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 Wausau. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Wausau-Weston, WI 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.
You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Wausau in the last week
SveKo // Shutterstock
1 / 63#1. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 218 miles
- Driving time: 5.3 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 271 miles
- Driving time: 5.2 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
3 / 63#3. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 280 miles
- Driving time: 6.5 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 444 miles
- Driving time: 7.3 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
6 / 63#6. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 576 miles
- Driving time: 10.4 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 636 miles
- Driving time: 10.7 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 658 miles
- Driving time: 13.4 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
9 / 63#9. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 671 miles
- Driving time: 11.3 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
10 / 63#10. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
11 / 63#11. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 725 miles
- Driving time: 13.6 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 740 miles
- Driving time: 16.9 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
13 / 63#13. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 748 miles
- Driving time: 13.7 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 865 miles
- Driving time: 16.5 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
15 / 63#15. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 960 miles
- Driving time: 19.2 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
17 / 63#17. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 1,017 miles
- Driving time: 18.6 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,027 miles
- Driving time: 20.6 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 1,043 miles
- Driving time: 19.5 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
20 / 63#20. Acadia National Park (Maine)
Manamana // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,109 miles
- Driving time: 21.1 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
22 / 63#22. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,115 miles
- Driving time: 22.8 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
23 / 63#23. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,143 miles
- Driving time: 26.8 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
24 / 63#24. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 1,171 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,188 miles
- Driving time: 22.3 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
You may also like: The most expensive neighborhoods in Wausau
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,201 miles
- Driving time: 22.6 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,217 miles
- Driving time: 23.4 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,220 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,260 miles
- Driving time: 24.7 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,316 miles
- Driving time: 25.1 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
32 / 63#32. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,321 miles
- Driving time: 25.3 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
33 / 63#33. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 1,325 miles
- Driving time: 24.8 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,325 miles
- Driving time: 26.6 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
35 / 63#35. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,443 miles
- Driving time: 25.3 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
37 / 63#37. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,447 miles
- Driving time: 26.4 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
Varina C // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 1,460 miles
- Driving time: 28.2 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,499 miles
- Driving time: 28.6 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,535 miles
- Driving time: 27.2 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
You may also like: Are home prices going up in Wausau in 2026?
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 1,537 miles
- Driving time: 28.5 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
42 / 63#42. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,590 miles
- Driving time: 30.9 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
43 / 63#43. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,600 miles
- Driving time: 36.5 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
44 / 63#44. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 1,608 miles
- Driving time: 30.5 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 1,609 miles
- Driving time: 29.3 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
You may also like: Cheapest gas stations in Wausau
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,612 miles
- Driving time: 33.8 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,620 miles
- Driving time: 35.4 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,634 miles
- Driving time: 30.9 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,736 miles
- Driving time: 33.9 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,737 miles
- Driving time: 33.7 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
You may also like: Is it cheaper to buy or rent in Wausau in 2026?
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,745 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,171 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 2,339 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,358 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
56 / 63#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,636 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
57 / 63#57. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,720 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: 2,741 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,821 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
60 / 63#60. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,083 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
62 / 63#62. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,096 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: 6,476 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
