9 Fun Facts About U.S. National Parks

The 63 National Parks in the United States showcase the gems of our natural wonders. From the hot springs of Yellowstone to the lighthouses of Acadia, they represent the beauty and diversity of the American Landscape. Here are a few National Parks fun facts about these beautiful areas.

National Park Fun Facts

Fun Fact #1

The U.S. National Parks Service oversees over 400 national parks, parkways, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, memorials, and monuments – meaning there’s almost certainly one near you.

Fun Fact #2

Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Tennessee) is the most visited park. It saw almost 13 million visitors in 2019. The most visited area overseen by the NPS is the Golden Gate Recreation Area in San Francisco, California, with over 15 million visitors per year.

Fun Fact #3

Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve (Alaska) is the least visited, with around 10,000 visitors. It has no internal roads or trails, so it is strongly recommended you hire a guide to visit the park. It is impassable for a large part of the year.

Fun Fact #4

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (Alaska) is the largest national park at over 13 million acres. It is larger than the states of Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Maryland, as well as all U.S. territories and minor outlying islands.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee – Photo by Jonny James on Unsplash

Fun Fact #5

At 5,500 acres, Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas) is the smallest. It is also one of the oldest national parks, as it was designated a “national reservation” by the federal government in 1832. Yet it wasn’t designated an official “national park” until 1921. The only areas under the NPS’s jurisdiction that are older are the National Mall (1790) and the White House/President’s Park (1792).

Fun Fact #6

Founded in 1872, Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming and Idaho) holds the distinction of the oldest national park. It took another 44 years for the founding of the National Parks Service as we know it in 1916.

Fun Fact #7

Designated as part of a COVID-19 relief package in December 2020, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is the newest national park, and West Virginia’s first. It is the largest river gorge in the Appalachian mountain range, and a kayaker’s paradise.

Fun Fact #8

Glacier National Park (Montana) is part of the world’s first international park, partnered with Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park. Together, they’re called the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, founded in 1932. Some advocates think we should combine Big Bend in Texas and the area of Mexico on the other side of the border. This area serves as an important migratory corridor for large predators that scientists have only recently spotted in the area again.

Fun Fact #9

Isle Royale (Michigan) is the only national park that officially closes for a season. Though, some in Alaska are occasionally unreachable due to inclement weather. Isle Royale sits on an island in the middle of Michigan’s Lake Superior. You can only reach the park itself by boat or seaplane, so is not accessible during Michigan’s harsh winters. It is closed to visitors from November 1 – April 15th every year.

If this National Parks fun facts article inspired you to visit a national park, you might be thinking: when should I go? Find my answer to that question.