Closest national parks to Corpus Christi

Written by:
July 17, 2026
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock

Closest national parks to Corpus Christi

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 Corpus Christi. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Corpus Christi, TX 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. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 362 miles
- Driving time: 9.4 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
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#2. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 512 miles
- Driving time: 8.7 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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#3. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 524 miles
- Driving time: 9.2 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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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#4. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

- Distance: 530 miles
- Driving time: 9.7 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
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Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#5. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 619 miles
- Driving time: 10.7 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
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Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock

#6. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 825 miles
- Driving time: 15.1 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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#7. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 835 miles
- Driving time: 14.1 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
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Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

#8. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

- Distance: 856 miles
- Driving time: 15.4 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
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#9. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 879 miles
- Driving time: 15.5 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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#10. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 907 miles
- Driving time: 17.4 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
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#11. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

- Distance: 925 miles
- Driving time: 16.6 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
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#12. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 935 miles
- Driving time: 24.0 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
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#13. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 946 miles
- Driving time: 18.9 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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#14. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 981 miles
- Driving time: 18.0 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
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#15. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)

- Distance: 983 miles
- Driving time: 18.3 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
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#16. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,013 miles
- Driving time: 24.0 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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#17. Arches National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,021 miles
- Driving time: 19.3 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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Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock

#18. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,028 miles
- Driving time: 18.6 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
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#19. Everglades National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 1,040 miles
- Driving time: 22.1 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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#20. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,065 miles
- Driving time: 21.4 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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#21. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

- Distance: 1,074 miles
- Driving time: 18.8 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
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#22. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,084 miles
- Driving time: 22.7 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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#23. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 1,087 miles
- Driving time: 21.1 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
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#24. Zion National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,115 miles
- Driving time: 22.7 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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#25. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

- Distance: 1,121 miles
- Driving time: 19.9 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
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#26. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 1,132 miles
- Driving time: 21.4 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#27. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 1,135 miles
- Driving time: 20.8 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
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#28. Joshua Tree National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,166 miles
- Driving time: 19.2 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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#29. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)

- Distance: 1,184 miles
- Driving time: 21.3 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
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#30. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

- Distance: 1,234 miles
- Driving time: 24.3 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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#31. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)

- Distance: 1,269 miles
- Driving time: 22.7 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#32. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

- Distance: 1,293 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 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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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#33. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

- Distance: 1,322 miles
- Driving time: 24.5 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
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#34. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

- Distance: 1,328 miles
- Driving time: 23.6 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
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#35. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

- Distance: 1,359 miles
- Driving time: 25.6 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
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Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock

#36. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)

- Distance: 1,361 miles
- Driving time: 25.4 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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#37. Channel Islands National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,366 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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#38. Sequoia National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,371 miles
- Driving time: 27.5 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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#39. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,373 miles
- Driving time: 28.5 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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#40. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

- Distance: 1,447 miles
- Driving time: 24.2 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
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#41. Yosemite National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,448 miles
- Driving time: 27.5 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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#42. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

- Distance: 1,478 miles
- Driving time: 27.0 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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#43. Pinnacles National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,504 miles
- Driving time: 25.7 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
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#44. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,620 miles
- Driving time: 30.4 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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#45. Glacier National Park (Montana)

- Distance: 1,693 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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#46. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

- Distance: 1,724 miles
- Driving time: 33.1 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
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#47. Redwood National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,762 miles
- Driving time: 34.4 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
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#48. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,856 miles
- Driving time: 34.3 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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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#49. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,915 miles
- Driving time: 37.5 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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#50. Olympic National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 1,968 miles
- Driving time: 38.0 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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#51. Acadia National Park (Maine)

- Distance: 1,979 miles
- Driving time: 36.4 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
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#52. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)

- Distance: 2,179 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
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#53. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,835 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
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#54. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,072 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
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#55. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,283 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
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#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,389 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
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#57. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,428 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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#58. Katmai National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,440 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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#59. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,574 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
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#60. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 3,673 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
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#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 3,700 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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BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#62. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,718 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
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Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock

#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)

- Distance: 5,687 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres

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