National Park Rankings

Some of the best places to visit in the United States are the national parks. There are 63 official national parks as of 2026, and a dream of mine is to visit all of them. So far, I’ve only been to 18, but I do plan to visit more as I get the chance. I decided I needed to start an official National Park ranking based off my experiences which I can update as I visit more. I have not been to a national park I didn’t like, but I’ve had better overall experiences at some compared to others which will affect the ranking. Just because one park is ranked lower than another doesn’t mean I don’t like it. Below, I’m ranking all 18 parks from my least favorite to my most favorite based only on my experiences there.

18. Gateway Arch is an awesome place to visit and one of the most iconic landmarks in the United States. It’s actually the tallest monument in the US, and the views from the top are incredible! There’s a lot of history surrounding the arch and St Louis that makes this a really important site. While I loved my visit there, it still ranks in last place overall because it really doesn’t feel like it should be a national park. It’s the smallest national park for obvious reasons, and just doesn’t really fit in with the rest. I did think it was kinda funny seeing employees walk around an air-conditioned museum in National Park ranger uniforms though! While I do have it ranked in last, I still highly recommend visiting. I just don’t think it should be a national park.

17. Voyageurs is a park that is more popular in the summer. There’s a big lake with some islands on it that you can camp on. Because I came during the winter, I wasn’t planning to visit Voyageurs, but because I was passing right by it, I had to check it out in the limited time I had. It was a cool experience where I saw a group of deer walking around on the lake, and one even came close to me. This was my entire experience here, so there’s not much to go by. I didn’t really give it a chance to be any higher than this on my list, but I liked what I did see.

16. Biscayne is a unique park because it’s mostly just water. The park is 95% water, so it feels much different than the other national parks. While most national parks are known for their breathtaking views and landscapes, it feels odd coming into a national park to look at water, but I enjoyed it more than I expected to, which was a nice surprise. I visited with my family, and we decided to take a kayaking tour of the shoreline mangroves. 60% of Florida’s mangroves have been destroyed for urban development, so this is an important park for protecting this ecosystem. But what made our day much better was running into several wild manatees while kayaking! The realization that a giant manatee is swimming just inches below your kayak is kinda wild! There are also some islands you can visit, but I was not able to with my group size and the timing of my visit. It was a nice park, but I really can’t put it much higher in my ranking.

15. Congaree National Park in South Carolina is one of the smallest national parks in the US. It protects the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. Many of the trees here are the tallest of their kind, and many are considered “champion trees.” Its many trees create one of the highest temperate deciduous forest canopies remaining in the world, and I really enjoyed my visit. Walking the Boardwalk Trail was nice, but if that’s all my experience was based on, it wouldn’t be ranked this high. What made visiting Congaree much better than expected was the decision to kayak along Cedar Creek. This is a park that is best seen from the water, and the views are just incredible! Seeing the towering champion trees hang over you as you’re paddling through the peaceful creek, watching eagles fly overhead is such a cool experience. This park is often considered to be the worst, but I would definitely disagree with that.

14. This is a tough one to rank… On one hand, Hot Springs is awesome! I really enjoyed my time here and would consider coming back! But on the other, should this really be a national park? It doesn’t feel like one. Hot Springs is a unique park because it’s a town built on top of naturally hot springs. These springs exit the ground at 143° F., and many believe it has medicinal properties. It’s a historically significant town because of all the bathhouses that have been in use for over a century which utilize the hot springs. And while there are parts of the national park that are more natural, such as West Mountain, these feel more like a state park than a national park. Gateway Arch is ranked last because I don’t think it should be a national park due to not being natural: I could use that same logic here, except the entire purpose of this park is to protect the NATURAL thermal springs, so that argument doesn’t really apply here. The truth is, while it doesn’t feel like a national park, it has all the qualifications of a national park, so I’ll treat it as one. Plus, it’s technically the first “national park” before national parks existed. I really like Hot Springs! I can’t rank it too highly because the other places on this list are tough to beat, but this feels like a good spot for it.

