Park), it could likely never live up to rule #3 under the National Park Service.
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.
National Park of American Samoa: The least-visited US national park in 2022 saw just 1,887 visits. Most visitors will need a passport to travel to American Samoa. 2. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska: This vast park contains no roads or trails.
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.