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 Charleston, West Virginia. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Charleston, WV 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: Are homes selling in Charleston, West Virginia in 2026?
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
1 / 63#1. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 35 miles
- Driving time: 1.2 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 178 miles
- Driving time: 4.8 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
3 / 63#3. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 199 miles
- Driving time: 3.5 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 213 miles
- Driving time: 5.1 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
6 / 63#6. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 319 miles
- Driving time: 6.4 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
7 / 63#7. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 367 miles
- Driving time: 7.7 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 465 miles
- Driving time: 7.5 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
9 / 63#9. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 689 miles
- Driving time: 11.7 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
SveKo // Shutterstock
10 / 63#10. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
11 / 63#11. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 809 miles
- Driving time: 16.9 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
12 / 63#12. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 880 miles
- Driving time: 15.4 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
13 / 63#13. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 899 miles
- Driving time: 17.8 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
14 / 63#14. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 899 miles
- Driving time: 16.3 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
15 / 63#15. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,149 miles
- Driving time: 20.6 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: 1,195 miles
- Driving time: 22.0 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: 1,255 miles
- Driving time: 22.4 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: 1,287 miles
- Driving time: 21.1 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)
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,355 miles
- Driving time: 23.1 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
22 / 63#22. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,385 miles
- Driving time: 24.2 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
23 / 63#23. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,389 miles
- Driving time: 25.8 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
24 / 63#24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,411 miles
- Driving time: 24.7 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,468 miles
- Driving time: 26.3 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,509 miles
- Driving time: 25.3 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,533 miles
- Driving time: 32.4 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 1,550 miles
- Driving time: 28.0 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,573 miles
- Driving time: 25.2 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
32 / 63#32. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,600 miles
- Driving time: 26.8 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
33 / 63#33. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,662 miles
- Driving time: 28.9 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,678 miles
- Driving time: 29.0 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 1,713 miles
- Driving time: 29.4 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 1,714 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 1,758 miles
- Driving time: 29.5 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 1,761 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 1,933 miles
- Driving time: 32.5 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
42 / 63#42. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,016 miles
- Driving time: 40.5 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
43 / 63#43. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,030 miles
- Driving time: 39.2 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
44 / 63#44. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,050 miles
- Driving time: 39.3 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 2,103 miles
- Driving time: 38.9 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,119 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,121 miles
- Driving time: 36.9 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 2,130 miles
- Driving time: 37.7 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Pinnacles National Park (California)
f11photo // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 2,188 miles
- Driving time: 40.3 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 2,241 miles
- Driving time: 41.2 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: 2,796 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: 2,982 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: 3,258 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: 3,332 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: 3,365 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: 3,445 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)
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,531 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
62 / 63#62. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 4,532 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 6,774 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
