Are you ready for some fun facts? There are 63 national parks in America. The largest park in the system is Wrangell-St in Alaska. Elias National Park and Reserve. At 13.2 million acres, it is larger than Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined, yet it receives only .002% of the visitors of the National Park System. The smallest, Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri, is less than 200 acres, but it is one of the most visited parks, with more than 2 million visitors annually.
These observations beg the question: What are the most popular national parks, and what makes them so good? The 12 most-visited parks, which we'll call the “Diamond Dozen,” are on track to welcome 55 million visitors in 2025, roughly 60% of all national park guests.
Read on to learn more about the Diamond Dozen parks, including America's most famous national park.
#12 Cuyahoga Valley
Location is important; Former Gov. John Kasich says 60 percent of the U.S. population lives within 600 miles of Ohio. Cuyahoga Valley is Ohio's only national park and only one of three in the Great Lakes basin, but it's more than that. Visitors will enjoy biking the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath, part of the Ohio to Erie Trail across the state. There are also scenic train tours and hikes to waterfalls tumbling into gorges and gorges.
#11 Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the system, with jagged mountain peaks, deep glacial lakes, and 35 named glaciers. Nearly 3 million people visit the glacier each year, the only reason for the small number is the park's relatively short summer season. In some years, summer vacation ends before cars can drive the entire Going to the Sun Road over Logan Pass.
#10 Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is a tree-hugging paradise! It contains an estimated 366,000 acres of ancient forest. Temperate rainforests, including the Hoh and Quinault Rainforests, dominate the western side of the park. This rainforest receives over 12 feet of annual precipitation, making it the wettest region in the continental United States.
#9 Joshua Tree
When you find yourself stranded in the City of Angels, you want to escape to desert solitude under a blanket of California stars. The park's desert landscape is otherworldly, dominated by Joshua trees and exposed rocks. It is a natural playground all year round. In winter, it is a training ground for world-class climbers. Spring is desert blossom season, summer is full of stars, and fall is the perfect weather for camping.
#8 Grand Tetons
The Tetons got their name from French-Canadian hunters in the early 1800s who sailed across three towering mountains they called “les trois tetons.” You'd have to have been in the wilderness for some time to forget the basics of female anatomy, like the standard number of breasts, but the mountains are still pretty cool. Grand Teton National Park is a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, and fishing. It's close enough to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole that many people visit all three during the same trip.
#7 Acadia
Arcadia is the main attraction in New England's national parks, which reminds me: How many dad jokes have gone wrong? The pun only did one out of ten. Seriously, Acadia is a beautiful and diverse park along Maine's central coast. Warm-weather recreational activities include cruising the Park Loop Road, canoeing, paddling lakes, sea kayaking, and guided boat tours. Unique features of the park include Cadillac Mountain, where the sun rises for the first time on the East Coast, and 45 miles of wagon roads built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The carriage roads are a beautiful place to bike or cross-country ski in the winter.
#6 Yosemite
Every budding outdoorsman dreams of going to Yosemite, even before they know how to pronounce it. The towering domes are too beautiful to be taken for granted, and the 1,000-metre waterfalls cascading into Yosemite Valley are picture perfect. It's also home to three giant sequoia groves, the largest trees on Earth!
#5 Rocky Mountain
Rocky Mountain National Park is famous for its mountains. More than 60 peaks in the park are more than 12,000 feet tall, and the park's Trail Ridge is the highest paved road in the country. It is also the headwaters of the Colorado River and home to numerous mountain streams and alpine lakes. In total, the park contains approximately 450 miles of rivers and streams, 350 miles of trails, and 150 lakes.
#4 Yellowstone
Yellowstone is known for the wildlife that can be seen along the 142-mile Grand Loop and volcanic activity. The Yellowstone caldera provides energy for more than 10,000 clay pots, numerous geysers and fumaroles, and the largest concentration of active geysers in the world, including Old Faithful which erupts every 35-120 minutes. It's the perfect compliment to visiting the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.
#3 Zion
The Virgin River Zion Valley is carved through layers of limestone dating back 150 million years. The park's towering red cliffs are awe-inspiring, whether viewed from above, below or from knee-deep in the gorge. Zion is one of the most accessible national parks since it's only a day trip for Vegas' 40 million annual visitors.
#2 Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and to admire it, all you have to do is look up. No wonder more than 4.7 million people visited the park in 2023. There is canoeing and camping along the Colorado River, but less than 5% of park visitors go below the rim.
#1 The Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are the most popular national park, and with over 13 million visitors annually, it's not even close. It's a driving destination for most of the East Coast, and with features like the Cades Cove Loop and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, you don't even need to leave your car to explore the park. Ironically, you'll want to explore the Parkway in Gatlinburg on foot. The Smokies have beautiful hikes, including 72 miles of the Appalachian Trail and more waterfalls than you can shake a wet towel at.
Rounding up America's most popular national parks
Now that you know the most popular Diamond Dozen National Parks, what you do is up to you. Would you make them your bucket list? Looking for less travel-friendly alternatives? Enter countless lottery-based activities? Are you planning visits in the off-season? Want to end your West Coast hiker bias and plan overseas trips to Ohio and Tennessee? There are no wrong answers, just choices with pros and cons and endless opportunities for exploration.
Hello! We are Jane and Ed Coleman also known as Coleman Concierge. In short, we are a 10th generation couple from Huntsville sharing our stories of amazing adventures through transformative and experiential activity-based travel.
