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How Many National Parks Are There in the United States?

Ever since the creation of the Hot Springs Reservation in 1832, the oldest national reservation in the United States and now Hot Springs National Park, the American government has created a wealth of parks. Yosemite, for example, was given to the state of California by Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and managed as a state park until 1890. Language used in the Yosemite State Park act was used to create Yellowstone National Park in 1872, signed into law by Ulysses S. Grant.

Since the establishment of the world’s very first national park—Yellowstone—the U.S. Congress has created dozens more national parks. Some, like Mackinac National Park and Sullys Hill National Park, either became state parks or were redesignated. Most, however, survived and are now part of the extensive U.S. national park system.

So, how many national parks are there exactly right now? The answer to that question tends to change each year, as U.S. Presidents create national monuments and Congress designates new National Park Service units and “proper” national parks.

How Many National Parks Are There in the USA?

How Many National Parks Are There?

Currently, there are a total of 423 units in America’s vast national park system. Together, they cover more than 85 million acres. You’ll find at least one NPS unit in each of the 50 states, from the Alaskan tundra to the Florida Keys, as well as in Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

There are nineteen different naming designations in the national park system, all of which are federally managed parks. Within the NPS system, there are 63 “actual” national parks.

Those are the units with the “National Park” designation in their name; they are the star attractions in the system. The last national park to be added to the list is New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, which was redesignated in early 2021.

Hot Springs National Park Attractions, Arkansas

Full List of All 63 National Parks

Pa'Rus Trail, Zion National Park

Other National Park Service Designations & Units

In addition to the 63 national parks in the United States, there are hundreds of other sites and units. They are divided into many different designations, which you can see below.

  • National Battlefields (11)
  • National Battlefield Parks (4)
  • National Battlefield Sites (1)
  • National Military Parks (9)
  • National Historical Parks (61)
  • National Historic Sites (74)
  • International Historic Sites (1)
  • National Lakeshores (3)
  • National Seashores (10)
  • National Memorials (31)
  • National Monuments (85)
  • National Parkways (4)
  • National Preserves (19)
  • National Reserves (2)
  • National Recreation Areas (18)
  • National Rivers (4)
  • National Wild and Scenic Rivers and Riverways (10)
  • National Scenic Trails (3)
  • Other Designations (11)

You can find a complete and detailed overview of all National Park Service units on this NPS page.