13. The Everglades is a well-known park in South Florida, and I really enjoyed my time there. It’s such an iconic site in the United States and is recognized as a site of global importance because of its unique ecosystem protecting many species found only here. This River of Grass may not be the most scenic national park, but there are many reasons to appreciate it while visiting. I took an airboat tour throughout the Shark Valley area of the park and got to spot several wild alligators. Then I visited the Royal Palm portion of the park and hiked the Anhinga Trail. It would probably be higher on this list if I had seen more wildlife while out there, but I found out that summer is not really the time to visit to see wildlife. I’d love to return during another time of year to see if there is more wildlife out. But I really enjoyed it overall.

12. I actually really liked Capitol Reef when I visited. But it’s unfortunate that it’s in between parks like Arches and Bryce Canyon which way overshadow it. In fact, many people skip Capitol Reef altogether when driving through Utah. I don’t believe it should be skipped as there are some really nice trails and beautiful scenery. There’s even a small pioneer town in the middle of the park! I have seen some people say that Capitol Reef is their favorite of the Mighty 5 in Utah, and I can understand that: it’s much less crowded and is very beautiful. When I visited, I felt as if I had the entire park to myself, and that was truly special! But one of my issues with it is the fact that the trails aren’t all well-marked. I got turned around on one trail because it wasn’t really clear where I should be going. It’s a nice park regardless, and I don’t think that anyone should skip it when traveling through Utah.

11. Mammoth Cave is the largest known cave system in the world. While they currently say it is 426 miles long, that number continues to grow as more sections are discovered and mapped out. It’s definitely unique compared to the other national parks I’ve been to. Above ground, while the scenery is beautiful, it isn’t really national park worthy to me and could instead be classified as a really nice state park. But once you go underground to tour the cave itself, you realize how incredible this place actually is! You have to book a tour in advance in order to visit it, but it’s definitely worth it. There are many tours available, depending on your time constraints and ability, so there’s an option for everyone. I have to rank it here overall: it’s very impressive, but accessibility moves it a little lower down. I don’t typically like taking tours and prefer to explore places on my own, so the fact that tours are required hurts its position a little bit. It’s definitely worth visiting though!

10. Being a couple hours from Los Angeles, Joshua Tree is one of the most popular national parks. It’s known for the unique Joshua Tree which is only found in this region of the world. The park consists of two unique desert ecosystems: Mojave and Colorado Desert, with the Joshua Trees being in the Mojave and the Cholla Cactuses being in the Colorado Desert. This is a beautiful park to visit, but if I’m being honest, it has to be ranked somewhere in the middle when compared to the other national parks. This is mostly because of a lack of diversity since the park is literally just desert with a lot of Joshua Trees. Don’t get me wrong- it’s very cool! But it just doesn’t compare to the parks I have ranked toward the top of this list.

9. Canyonlands is an amazing park! And I’ve seen it at the top of many ranked lists like this. The view from Mesa Arch is probably the single coolest view I’ve had in a national park. I also really loved the Grand View Point, especially when it has a nice breeze coming up from it. The reason it’s this low on my list is because there isn’t much to do if you only have a day there. The park is huge and would require multiple days to fully explore it. I just hit the highlights that I could reach in a day, but there’s so much more to the park than what I saw! I could easily see it make the top of my list if I ever have a chance to return and spend more time there. I was also a little drained from spending the previous day at Arches, so I didn’t really attempt many hikes. I just didn’t visit this park the way it was meant to be visited, so my experience wasn’t as great as it should’ve been.

8. Dry Tortugas is such a unique park and is very remote compared to the others I’ve been to. It’s an island group 70 miles from civilization that was discovered by Ponce de Leon and is known for being a very inhospitable area due to its lack of fresh water. The US military eventually decided to build a fort in the Dry Tortugas, only for construction to be halted during the Civil War where it began its use as a federal prison and was eventually abandoned. A big part of what makes this park so special is its remoteness. It takes a lot of time and money to reach it because of how far it is from land. I really liked exploring the fort, then snorkeling in the surrounding water. It’s not your average national park experience, but it’s a really fun one!

7. I love the Smoky Mountains and have been many times. I think it’s an underrated park overall and is easily the best of the eastern United States. In the past, I was unsure of how to rank it, but after revisiting it recently, I am more confident in its placement on this list. To start out, this is an incredibly beautiful part of the country. I have been here in every season, but fall is the best time to come, in my opinion, as the leaves are changing colors and create the perfect backdrop to a drive through the park. A big reason why I can’t put it higher is that this is the most visited park in the US, and the unmanageable crowds during peak seasons can negatively affect the experience. But even during those busy times, it is still possible to find quieter places to enjoy this park, which is ultimately nature at its best.

