Closest national parks to Duluth

Written by:
July 7, 2025
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

Closest national parks to Duluth

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 Duluth. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Duluth, MN-WI 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.

1 / 63
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#1. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

- Distance: 86 miles
- Driving time: 2.1 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
2 / 63
SveKo // Shutterstock

#2. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

- Distance: 176 miles
- Driving time: 6.3 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
3 / 63
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock

#3. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

- Distance: 467 miles
- Driving time: 9.6 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
4 / 63
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock

#4. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

- Distance: 532 miles
- Driving time: 10.2 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
5 / 63
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock

#5. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 559 miles
- Driving time: 10.9 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
6 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#6. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 608 miles
- Driving time: 12.4 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
7 / 63
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

#7. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

- Distance: 610 miles
- Driving time: 11.3 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
8 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#8. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

- Distance: 673 miles
- Driving time: 14.7 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
9 / 63
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

#9. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

- Distance: 767 miles
- Driving time: 14.4 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
10 / 63
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock

#10. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 823 miles
- Driving time: 16.9 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
11 / 63
Steve Heap // Shutterstock

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

- Distance: 851 miles
- Driving time: 18.4 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
12 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#12. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

- Distance: 887 miles
- Driving time: 16.3 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
13 / 63
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock

#13. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)

- Distance: 901 miles
- Driving time: 17.9 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
14 / 63
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock

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

- Distance: 920 miles
- Driving time: 17.7 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
15 / 63
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock

#15. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

- Distance: 925 miles
- Driving time: 21.9 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
16 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#16. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

- Distance: 936 miles
- Driving time: 19.2 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
17 / 63
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock

#17. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 949 miles
- Driving time: 19.6 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
18 / 63
SL-Photography // Shutterstock

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

- Distance: 992 miles
- Driving time: 21.0 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
19 / 63
Pung // Shutterstock

#19. Glacier National Park (Montana)

- Distance: 1,013 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
20 / 63
Manamana // Shutterstock

#20. Arches National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,062 miles
- Driving time: 21.5 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
21 / 63
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock

#21. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 1,089 miles
- Driving time: 23.2 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
22 / 63
Manamana // Shutterstock

#22. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,098 miles
- Driving time: 27.2 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
23 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#23. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

- Distance: 1,109 miles
- Driving time: 22.0 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
24 / 63
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock

#24. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,150 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
25 / 63
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock

#25. Acadia National Park (Maine)

- Distance: 1,169 miles
- Driving time: 29.1 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
26 / 63
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock

#26. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,220 miles
- Driving time: 25.1 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
27 / 63
Doug Meek // Shutterstock

#27. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 1,231 miles
- Driving time: 22.7 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
28 / 63
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock

#28. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,244 miles
- Driving time: 24.5 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
29 / 63
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#29. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 1,246 miles
- Driving time: 23.4 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
30 / 63
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock

#30. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

- Distance: 1,253 miles
- Driving time: 25.1 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
31 / 63
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock

#31. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 1,258 miles
- Driving time: 23.8 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
32 / 63
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#32. Zion National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,269 miles
- Driving time: 25.7 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
33 / 63
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock

#33. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,288 miles
- Driving time: 26.9 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
34 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#34. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,341 miles
- Driving time: 27.5 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
35 / 63
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock

#35. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 1,383 miles
- Driving time: 25.5 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
36 / 63
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock

#36. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,388 miles
- Driving time: 26.1 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
37 / 63
kojihirano // Shutterstock

#37. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,420 miles
- Driving time: 28.3 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
38 / 63
f11photo // Shutterstock

#38. Olympic National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,454 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
39 / 63
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock

#39. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)

- Distance: 1,477 miles
- Driving time: 28.9 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
40 / 63
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock

#40. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

- Distance: 1,485 miles
- Driving time: 29.5 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
41 / 63
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#41. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,529 miles
- Driving time: 30.5 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
42 / 63
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock

#42. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,529 miles
- Driving time: 36.7 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
43 / 63
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock

#43. Yosemite National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,531 miles
- Driving time: 33.4 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
44 / 63
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock

#44. Joshua Tree National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,550 miles
- Driving time: 31.1 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
45 / 63
Virrage Images // Shutterstock

#45. Sequoia National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,551 miles
- Driving time: 35.4 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
46 / 63
Bob Pool // Shutterstock

#46. Redwood National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,620 miles
- Driving time: 32.8 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
47 / 63
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock

#47. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 1,636 miles
- Driving time: 29.4 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
48 / 63
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock

#48. Everglades National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 1,639 miles
- Driving time: 30.5 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
49 / 63
Varina C // Shutterstock

#49. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 1,648 miles
- Driving time: 32.3 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
50 / 63
Yhelfman // Shutterstock

#50. Pinnacles National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,659 miles
- Driving time: 32.8 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
51 / 63
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock

#51. Channel Islands National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,689 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
52 / 63
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock

#52. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 1,981 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
53 / 63
Martin Capek // Shutterstock

#53. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,164 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
54 / 63
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock

#54. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,427 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
55 / 63
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock

#55. Denali National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,441 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
56 / 63
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#56. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,525 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
57 / 63
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#57. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)

- Distance: 2,531 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
58 / 63
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock

#58. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,547 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
59 / 63
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock

#59. Katmai National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,629 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
60 / 63
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#60. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,682 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
61 / 63
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 3,975 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
62 / 63
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock

#62. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 3,993 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
63 / 63
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock

#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)

- Distance: 6,412 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres

Trending Now