National parks closest to Shawnee County, KS

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 Shawnee County. Straight line distance from Shawnee 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.

You may also like: Hottest months in Shawnee County, KS since 1895

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

1 / 25

#25. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

- Distance: 842 miles
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres

Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock

2 / 25

#24. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 838 miles
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres

Felix Lipov // Shutterstock

3 / 25

#23. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 824 miles
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres

Steve Heap // Shutterstock

4 / 25

#22. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)

- Distance: 804 miles
- Park area: 7,021 acres

Eric Foltz // Shutterstock

5 / 25

#21. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 796 miles
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres

You may also like: Shawnee County, KS monthly unemployment update

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

6 / 25

#20. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

- Distance: 766 miles
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres

Manamana // Shutterstock

7 / 25

#19. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 765 miles
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres

Manamana // Shutterstock

8 / 25

#18. Arches National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 745 miles
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres

Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

9 / 25

#17. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 733 miles
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres

Canva

10 / 25

#16. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)

- Distance: 714 miles
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres

You may also like: 1 in 109 people in Shawnee County, Kansas are grandparents caring for grandchildren

ShuPhoto // Shutterstock

11 / 25

#15. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 711 miles
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres

Canva

12 / 25

#14. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

- Distance: 710 miles
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres

Sopotnicki // Shutterstock

13 / 25

#13. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 703 miles
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres

Doug Meek // Shutterstock

14 / 25

#12. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 686 miles
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres

Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock

15 / 25

#11. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

- Distance: 682 miles
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres

You may also like: Food insecurity rates in Shawnee County, KS

BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

16 / 25

#10. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

- Distance: 668 miles
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres

SL-Photography // Shutterstock

17 / 25

#9. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 646 miles
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres

Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock

18 / 25

#8. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 540 miles
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

19 / 25

#7. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

- Distance: 539 miles
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres

Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock

20 / 25

#6. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 537 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres

You may also like: Here's how much snow Shawnee County, Kansas received in January

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

21 / 25

#5. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 507 miles
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres

Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock

22 / 25

#4. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

- Distance: 491 miles
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres

Matt Ragen // Shutterstock

23 / 25

#3. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 474 miles
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

24 / 25

#2. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

- Distance: 345 miles
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres

Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

25 / 25

#1. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

- Distance: 302 miles
- Park area: 192.83 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.

You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Shawnee County, Kansas in the last week