The establishment of national parks was an incredible idea brought to life in U.S. history. Per the National Parks Service, they were established to, “protect special places for visitors’ present and future enjoyment.” The creation of parks have allowed for the preservation of massive amounts of land for past and future generations to enjoy. We created this list to show you how lengthy the history of national parks in the U.S. is and how we continue to add more as the years go on. It all started with the oldest national park, Yellowstone (151 years old) and currently sits at 63 total parks with the newest being New River Gorge (2 years old).
Note: We used the criteria of a park reaching national park designation as the official date of creation. Many of these parks as you’ll see existed long before they were officially made a national park.
Location: Wyoming
Established: March 1, 1872
Location: California
Established: September 25, 1890
Location: California
Established: October 1, 1890
Location: Washington
Established: March 2, 1899
Location: Oregon
Established: May 22, 1902
Location: South Dakota
Established: January 9, 1903
Location: Colorado
Established: June 29, 1906
Location: Montana
Established: May 11, 1910
Location: Colorado
Established: January 26. 1915
Location: Hawai’i
Established: August 1, 1916
Location: California
Established: August 9, 1916
Location: Alaska
Established: February 26, 1917
Location: Alaska
Established: September 24, 1918
Location: Arizona
Established: February 26, 1919
Location: Utah
Established: November 19, 1919
Location: Arkansas
Established: March 4, 1921
Location: Utah
Established: February 25, 1928
Location: Maine
Established: January 19, 1929 (Originally established as Sieur de Monts National Monument on February 26, 1919).
Location: Wyoming
Established: February 26, 1929
Location: Utah
Established: April 12, 1929
Location: New Mexico
Established: May 14, 1930
Location: Tennessee/North Carolina
Established: June 15, 1934
Location: Florida
Established: January 4, 1935
Location: Texas
Established: June 12, 1935
Location: Virginia
Established: December 26, 1935
Location: Washington
Established: June 29, 1938
Location: California
Established: March 4, 1940
Location: Michigan
Established: April 3, 1940
Location: Kentucky
Established: July 1, 1941
Location: Florida
Established: December 6, 1947
Location: U.S. Virgin Islands
Established: August 2, 1956
Location: Hawai’i
Established: July 1, 1961
Location: Arizona
Established: December 9, 1962
Location: Utah
Established: September 12, 1964
Location: Washington
Established: October 2, 1968
Location: California
Established: October 2, 1968
Location: Utah
Established: December 18, 1971
Location: Texas
Established: December 30, 1972
Location: Minnesota
Established: April 8, 1975
Location: South Dakota
Established: November 10, 1978 (Originally established as a national monument on January 25, 1939).
Location: North Dakota
Established: November 10, 1978
Location: Florida
Established: June 28, 1980
Location: California
Established: March 5, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980
Location: Alaska
Established: December 2, 1980 (Originally established as a national monument on November 16, 1978).
Location: Nevada
Established: October 27, 1986
Location: Samoa
Established: October 31, 1988
Location: Arizona
Established: October 14, 1994
Location: California
Established: October 31, 1994
Location: California
Established: October 31, 1994
Location: Colorado
Established: October 21, 1999
Location: Ohio
Established: October 11, 2000
Location: South Carolina
Established: November 10, 2003
Location: Colorado
Established: September 24, 2004 (Originally established as a national monument on March 17, 1932).
Location: California
Established: January 10, 2013
Location: Missouri
Established: February 22, 2018
Location: Indiana
Established: February 15, 2019
Location: New Mexico
Established: December 20, 2019 (Originally established as a national monument on January 18, 1933).
Location: West Virginia
Established: December 27, 2020 (Originally established as a national river on November 10, 1978).
- President Ulysses S. Grant was the first to create a national park (Yellowstone), with the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act in 1872.
- The National Parks Service was established in 1916, 45 years after Yellowstone, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the act to create it.
- President Jimmy Carter established the most national parks while in office with 10. However, President Theodore Roosevelt is considered one of the biggest contributors to the current national parks system and overall conservation of the land.
- There are currently 424 total national sites in the U.S. such as national monuments, national rivers, national recreation areas, etc. This list only includes the 63 designated as national parks.
Our national parks are an incredible way to experience the beauty of the United States. They’ve been around for a century and a half now and more continue to be added to the long list of national sites. We hope our list gives a clear picture of how long these amazing parks have been around, but even with 63 there are still many states that don’t have one. Check out the list of states that don’t have any national parks with suggestions about what to do instead!