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 Ames. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Ames, IA 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. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 299 miles
- Driving time: 6.1 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 344 miles
- Driving time: 6.0 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
3 / 63#3. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 448 miles
- Driving time: 7.7 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
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4 / 63#4. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 462 miles
- Driving time: 8.3 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 488 miles
- Driving time: 10.5 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
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6 / 63#6. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 508 miles
- Driving time: 9.7 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 520 miles
- Driving time: 10.2 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 526 miles
- Driving time: 10.6 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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9 / 63#9. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 589 miles
- Driving time: 12.1 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 629 miles
- Driving time: 10.8 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
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11 / 63#11. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 631 miles
- Driving time: 10.6 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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12 / 63#12. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 694 miles
- Driving time: 13.5 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 701 miles
- Driving time: 13.9 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
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14 / 63#14. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 722 miles
- Driving time: 13.9 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
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15 / 63#15. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 777 miles
- Driving time: 15.2 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
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16 / 63#16. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 845 miles
- Driving time: 17.5 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
17 / 63#17. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 856 miles
- Driving time: 17.3 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 864 miles
- Driving time: 16.7 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 868 miles
- Driving time: 15.5 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
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20 / 63#20. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
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21 / 63#21. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 898 miles
- Driving time: 22.7 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
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22 / 63#22. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 901 miles
- Driving time: 16.8 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
23 / 63#23. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 905 miles
- Driving time: 17.7 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
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24 / 63#24. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 930 miles
- Driving time: 17.9 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 935 miles
- Driving time: 17.4 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
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26 / 63#26. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 961 miles
- Driving time: 17.1 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 992 miles
- Driving time: 18.4 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,028 miles
- Driving time: 19.2 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
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29 / 63#29. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,031 miles
- Driving time: 19.5 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,071 miles
- Driving time: 21.0 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
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31 / 63#31. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,080 miles
- Driving time: 19.7 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
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32 / 63#32. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 1,088 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 1,102 miles
- Driving time: 19.5 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,144 miles
- Driving time: 22.2 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 1,292 miles
- Driving time: 25.0 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
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36 / 63#36. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 1,300 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,335 miles
- Driving time: 25.3 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Varina C // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,351 miles
- Driving time: 27.7 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
39 / 63#39. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,363 miles
- Driving time: 25.9 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
40 / 63#40. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
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41 / 63#41. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,373 miles
- Driving time: 30.9 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
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42 / 63#42. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,389 miles
- Driving time: 29.7 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
43 / 63#43. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,395 miles
- Driving time: 28.5 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
44 / 63#44. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,407 miles
- Driving time: 27.6 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
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46 / 63#46. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 1,445 miles
- Driving time: 26.8 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,446 miles
- Driving time: 25.6 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,501 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
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49 / 63#49. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,506 miles
- Driving time: 28.2 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,515 miles
- Driving time: 27.8 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
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51 / 63#51. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,561 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,176 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 2,360 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,382 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
55 / 63#55. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,633 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
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56 / 63#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,678 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
57 / 63#57. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,764 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,795 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,825 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
60 / 63#60. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
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61 / 63#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 3,880 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: 3,887 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: 6,224 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
