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. George. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in St. George, UT 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.
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
1 / 63#1. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 24 miles
- Driving time: 2.2 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 75 miles
- Driving time: 3.9 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
3 / 63#3. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 112 miles
- Driving time: 6.4 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 126 miles
- Driving time: 4.5 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 142 miles
- Driving time: 4.8 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
6 / 63#6. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 198 miles
- Driving time: 5.0 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 205 miles
- Driving time: 10.6 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 235 miles
- Driving time: 5.7 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
9 / 63#9. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 257 miles
- Driving time: 7.5 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 275 miles
- Driving time: 7.2 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
11 / 63#11. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 276 miles
- Driving time: 8.1 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 282 miles
- Driving time: 12.5 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 293 miles
- Driving time: 11.6 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 328 miles
- Driving time: 7.5 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
15 / 63#15. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 332 miles
- Driving time: 11.7 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 385 miles
- Driving time: 10.7 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
17 / 63#17. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 402 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 428 miles
- Driving time: 10.4 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 439 miles
- Driving time: 10.7 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
20 / 63#20. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 468 miles
- Driving time: 10.5 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 478 miles
- Driving time: 11.1 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
22 / 63#22. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 486 miles
- Driving time: 11.8 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
23 / 63#23. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 517 miles
- Driving time: 13.7 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
24 / 63#24. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 530 miles
- Driving time: 10.9 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 601 miles
- Driving time: 15.2 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 613 miles
- Driving time: 16.2 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
27 / 63#27. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 623 miles
- Driving time: 15.3 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 628 miles
- Driving time: 17.4 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
29 / 63#29. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 683 miles
- Driving time: 13.6 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 731 miles
- Driving time: 15.0 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 785 miles
- Driving time: 17.0 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 797 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 809 miles
- Driving time: 19.8 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 844 miles
- Driving time: 17.1 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
35 / 63#35. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 880 miles
- Driving time: 19.5 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 897 miles
- Driving time: 20.3 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
37 / 63#37. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 1,160 miles
- Driving time: 23.2 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
38 / 63#38. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 1,273 miles
- Driving time: 21.5 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 1,295 miles
- Driving time: 26.2 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 1,440 miles
- Driving time: 24.2 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 1,464 miles
- Driving time: 29.4 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
42 / 63#42. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 1,505 miles
- Driving time: 26.4 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
43 / 63#43. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 1,665 miles
- Driving time: 29.5 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
44 / 63#44. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 1,725 miles
- Driving time: 28.8 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
45 / 63#45. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 1,769 miles
- Driving time: 30.1 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,809 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 1,850 miles
- Driving time: 33.4 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
48 / 63#48. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 1,911 miles
- Driving time: 33.6 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
Varina C // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,003 miles
- Driving time: 42.9 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,055 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,081 miles
- Driving time: 40.6 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
52 / 63#52. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,115 miles
- Driving time: 39.9 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,230 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,363 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,372 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
56 / 63#56. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,378 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
57 / 63#57. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 2,392 miles
- Driving time: 43.4 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,606 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,735 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
60 / 63#60. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,795 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
61 / 63#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,795 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
62 / 63#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 3,215 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: 5,133 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
