List of areas in the United States National Park System

The National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service. The collection includes all national parks and most national monuments, as well as several other types of protected areas of the United States.

As of December 2024, there are official units of the National Park System. However, this number is somewhat misleading. For example, Denali National Park and Preserve is counted as two units, since the same name applies to a national park and an adjacent national preserve. Yet Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is counted as one unit, despite its double designation. Counting methodology is typically based on the language of a park's authorizing legislation.

Although the designations generally reflect sites' features, all units of the system are considered administratively equal and with few exceptions the designations themselves do not define their level of protection. Each site has a management plan consistent with its ecological, historic, and recreational resources and its enabling legislation.

In addition to areas of the National Park System, the National Park Service also provides technical and financial assistance to several affiliated areas authorized by Congress. Affiliated areas are marked on the lists below.

National Park System units are found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The territory of the Northern Mariana Islands has an affiliated area but not an official NPS unit.

Nearly all units managed by the National Park Service participate in the National Park Passport Stamps program.

National parks There are 63 officially designated national parks in the United States and its dependent areas, as of 2021. The national parks are considered the "crown jewels" of the system and are typically larger than other areas, including a variety of significant ecological and geological resources.

NameLocationYearestablishedArea (2026)Acreskm2 Acadia National Park Maine 1919 National Park of American Samoa American Samoa 1988 Arches National Park Utah 1971 Badlands National Park South Dakota 1978 Big Bend National Park Texas 1944 Biscayne National Park Florida 1980 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Colorado 1999 Bryce Canyon National Park Utah 1928 Canyonlands National Park Utah 1964 Capitol Reef National Park Utah 1971 Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico 1930 Channel Islands National Park California 1980 Congaree National Park South Carolina 2003 Crater Lake National Park Oregon 1902 Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio 2000 Death Valley National Park California, Nevada 1994 Denali National Park Alaska 1917 Dry Tortugas National Park Florida 1992 Everglades National Park Florida 1947 Gates of the Arctic National Park Alaska 1980 Gateway Arch National Park Missouri 2018 Glacier National Park(part of Waterton–Glacier International Peace Park) Montana 1910 Glacier Bay National Park Alaska 1980 Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 1919 Grand Teton National Park Wyoming 1929 Great Basin National Park Nevada 1986 Great Sand Dunes National Park Colorado 2004 Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Carolina, Tennessee 1934 Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas 1966 Haleakalā National Park Hawaii 1916 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Hawaii 1916 Hot Springs National Park Arkansas 1921 Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana 2019 Isle Royale National Park Michigan 1940 Joshua Tree National Park California 1994 Katmai National Park Alaska 1980 Kenai Fjords National Park Alaska 1980 Kings Canyon National Park California 1940 Kobuk Valley National Park Alaska 1980 Lake Clark National Park Alaska 1980 Lassen Volcanic National Park California 1916 Mammoth Cave National Park Kentucky 1941 Mesa Verde National Park Colorado 1906 Mount Rainier National Park Washington 1899 New River Gorge National Park and Preserve West Virginia 2020 North Cascades National Park Washington 1968 Olympic National Park Washington 1938 Petrified Forest National Park Arizona 1962 Pinnacles National Park California 2013 Redwood National and State Parks California 1968 Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado 1915 Saguaro National Park Arizona 1994 Sequoia National Park California 1890 Shenandoah National Park Virginia 1935 Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Dakota 1978 Virgin Islands National Park U.S. Virgin Islands 1956 Voyageurs National Park Minnesota 1975 White Sands National Park New Mexico 2019 Wind Cave National Park South Dakota 1903 Wrangell–St. Elias National Park Alaska 1980 Yellowstone National Park Idaho, Montana, Wyoming 1872 Yosemite National Park California 1890 Zion National Park Utah 1919

Former national parks

Name Established Disbanded Result Abraham Lincoln National Park July 17, 1916 August 11, 1939 Redesignated as Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park Fort McHenry National Park March 3, 1925 August 11, 1939 Redesignated under the unique designation of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine General Grant National Park October 1, 1890 March 4, 1940 Incorporated into Kings Canyon National Park Hawaii National Park August 1, 1916 September 13, 1960 Divided into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park Mackinac National Park April 15, 1875 March 2, 1895 Transferred to Michigan; now operated as Mackinac Island State Park Platt National Park June 29, 1906 March 17, 1976 Incorporated with Arbuckle Recreation Area and redesignated Chickasaw National Recreation Area Rock Creek Park"This 1,754 acre city park was officially authorized in 1890, making it the third national park to be designated by the federal government." Rock Creek Park, National Park Service. Accessed September 12, 2019. September 27, 1890 August 10, 1933 Incorporated into National Capital Parks Sullys Hill Park (not officially a National Park) April 27, 1904 March 3, 1931 Transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; now operated as White Horse Hill National Game Preserve

National monuments

There are 138 national monuments, 89 of which are administered by the NPS and are listed below. Of these, 87 (all except Grand Canyon-Parashant and Avi Kwa Ame) are NPS official units. The remaining 49 monuments are administered by five other federal agencies. Three, Grand Canyon–Parashant, Craters of the Moon, and Avi Kwa Ame National Monuments, are jointly administered by the NPS and the Bureau of Land Management, and Tule Lake National Monument is joint with the Fish and Wildlife Service. National monuments are typically smaller and protect just one or few major resources. They include both natural and historical sites and can be established by the president under the Antiquities Act. 34 former national monuments have been redesignated or incorporated into national parks.

