Approximately 323 million people visited American national parks in 2025, a 2.7% year-over-year decrease and the first annual decline since 2020.
President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 signed the act creating the National Park Service to leave natural and historic phenomenons "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Since then, our national parks have welcomed visitors from around the world to experience some of the best the country has to offer and showcase the country's natural beauty and cultural heritage. Today, the country's 63 national parks contain at least 247 species of endangered or threatened plants and animals, more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.
Stacker compiled a list of the closest national parks to Greeley. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Greeley, CO Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from Here and are only available within the lower 48 states. All featured distances and driving times are estimated using representative locations from the center of each metro and national park—for some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.
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1 / 63#1. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 64 miles
- Driving time: 1.8 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 204 miles
- Driving time: 5.1 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
3 / 63#3. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 213 miles
- Driving time: 4.3 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
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4 / 63#4. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 225 miles
- Driving time: 6.6 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 241 miles
- Driving time: 5.3 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
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6 / 63#6. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 305 miles
- Driving time: 7.0 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 321 miles
- Driving time: 8.6 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 338 miles
- Driving time: 12.7 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
9 / 63#9. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 396 miles
- Driving time: 7.8 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 398 miles
- Driving time: 8.6 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
11 / 63#11. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 418 miles
- Driving time: 8.8 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
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12 / 63#12. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 445 miles
- Driving time: 8.9 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 467 miles
- Driving time: 10.5 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 480 miles
- Driving time: 10.6 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
15 / 63#15. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 518 miles
- Driving time: 11.1 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 523 miles
- Driving time: 12.4 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
17 / 63#17. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 539 miles
- Driving time: 11.1 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 545 miles
- Driving time: 10.3 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 578 miles
- Driving time: 10.9 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
20 / 63#20. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 596 miles
- Driving time: 12.0 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 666 miles
- Driving time: 14.4 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
22 / 63#22. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 737 miles
- Driving time: 14.3 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
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23 / 63#23. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 739 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
24 / 63#24. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 748 miles
- Driving time: 15.1 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 768 miles
- Driving time: 12.8 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 782 miles
- Driving time: 16.3 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 787 miles
- Driving time: 16.6 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 788 miles
- Driving time: 17.2 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 808 miles
- Driving time: 22.3 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 824 miles
- Driving time: 21.0 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 832 miles
- Driving time: 20.4 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 900 miles
- Driving time: 17.4 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 906 miles
- Driving time: 14.5 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 928 miles
- Driving time: 18.8 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 939 miles
- Driving time: 19.7 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 942 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 950 miles
- Driving time: 19.7 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 969 miles
- Driving time: 18.9 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 998 miles
- Driving time: 21.7 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 1,011 miles
- Driving time: 17.7 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
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41 / 63#41. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,026 miles
- Driving time: 22.4 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
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42 / 63#42. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,074 miles
- Driving time: 22.2 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
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43 / 63#43. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 1,182 miles
- Driving time: 21.2 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
44 / 63#44. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 1,193 miles
- Driving time: 19.3 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
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45 / 63#45. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 1,257 miles
- Driving time: 21.5 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 1,379 miles
- Driving time: 25.4 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 1,392 miles
- Driving time: 25.0 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
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48 / 63#48. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,659 miles
- Driving time: 34.3 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,711 miles
- Driving time: 32.4 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,734 miles
- Driving time: 31.4 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
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51 / 63#51. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 1,852 miles
- Driving time: 33.6 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,888 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,121 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,343 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,435 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock
56 / 63#56. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,485 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
57 / 63#57. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,512 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,613 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,759 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
60 / 63#60. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 2,803 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 3,318 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
62 / 63#62. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 3,323 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 5,672 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
