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 Altoona. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Altoona, PA 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. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 136 miles
- Driving time: 3.8 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
2 / 63#2. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 177 miles
- Driving time: 3.9 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
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3 / 63#3. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 224 miles
- Driving time: 4.5 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 437 miles
- Driving time: 9.0 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 463 miles
- Driving time: 8.4 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
6 / 63#6. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 478 miles
- Driving time: 9.2 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 483 miles
- Driving time: 10.0 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 580 miles
- Driving time: 12.7 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
9 / 63#9. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 647 miles
- Driving time: 11.2 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 729 miles
- Driving time: 16.0 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: 905 miles
- Driving time: 19.0 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 907 miles
- Driving time: 16.4 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,028 miles
- Driving time: 19.1 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,057 miles
- Driving time: 20.2 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
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15 / 63#15. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,125 miles
- Driving time: 22.2 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,258 miles
- Driving time: 21.8 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
17 / 63#17. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,307 miles
- Driving time: 23.1 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 1,329 miles
- Driving time: 23.7 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,432 miles
- Driving time: 24.0 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
20 / 63#20. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,468 miles
- Driving time: 25.7 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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21 / 63#21. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,559 miles
- Driving time: 26.9 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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22 / 63#22. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,569 miles
- Driving time: 27.9 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
23 / 63#23. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,590 miles
- Driving time: 28.0 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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24 / 63#24. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,607 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,629 miles
- Driving time: 27.6 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,636 miles
- Driving time: 29.5 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 1,656 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,665 miles
- Driving time: 28.6 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 1,674 miles
- Driving time: 29.1 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,692 miles
- Driving time: 35.6 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 1,728 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,753 miles
- Driving time: 28.8 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,757 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 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
34 / 63#34. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,822 miles
- Driving time: 32.0 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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35 / 63#35. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 1,831 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,853 miles
- Driving time: 32.3 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
37 / 63#37. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,871 miles
- Driving time: 32.6 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
38 / 63#38. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,873 miles
- Driving time: 32.6 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
39 / 63#39. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 1,906 miles
- Driving time: 32.6 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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40 / 63#40. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 2,095 miles
- Driving time: 35.8 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
41 / 63#41. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,109 miles
- Driving time: 36.0 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
42 / 63#42. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 2,159 miles
- Driving time: 40.8 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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43 / 63#43. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,173 miles
- Driving time: 43.6 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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44 / 63#44. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,188 miles
- Driving time: 42.4 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 2,191 miles
- Driving time: 39.4 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,200 miles
- Driving time: 41.5 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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47 / 63#47. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 2,245 miles
- Driving time: 39.8 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,252 miles
- Driving time: 38.5 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 2,267 miles
- Driving time: 41.5 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,289 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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51 / 63#51. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,317 miles
- Driving time: 41.0 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,365 miles
- Driving time: 43.3 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,806 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: 2,978 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,241 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
56 / 63#56. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,245 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
57 / 63#57. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,290 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,360 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
59 / 63#59. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,448 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
60 / 63#60. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 3,451 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,685 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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62 / 63#62. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,690 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 6,975 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