Name Location AreaAfrican Burial Ground National MonumentNew YorkAgate Fossil Beds National MonumentNebraskaAlibates Flint Quarries National MonumentTexasAniakchak National Monument and PreserveAlaskaAvi Kwa Ame National Monument (not an official NPS unit)Nevada NPS manages of Aztec Ruins National MonumentNew MexicoBandelier National MonumentNew MexicoBelmont–Paul Women's Equality National MonumentDistrict of ColumbiaBirmingham Civil Rights National MonumentAlabamaBooker T. Washington National MonumentVirginiaBuck Island Reef National MonumentU.S. Virgin IslandsCabrillo National MonumentCaliforniaCamp Nelson National MonumentKentuckyCanyon de Chelly National MonumentArizonaCape Krusenstern National MonumentAlaskaCapulin Volcano National MonumentNew MexicoCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National MonumentPennsylvaniaCasa Grande Ruins National MonumentArizonaCastillo de San Marcos National MonumentFloridaCastle Clinton National MonumentNew YorkCastle Mountains National MonumentCaliforniaCedar Breaks National MonumentUtahCésar E. Chávez National MonumentCaliforniaCharles Young Buffalo Soldiers National MonumentOhioChiricahua National MonumentArizonaColorado National MonumentColoradoCraters of the Moon National Monument and PreserveIdahoDevils Postpile National MonumentCaliforniaDevils Tower National MonumentWyomingDinosaur National MonumentUtah, ColoradoEffigy Mounds National MonumentIowaEl Malpais National MonumentNew MexicoEl Morro National MonumentNew MexicoEmmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National MonumentIllinois, MississippiFlorissant Fossil Beds National MonumentColoradoFort Frederica National MonumentGeorgiaFort Matanzas National MonumentFloridaFort McHenry National Monument and Historic ShrineMarylandFort Monroe National MonumentVirginiaFort Pulaski National MonumentGeorgiaFort Stanwix National MonumentNew YorkFort Union National MonumentNew MexicoFossil Butte National MonumentWyomingFrances Perkins National MonumentMaineFreedom Riders National MonumentAlabamaGeorge Washington Birthplace National MonumentVirginiaGeorge Washington Carver National MonumentMissouriGila Cliff Dwellings National MonumentNew MexicoGovernors Island National MonumentNew YorkGrand Canyon–Parashant National Monument (not an official NPS unit)Arizona NPS manages of Grand Portage National MonumentMinnesotaHagerman Fossil Beds National MonumentIdahoHohokam Pima National MonumentArizonaHovenweep National MonumentColorado, UtahJewel Cave National MonumentSouth DakotaJohn Day Fossil Beds National MonumentOregonKatahdin Woods and Waters National MonumentMaineLava Beds National MonumentCaliforniaLittle Bighorn Battlefield National MonumentMontanaMedgar and Myrlie Evers Home National MonumentMississippiMill Springs Battlefield National MonumentKentuckyMontezuma Castle National MonumentArizonaMuir Woods National MonumentCaliforniaNatural Bridges National MonumentUtahNavajo National MonumentArizonaOregon Caves National Monument and PreserveOregonOrgan Pipe Cactus National MonumentArizonaPetroglyph National MonumentNew MexicoPipe Spring National MonumentArizonaPipestone National MonumentMinnesotaPoverty Point National MonumentLouisianaRainbow Bridge National MonumentUtahRussell Cave National MonumentAlabamaSalinas Pueblo Missions National MonumentNew MexicoScotts Bluff National MonumentNebraskaSpringfield 1908 Race Riot National MonumentIllinoisStatue of Liberty National MonumentNew York, New JerseyStonewall National MonumentNew YorkSunset Crater Volcano National MonumentArizonaTimpanogos Cave National MonumentUtahTonto National MonumentArizonaTule Lake National MonumentCaliforniaTule Springs Fossil Beds National MonumentNevadaTuzigoot National MonumentArizonaVirgin Islands Coral Reef National MonumentU.S. Virgin IslandsWaco Mammoth National MonumentTexasWalnut Canyon National MonumentArizonaWupatki National MonumentArizonaYucca House National MonumentColorado

Former national monuments