6. While my plans at RMNP didn’t work out as planned, I still really enjoyed my time there. At first, it was frustrating because of the weather, but when it finally cleared up, I was able to experience what makes this park so special. Trail Ridge Road is one of the highlights of this park, though I didn’t get to drive the whole road. The overlooks along the road offer breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains. And Bear Lake is a beautiful place to check out too! I also got to see a lot of elk, especially after the weather cleared up. I visited during a snow storm, so I’d love to return someday when there’s better weather, but I can’t complain about the experience I had. The only complaint I have doesn’t have to do with the park itself but the way the National Park Service distributes tickets/reservations.

5. I have seen many lists where Zion is someone’s number 1 park. And it’s definitely beautiful! But what I didn’t like about Zion is how complicated visiting it can be. It’s not like any other park where you just drive in and go where you want to go- you have to plan ahead and book your trip early. Because of limited parking within the park, personal vehicles aren’t allowed most of the year, which means you have to book a shuttle ride into the park. Booking a shuttle ticket is much more complicated than it should be, and they sell out extremely fast too. The Narrows is my favorite hike I’ve ever done, and I’ve heard great things about Angel’s Landing, but getting there is not fun. I understand why they have to use the shuttle system: there’s no room to add more parking within the park, and they would not be able to see the large crowds of people they do if the shuttle system wasn’t used. But there should be an easier way to visit. It sounds like I’m being negative here, but I have it ranked here overall because this is truly an incredible park!

4. Arches is one of the most unique national parks in the country. It’s basically a museum of some of the most otherworldly rock formations on the planet. It literally feels like exploring another world. The Delicate Arch is one of the most iconic sites in all of America, and it feels really great being able to visit it for yourself. There are also other incredible sites including Double Arch and the Balanced Rock. I did come here a little unprepared for just how hot it was going to be. Dehydration and heat exhaustion did take away from my visit a little bit, but there’s no way around it: Arches National Park is one of my favorite places in the United States and needs to be on everyone’s bucket list! Just maybe don’t go during the hottest time of the year.

3. Mount Rainier is a very special park. The mountain itself can be seen from almost anywhere in Seattle, and it has become kind of a mascot for the city. The park is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been- not just in the US! There were green trees everywhere, along peaceful rivers and amazing waterfalls. The hiking here is incredible! Another thing I loved about Mount Rainier was the fact that there was snow on the ground but also warm weather- it was awesome! I would’ve liked to hike up the mountain, but as a Floridian who had never attempted hiking in snow at the time, it would’ve been disastrous. Another thing I love about Mount Rainier is that it’s just pure nature at its best. The plant life is diverse, and the weather was amazing when I went. Of course, if you visit during other times of the year, you may not have as great of an experience as I did. I just visited at the perfect time.

2. Bryce Canyon was my favorite park in Utah! Every overlook I visited had incredible views of the canyon. My favorite overlook was definitely Inspiration Point, but they were all good. One of the best decisions I made was deciding to hike down into the canyon to see it from the bottom. That hike was really cool and made me feel like I was on another planet! There’s actually a lot more to the park than you would initially think when visiting, but after driving throughout the whole park, the best part is within the Bryce Amphitheater at the beginning. I have seen it lower on a lot of lists because it’s just a canyon, and I could understand that if you just drove into the park and looked at it. I really wanted to get the full experience here so I visited at both sunset and sunrise and then hiked to the bottom to see it from every angle. It’s just an amazing park!

1. The Grand Canyon is my favorite national park so far. It’s also the most iconic national park in the US. When I went, I visited many different overlooks along the South Rim over a couple days. Everywhere you look in the Grand Canyon is beautiful. There’s just something special about standing at the edge of a mile-high drop, looking down into the maze of one of the most recognized landmarks in the entire world. It really makes you feel small seeing how big it is. I’d love to hike down into the Grand Canyon someday, but I’ve been told I would need to plan to camp at the bottom, and I just didn’t have time for that. But even if you just plan to stay at the top like I did, you won’t get bored. There’s a shuttle that takes you to many different overlooks, and you could literally ride that around all day, getting off whenever you want. If there’s any US National Park that I think everyone should see, it’s the Grand Canyon.