Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 955 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres

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 Yamhill County. Straight line distance from Yamhill 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.
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Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
1 / 25- Distance: 955 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
2 / 25- Distance: 948 miles
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
3 / 25- Distance: 924 miles
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
4 / 25- Distance: 877 miles
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
5 / 25- Distance: 866 miles
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
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Manamana // Shutterstock
6 / 25- Distance: 844 miles
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
7 / 25- Distance: 837 miles
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
8 / 25- Distance: 798 miles
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
9 / 25- Distance: 786 miles
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
10 / 25- Distance: 782 miles
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
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Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
11 / 25- Distance: 766 miles
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
12 / 25- Distance: 685 miles
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
13 / 25- Distance: 638 miles
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
14 / 25- Distance: 636 miles
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
15 / 25- Distance: 630 miles
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
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Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
16 / 25- Distance: 627 miles
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
17 / 25- Distance: 615 miles
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
18 / 25- Distance: 546 miles
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
19 / 25- Distance: 508 miles
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
20 / 25- Distance: 342 miles
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
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Bob Pool // Shutterstock
21 / 25- Distance: 270 miles
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Canva
22 / 25- Distance: 259 miles
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
23 / 25- Distance: 177 miles
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
24 / 25- Distance: 170 miles
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
25 / 25- Distance: 136 miles
- Park area: 236,381.64 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.
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