How many National Parks have you visited?
Impressive!
I’ve been to all 63. My first was Great Smoky Mountain NP and my 63rd was Acadia NP. American Samoa, Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic were the toughest ones to get to.
Very impressive. I'm inspired and would like to know more.
Wow, you are freaking super impressive. I aspire to be you.
How was Glacier? I'm going in 2 weeks.
One of my favorite parks for hiking. Incredible views!
How long did it take you to visit all 63?
40 years. When I was younger, I didn’t have in mind to visit all the NPs. When I was in my mid-40s, I realized I’d been to about half of them and decided to see the rest. Just took my time and enjoyed the journey to each and every one. I’ve also been to over 160 National Park Units (National Monuments, National Seashores, National Historical Sites, National Memorials, etc).
Damn. Am jealous. I’ve never been to a NM, NHS, NM, NS yet. Only to national parks. Have you been to these places alone or always with a companion?
I’ve been to every single one with my best friend. She’s also my wife. She’s an avid hiker and camper and enjoys it as much as I do! We took our 2 sons with us to many of them as they were growing up. It helped give them an appreciation for our NPs and as adults they continue to visit them.
Since you visited all of them, do you go back again or nah?
Oh yes. I keep going back to my favorites. It’s impossible to really experience most of the parks in just one trip. Over the years and several different trips, I’ve spent lots of days and nights camping, rafting and hiking Grand Canyon, Glacier, Zion, Yellowstone, Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, Isle Royale, Canyonlands, Everglades and more. I’m headed back up to Alaska this summer to spend more time in Katmai and Kenai Fjords. For most of the parks, the first visit just whet my appetite to go back again. I’ll keep going to NPs until the day these old legs can’t hike another mile!
I’m 23 years old and over the past two years during covid I made it my mission to visit all the national parks in the contiguous US, most of them for the first time. Just wanted to say I found this incredibly inspiring and I am looking forward to returning to each park in the years to come
How many have you gone to so far?
Gotcha, gotcha. I agree. You are an inspiration, sir. We aspire to be like you, i just need a constant companion and i can maybe be almost like you. Hehe.
What’s in katmai and kenai fjords though?
Katmai is where the grizzlies congregate at Brooks Falls in July and August to gorge on Salmon. Kenai Fjords has some great hikes to glaciers and day cruises from Seward along the coastline for mountain and glacier views.
Ah. Can one just drive up to the entrances of these 2 national parks or nah?
Wow some of y’all have been to a lot! I have work to do, but I’ve been to 6
Don't forget the national monuments and other units in the NPS. Many are worth going to and are just as amazing as the national parks.
Can confirm. Lava beds national monument is awesome!
Love Lava Beds! Dinosaur NM in Colorado and Utah is also great!
Zero
We gotta pump those numbers up!
What state do you live in?
Canada
Nice. I’m from Michigan. I want to visit your half of Glacier National Park one day.
Idk what my half of that park is, I've never heard of it. Lol even though I've been to so many parks in Ontario. I'm guessing it's not in Ontario. Don't go to Ontario it sucks.
I think he/she meant Waterton Lakes National Park. That’s beside and right above Glacier National Park.
Gotta get myself to Toronto someday! Blue Jays game in the summer!
Glacier National Park of Canada is in British Columbia.
I live in Detroit, so right next to the border of Ontario.
North Carolina
Not enough
- Ironically almost all of them out west but neither of the two closest to me in Minnesota.
To be fair the Minnesota ones you need a boat to get to
nope
17
Me too!
40 and hoping to hit a few more this next year
12
23! But my most difficult one to get to was American Samoa
Cool map! Is this available for purchase?
If you do a reverse Google Image search, you can probably find it in t-shirts, posters, mugs, etc.
12
I’m running out of time. I need to start doing things I want to do in life.
Just got two more last month (Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest NPs). Getting #10 this July (Acadia NP). I cherish the national park system
- I’m going to visit a few more in the next month. I have a spreadsheet with national parks and other sites in the NPS system
+1 Geek score
not related to the original question, but why does the northeast have only one park? it’s so pretty up there!
I've heard rumors Of Mt. Katahdin becoming a national park
One of the conditions of a national park is that is has to be relatively unspoiled and free of human habitation. Most of the NE was settled long before the NPS was established, so it was too late. There is. A lot of beautiful nature out there, but a lot of it is already privately owned, built up, or close to cities and towns. And there isn't a lot of unique animal plant or animal life since a lot of the original forests were cut down or burned for farm land log ago.
