Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 835 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres

After the hottest summer on record, it's a wonderful time to hit the great outdoors.
The United States is home to 63 national parks, from Yellowstone National Park to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. The former, located in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, became the world's first national park in 1872 and includes 10,000 hydrothermal features; the latter is the newest national park and hosts the longest steel arch span in the Western Hemisphere. So, the country's park system encompasses something for everyone.
It's not surprising then that these scenic getaways have drawn millions of travelers every year. The National Park Service reported just shy of 312 million recreational visits last year, the most since 2019. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee was by far the most popular national park, with 12.9 million visits. Grand Canyon (Arizona), Zion (Utah), Rocky Mountain (Colorado), and Acadia (Maine) rounded out the top five.
For park enthusiasts, more good news looks to be on the way. Congress is expected to add Georgia's Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as the nation's 64th crown jewel before the end of the year. It'd be the first national park co-managed by a tribal group that was forcibly removed from its land and the first national park in Georgia. But others—including perhaps the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Alaska's Tongass National Forest, and Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona—are vying for the honor.
Wondering where to go next that's not too far from home? Stacker compiled a list of the national parks closest to Sherman County. Straight line distance from Sherman County to each national park was used to determine the ranking. County coordinates from the Census Bureau and national park coordinates from NPS were used in the calculation.
When planning your next adventure, know your limits before you go, and check whether the park has regulations or requires permits or reservations. Create backup and emergency plans, and be aware of your surroundings when you arrive. NPS asks visitors to stay within designated areas, watch wildlife responsibly, and keep safety in mind. Animals should not be approached, harassed, touched, or fed, and children and pets must be supervised closely.
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Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
1 / 25- Distance: 835 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
2 / 25- Distance: 833 miles
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
3 / 25- Distance: 833 miles
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
4 / 25- Distance: 815 miles
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
5 / 25- Distance: 788 miles
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
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Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
6 / 25- Distance: 788 miles
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
7 / 25- Distance: 743 miles
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
8 / 25- Distance: 732 miles
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
9 / 25- Distance: 696 miles
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
10 / 25- Distance: 691 miles
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
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Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
11 / 25- Distance: 685 miles
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
12 / 25- Distance: 642 miles
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
13 / 25- Distance: 615 miles
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
14 / 25- Distance: 609 miles
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
15 / 25- Distance: 554 miles
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
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Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
16 / 25- Distance: 524 miles
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
17 / 25- Distance: 504 miles
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
18 / 25- Distance: 499 miles
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
19 / 25- Distance: 396 miles
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
20 / 25- Distance: 341 miles
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
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Bob Pool // Shutterstock
21 / 25- Distance: 325 miles
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Canva
22 / 25- Distance: 230 miles
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
23 / 25- Distance: 219 miles
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
24 / 25- Distance: 185 miles
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
25 / 25- Distance: 112 miles
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Mike Taylor, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 3,119 counties.
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