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 Salem. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Salem, 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: 141 miles
- Driving time: 4.0 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 145 miles
- Driving time: 4.1 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. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 214 miles
- Driving time: 5.9 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
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4 / 63#4. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 255 miles
- Driving time: 5.9 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 274 miles
- Driving time: 6.2 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
6 / 63#6. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 313 miles
- Driving time: 7.9 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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7 / 63#7. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 500 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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8 / 63#8. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 519 miles
- Driving time: 12.1 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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9 / 63#9. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 588 miles
- Driving time: 11.1 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 602 miles
- Driving time: 14.0 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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11 / 63#11. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 604 miles
- Driving time: 15.4 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 605 miles
- Driving time: 13.7 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 610 miles
- Driving time: 14.1 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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14 / 63#14. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 625 miles
- Driving time: 15.3 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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15 / 63#15. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 678 miles
- Driving time: 15.0 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 734 miles
- Driving time: 16.8 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: 752 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: 763 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: 774 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: 810 miles
- Driving time: 15.9 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: 815 miles
- Driving time: 21.0 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: 831 miles
- Driving time: 20.0 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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23 / 63#23. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 853 miles
- Driving time: 17.1 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: 896 miles
- Driving time: 17.8 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: 920 miles
- Driving time: 18.4 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 934 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
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 946 miles
- Driving time: 18.1 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 966 miles
- Driving time: 19.1 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 970 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
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30 / 63#30. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,012 miles
- Driving time: 19.7 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,028 miles
- Driving time: 21.3 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,098 miles
- Driving time: 22.8 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: 1,113 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: 1,226 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: 1,321 miles
- Driving time: 27.6 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,325 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
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,358 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: 1,439 miles
- Driving time: 27.3 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,516 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,523 miles
- Driving time: 31.8 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 1,639 miles
- Driving time: 32.1 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: 1,644 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: 1,664 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: 1,671 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: 1,732 miles
- Driving time: 32.6 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 1,732 miles
- Driving time: 30.2 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: 1,807 miles
- Driving time: 31.7 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
48 / 63#48. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,925 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 1,977 miles
- Driving time: 35.1 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,044 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 2,085 miles
- Driving time: 36.3 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 2,152 miles
- Driving time: 38.4 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: 2,195 miles
- Driving time: 38.8 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: 2,315 miles
- Driving time: 42.3 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: 2,353 miles
- Driving time: 42.4 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: 2,523 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
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: 2,633 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: 2,644 miles
- Driving time: 50.7 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: 2,693 miles
- Driving time: 49.8 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: 2,718 miles
- Driving time: 48.7 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
62 / 63#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 3,789 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: 5,053 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
