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 St. Louis. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in St. Louis, MO-IL 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: 11 miles
- Driving time: 0.3 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 256 miles
- Driving time: 5.2 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
3 / 63#3. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 266 miles
- Driving time: 5.0 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 328 miles
- Driving time: 6.5 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 431 miles
- Driving time: 8.3 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
6 / 63#6. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 497 miles
- Driving time: 8.2 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 505 miles
- Driving time: 8.9 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
8 / 63#8. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 634 miles
- Driving time: 12.2 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
9 / 63#9. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 649 miles
- Driving time: 12.4 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 652 miles
- Driving time: 12.6 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
11 / 63#11. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 686 miles
- Driving time: 12.9 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 720 miles
- Driving time: 13.2 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 761 miles
- Driving time: 14.3 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 820 miles
- Driving time: 13.3 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
15 / 63#15. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 827 miles
- Driving time: 14.5 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 873 miles
- Driving time: 16.8 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
17 / 63#17. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 913 miles
- Driving time: 15.8 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 938 miles
- Driving time: 17.1 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 944 miles
- Driving time: 16.9 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
20 / 63#20. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 978 miles
- Driving time: 16.6 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 986 miles
- Driving time: 19.0 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
22 / 63#22. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 995 miles
- Driving time: 18.6 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
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23 / 63#23. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,037 miles
- Driving time: 17.5 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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24 / 63#24. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,061 miles
- Driving time: 24.7 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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25 / 63#25. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,066 miles
- Driving time: 21.8 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
26 / 63#26. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,076 miles
- Driving time: 19.9 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
27 / 63#27. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,082 miles
- Driving time: 18.7 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,103 miles
- Driving time: 17.7 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 1,115 miles
- Driving time: 20.4 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 1,116 miles
- Driving time: 19.3 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
31 / 63#31. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,127 miles
- Driving time: 19.1 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,189 miles
- Driving time: 21.2 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 1,207 miles
- Driving time: 23.2 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,210 miles
- Driving time: 21.3 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,218 miles
- Driving time: 21.9 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,240 miles
- Driving time: 21.7 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 1,288 miles
- Driving time: 21.7 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 1,364 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 1,460 miles
- Driving time: 24.9 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,462 miles
- Driving time: 25.1 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,544 miles
- Driving time: 32.7 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: 1,557 miles
- Driving time: 31.5 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: 1,579 miles
- Driving time: 31.5 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
44 / 63#44. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,646 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,659 miles
- Driving time: 29.4 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,676 miles
- Driving time: 32.7 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
47 / 63#47. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,678 miles
- Driving time: 30.0 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 1,679 miles
- Driving time: 29.9 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,690 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,771 miles
- Driving time: 33.1 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,783 miles
- Driving time: 33.4 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 2,084 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,463 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
54 / 63#54. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,670 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: 2,921 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
56 / 63#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,965 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: 3,052 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: 3,080 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: 3,111 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)
- Distance: 3,236 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,058 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
62 / 63#62. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,059 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 6,322 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
