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 Albany, Oregon. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Albany-Lebanon, OR 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. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 109 miles
- Driving time: 4.5 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
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2 / 63#2. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 167 miles
- Driving time: 5.7 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
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3 / 63#3. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 232 miles
- Driving time: 6.5 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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4 / 63#4. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 245 miles
- Driving time: 7.2 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 281 miles
- Driving time: 8.4 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
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6 / 63#6. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 298 miles
- Driving time: 7.5 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
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7 / 63#7. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 486 miles
- Driving time: 12.8 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
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8 / 63#8. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 503 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
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9 / 63#9. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 557 miles
- Driving time: 11.7 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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10 / 63#10. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 570 miles
- Driving time: 16.1 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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11 / 63#11. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 570 miles
- Driving time: 13.8 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
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12 / 63#12. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 586 miles
- Driving time: 13.8 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
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13 / 63#13. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 592 miles
- Driving time: 15.9 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
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14 / 63#14. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 594 miles
- Driving time: 14.2 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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15 / 63#15. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 644 miles
- Driving time: 15.2 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 701 miles
- Driving time: 16.9 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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17 / 63#17. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 721 miles
- Driving time: 16.7 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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18 / 63#18. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 732 miles
- Driving time: 16.1 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
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19 / 63#19. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 742 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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20 / 63#20. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 781 miles
- Driving time: 16.0 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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21 / 63#21. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 785 miles
- Driving time: 21.1 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. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 799 miles
- Driving time: 20.1 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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23 / 63#23. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 819 miles
- Driving time: 17.7 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
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24 / 63#24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 868 miles
- Driving time: 17.9 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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25 / 63#25. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 890 miles
- Driving time: 18.5 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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26 / 63#26. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 910 miles
- Driving time: 19.3 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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27 / 63#27. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 937 miles
- Driving time: 19.6 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
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28 / 63#28. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 938 miles
- Driving time: 20.9 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 949 miles
- Driving time: 20.5 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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30 / 63#30. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 995 miles
- Driving time: 21.1 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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31 / 63#31. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,001 miles
- Driving time: 21.4 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
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32 / 63#32. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,065 miles
- Driving time: 23.5 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,147 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,194 miles
- Driving time: 25.2 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,289 miles
- Driving time: 27.7 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
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36 / 63#36. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,294 miles
- Driving time: 26.6 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
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37 / 63#37. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,392 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 1,432 miles
- Driving time: 28.6 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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39 / 63#39. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,491 miles
- Driving time: 31.7 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,550 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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41 / 63#41. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 1,633 miles
- Driving time: 32.9 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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42 / 63#42. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,677 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
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43 / 63#43. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,698 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
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44 / 63#44. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,705 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 1,708 miles
- Driving time: 32.7 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
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46 / 63#46. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 1,713 miles
- Driving time: 30.3 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
47 / 63#47. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 1,792 miles
- Driving time: 31.8 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
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48 / 63#48. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 1,957 miles
- Driving time: 35.2 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,959 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 2,071 miles
- Driving time: 36.4 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,078 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
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52 / 63#52. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 2,132 miles
- Driving time: 38.5 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 2,179 miles
- Driving time: 38.9 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 2,300 miles
- Driving time: 42.4 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 2,333 miles
- Driving time: 42.5 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
56 / 63#56. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,525 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
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57 / 63#57. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,553 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
Varina C // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,607 miles
- Driving time: 52.6 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 2,637 miles
- Driving time: 50.8 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
60 / 63#60. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,668 miles
- Driving time: 49.9 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
61 / 63#61. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,694 miles
- Driving time: 48.8 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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62 / 63#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 3,767 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 5,047 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