Someone should tell the St Louis Arch.
Yeah, that one should be a Monument, not a Park.
Some questionable tree locations on this map…. Arches for instance
I got a good kick out of that too lol
Style look preference over perfect location for this one.
16
- Not counting Gateway Arch, since I’ve been but it was before it was a NP.
21-22-57-63
Are there four of you?
Wait… where’s Great Falls NP, Virginia??
6 and always looking to get to more
I visited a total of 35 national parks. 33 since April 2021. I visit national parks every month since April 2021 except January 2022 due to weather conditions. April 2019: Mammoth Cave. May 2019: Rocky Mountain. October 2020: Zion. November 2020: Gateway Arch and Everglades. April 2021: Grand Canyon. May 2021: Cuyahoga Valley, North Cascades, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton. June 2021: Sequoia and Kings Canyon. July 2021: Shenandoah. August 2021: Joshua Tree and Death Valley. September 2021: Pinnacles. October 2021: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Great Basin. November 2021: Saguaro, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon. December 2021: New River Gorge and Great Smoky Mountains. February 2022: White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, and Big Bend. March 2022: Everglades, Dry Tortugas, and Biscayne. April 2022: Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes. Will become 37 end of this month when i visit Yosemite and Channel Islands in CA. Visited Zion 2x, Everglades 2x, and Grand Canyon 2x.
20! 4 more planned for this year in Colorado and Alaska!
- Damn got some work to do…..!
23 that I can remember.
Technically 10, but 7 that I really count
45
I haven’t been to these however, parks not mentioned on this list also run by the USDI and part of the NPS are “Gettysburg national military park”, “Antietam national battlefield”, “harpers ferry NPS”, “Fort sumpter” and “Lexington and Concord battle road” which all have some pretty beautiful sights and hiking trails as well. I highly recommend the view from little round top at Gettysburg.
- I’m slacking.
Im somewhere in the mid 20s. Hoping to add 2-3 more this year
19 and counting.
31
28
0, as of yet
15 and counting.
I think like 28
- Haven't even made it to the one in my home state of Michigan
I mean in all fairness Isle Royale is probably the most secluded and distant spot in the state
13
The answer is always not enough
3, but two of those were Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes so I got some of the far ones done
23!
15
I live in Indiana, only 6 😭
18 not too bad
Just hit 20 with my trip to Canyonlands last week!!! Pics coming soon
Twelve so far, with another planned for this summer.
Not enough!
- I am European
3, hoping to go to 3 more this summer
A Hunter's best Idea*
8! Adding 3 more in September.
27 with 2 more next month (and an unreasonable number of national monuments/historic parks)
Crossed the country twice, me and my dad are big hikers, I've probably been to 100+
Hmm...only 17 on that list. But I've visited a whole lot of others not on that list...looks like an Alaska trip would be the most effective way for me to bump my numbers.
- Would love to get to at least half of them in my life
10! Hitting 5 more next month 😋
8, with two more booked this summer!
7 so far! But we only started “collecting” a couple of years ago. We both visited others with our families but want to complete the list as a married couple!
24 and going to hit another 5 this fall
12! All during a roadtrip in 2021
Only 18 of these, though all together just over 30:)
TIL the US Virgin Islands and the American Samoa have National Parks.
- But I’ll get to 26 Memorial Day weekend!
19 - many of them several times as we like to take our exchange students to Yellowstone, the Utah national parks and the Grand Canyon.
Only Rocky Mountain and Shenandoah! But they’re all on the bucket list
I always thought Big Bend in north Texas was a NP
Every one in the continental 48!
19!
14 or so. I live on the east coast so at this point I pretty much have to fly to see more, and we've been avoiding flight for a while.
Lol that the STL arch is a National park. Of the Empire State Building a national park too?
6! Death Valley, Sequoia, King's Canyon, Acadia. Zion, and Shenendoah.
Only been to 1 thus far sadly but I’m in the Eastern half of the country and most are quite spread out (outside of southern Florida and the mid-Atlantic region). When I make it to the Western half I’ll be snaking through as many as possible :)
Pictured Rocks National Park.....?
I'm going to Glacier in 2 weeks! I'm so excited! Anyone been and got any tips? Thank you!
I have only been to 14 National parks but I have I have been to 122 National park units. I belong to the National park travelers club that are into getting the passport books stamped.
Sadly only 3 (everglades, hot springs, and gateway arch), but I’m hoping to increase that number very soon.
19 as of last week!
53! And my last 10 are all outside the contiguous USA