# Top 24 National Parks in the US

> From world-famous geysers and canyons to hidden desert trails and coastal cliffs only true explorers know, this lineup spans the full range of American wilderness. Where do you stand?

*By YPB Team · Published July 22, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-24-national-parks-in-the-us*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Yellowstone** — score 1000/1000
   The world's first national park, famous for Old Faithful geyser and abundant wildlife.
2. **Carlsbad Caverns** — score 535/1000
   A New Mexico park famous for its massive underground limestone cave chambers.
3. **Grand Canyon** — score 535/1000
   A mile-deep gorge carved by the Colorado River, one of the most iconic landscapes on Earth.
4. **Death Valley** — score 480/1000
   A California desert park holding the record for the hottest temperature on Earth.
5. **Great Smoky Mountains** — score 480/1000
   The most visited US national park, known for misty ridges and rich Appalachian biodiversity.
6. **Grand Teton** — score 480/1000
   A Wyoming park where jagged mountain peaks rise dramatically above Jackson Hole.
7. **Rocky Mountain** — score 416/1000
   A Colorado park of alpine tundra and jagged peaks along Trail Ridge Road.
8. **Acadia** — score 416/1000
   A rocky Maine coastline park famous for granite peaks meeting the Atlantic Ocean.
9. **Olympic** — score 416/1000
   A Washington park spanning rainforest, alpine peaks, and rugged Pacific coastline.
10. **Joshua Tree** — score 416/1000
   A California desert park where twisted Joshua trees dot a landscape of giant boulders.
11. **Big Bend** — score 416/1000
   A remote Texas park along the Rio Grande, spanning desert, river canyons, and mountains.
12. **Glacier** — score 416/1000
   A Montana park of alpine lakes and rugged peaks along the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
13. **Canyonlands** — score 416/1000
   A Utah park of deep river canyons carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers.
14. **Bryce Canyon** — score 341/1000
   A Utah park known for its otherworldly forest of red-orange hoodoo rock spires.
15. **Redwood** — score 341/1000
   A Northern California park protecting groves of the tallest trees on Earth.
16. **Arches** — score 341/1000
   A Utah desert park containing over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including Delicate Arch.
17. **Yosemite** — score 341/1000
   A Sierra Nevada valley famed for towering granite cliffs like El Capitan and Half Dome.
18. **Zion** — score 250/1000
   A Utah canyon park known for its towering red sandstone cliffs and the Narrows slot canyon.
19. **Crater Lake** — score 250/1000
   An Oregon park centered on the deepest lake in the US, filling a collapsed volcanic caldera.
20. **North Cascades** — score 250/1000
   A remote Washington park nicknamed the American Alps for its jagged glaciated peaks.
21. **Everglades** — score 250/1000
   A vast Florida wetland ecosystem teeming with alligators, birds, and mangrove forests.
22. **Sequoia** — score 139/1000
   A California park protecting groves of the world's largest trees, including General Sherman.
23. **Denali** — score 139/1000
   An Alaska wilderness park surrounding North America's tallest peak.
24. **Capitol Reef** — score 139/1000
   A lesser-visited Utah park centered on a colorful sandstone ridge called the Waterpocket Fold.

Tags: nature, usa, hiking, travel, national-parks, outdoors