The 20 best national parks in the USA
The top 3 according to 1,166 votes from people: Yellowstone National Park · Grand Canyon National Park · Zion National Park. (Updated Oct 4, 2026.)
Consensus ranking from U.S. News, park-by-park rankings by travellers who have visited all of them, and visitor reviews: scenery, hiking and wildlife.
Top 20
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1
Yellowstone National Park
The world's first national park (1872), with Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, bison and wolves.
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2
Grand Canyon National Park
The Colorado River's 446 km canyon, up to 1.8 km deep; the South Rim is open all year.
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3
Zion National Park
Red sandstone canyon in Utah famous for the Narrows river hike and Angels Landing.
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4
Yosemite National Park
Granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and giant sequoias in California's Sierra Nevada.
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5
Grand Teton National Park
Jagged Teton Range rising above Jackson Hole and its lakes, just south of Yellowstone.
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6
Glacier National Park
Montana park crossed by the Going-to-the-Sun Road, with over 700 miles of trails.
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7
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado peaks above 12,000 feet reached by Trail Ridge Road, with elk herds in the meadows.
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8
Denali National Park and Preserve
Six million acres of Alaska wilderness around Denali, North America's highest peak at 6,190 m.
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9
Bryce Canyon National Park
Amphitheatres packed with orange hoodoo rock spires, best at sunrise from Sunrise and Sunset Points.
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10
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The most visited national park in the US, on the Tennessee–North Carolina border, free to enter.
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11
Acadia National Park
Rocky Maine coastline and Cadillac Mountain, one of the first places in the US to see the sunrise.
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12
Death Valley National Park
The hottest, driest and lowest national park, with Badwater Basin 86 m below sea level.
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13
Mount Rainier National Park
Active 4,392 m volcano in Washington with wildflower meadows at Paradise.
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14
Joshua Tree National Park
Where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, with Joshua trees, boulder fields and dark skies.
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15
Everglades National Park
Subtropical wetland in Florida, the only place where alligators and crocodiles live side by side.
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16
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, two of the world's most active volcanoes, on Hawaiʻi Island.
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17
Olympic National Park
Three ecosystems in one: Pacific coast, the Hoh Rain Forest and the glaciated Olympic Mountains.
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18
Arches National Park
Over 2,000 natural sandstone arches near Moab, Utah, including Delicate Arch.
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19
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Home of the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on Earth by volume.
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20
Canyonlands National Park
Utah's largest park, carved by the Colorado and Green rivers, with Mesa Arch at Island in the Sky.
Candidates
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21
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Tidewater glaciers and humpback whales in southeast Alaska, mostly seen from cruise ships.
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22
Big Bend National Park
Remote Texas park on the Rio Grande with Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains and gold-tier dark skies.
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23
Crater Lake National Park
Oregon park around the deepest lake in the United States, formed in the collapsed caldera of Mount Mazama.
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24
Shenandoah National Park
Virginia park along the Blue Ridge Mountains, crossed by the 105-mile Skyline Drive.
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25
Badlands National Park
South Dakota park of eroded buttes and pinnacles and one of the richest fossil beds in the world.
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26
Redwood National and State Parks
Northern California parks protecting old-growth coast redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth.
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27
Capitol Reef National Park
Utah park around the Waterpocket Fold, with historic Fruita orchards where you can pick fruit in season.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (10)
Zion's Narrows hike was the best day of my life.
Yosemite needs reservations in peak season now, plan ahead.
Yellowstone in winter is something else. Way fewer people and bison covered in snow.
Arches requires timed entry tickets in summer btw, don't just show up.
Great list, though Shenandoah should be here for the east coast folks.
Visited 14 of these, Olympic is underrated. Rainforest, mountains and beaches in one park.
No Crater Lake?? That blue is unreal.
Big Bend deserves a spot too, best stargazing in the lower 48.
Zion's Angels Landing is unforgettable, but you need the permit lottery now. Plan ahead!
Glacier National Park is the most beautiful place I've ever been. Going-to-the-Sun Road at sunrise 😍