Utah is home to 5 of the best national parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion—collectively known as the Mighty Five. Established between 1919 and 1971, these parks are famous for their spectacular red-rock formations, desert solitude, and more than 1,000 miles of hiking & trekking trails.
Yellowstone National Park, USA (1872)Yellowstone National Park is the oldest in the United States and the second oldest in the world. Located between the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, the park is home to hot springs and the world's largest collection of geysers, including the iconic Old Faithful.
Yosemite National Park, USA (1890)Located in California's Sierra Nevada, it is one of the oldest, largest, and best-known national parks in the United States.
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).
Northeast Greenland National ParkAccording to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest national park is Northeast Greenland National Park, which is an impressive 972,000 km, or 375,000 square miles, making it 77 times bigger than Yellowstone.
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.