The US National Parks Ranked by Type

We’ve been working on our personal list of US National Parks ranked as we visit each new park. But after having seen a handful of other people’s rankings, we’ve noticed how many people seem to have a ‘hot take’ on a lot of their rankings. Your love of a particular park is incredibly personal and specific to your tastes. A serious backpacker would not enjoy a national park for the same reasons that we do visiting with a 4 year old. So we’re going to rank that park differently. Also, everyone has a bias to a particular type of landscape. Ours is mountains, waterfalls, and blue lakes. So we’re never going to rank a desert park over something with majestic snow-capped mountains.

So in addition to our master ranking list, we decided ranking National Parks in various categories would be helpful. Having individual category park rankings seems most helpful to others who are trying to decide how to prioritize their own National Park visits.

Similarly to our other National Parks ranked post, we will evaluate each park based on beauty and how highly we’d recommend it as one of the best National Parks to visit.

Since we haven’t visited all of the National Parks yet, there will be parks missing from this list. We’ll be adding them as we visit. So don’t think we’re crazy if we don’t have Sequoia in our Forest Parks rankings. It’s solely because we haven’t made it to California yet.

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Why Rank the National Parks by Type?

I like a couple of things about this kind of ranking system. For one, it’s not really putting any parks into the ‘worst’ category. Different people will rank different natural landscapes higher than others. For me, mountain and waterfall parks are going to be top favorites every time, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t also enjoy desert and badlands style parks.

Another reason I wanted to put together this National Park ranking is that most people will not visit every US National Park in their lifetime. If you only visit 10 National Parks in your life, which 10 would you enjoy the most? If you visited the Grand Canyon and realized that you really love canyons, you can easily see which other parks should be high on your list. On the other hand, you might visit one desert park and decide that you don’t need to check out the others.

What are the Top 10 National Parks?

Well, according to our other post where we rank every National Park that we’ve been to all on the same scale, our top 10 National Parks are:

Keep in mind that we haven’t been to all 63 of the parks yet. Alaska and California National Parks will surely rank high on our list.

What are the Best National Parks?

That’s what we’re looking to answer here! If you like different landscapes than we do, you’re not going to agree on our top 10 National Parks list. But when we organize the US National Parks ranked by category, you can more easily see what the best National Parks for you might be.

Ranking National Parks: Best Canyons

Grand Canyon National Park – I cannot fathom how anyone could come here and not be amazed. It is gigantic, and the views change so much as you make your way to different overlooks.

Canyonlands National Park – Ryan and I have actually debated whether or not we can rank this above the Grand Canyon. (Especially because it’s much less crowded and you can drive Shafer Trail down into the canyon. Experiencing the canyon from both the top and the bottom is much more accessible here than in Grand Canyon.) We LOVED our visit here and can’t wait to explore the other two sections of this massive park.

Yellowstone National Park – Yes, Yellowstone has a canyon and it’s incredible. (See also my notes under waterfalls.)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – The jagged walls of this canyon are very cool, but the others are more beautiful to me. This is one of the least visited canyon parks.

Big Bend National Park – The Santa Elena Canyon is very cool and if our youngest hadn’t been just barely 2 years old, we would have hiked into it. We chose to rank Big Bend towards the bottom for canyons, because we feel the others are more beautiful and the canyon is not the main feature of the park.

New River Gorge National Park – While the view of the New River Gorge is beautiful, it doesn’t compare to the size of some of these other canyons.

Not yet visited: Kings Canyon National Park

Note: I chose not to include Zion National Park here even though it is technically a canyon. Because you spend most of your time on the canyon floor looking up at the peaks, it feels like a better fit for the mountain category.

Ranking National Parks: Best Badlands

Badlands National Park – This park is very cool. With lots of space to wander on hikes, a lengthy scenic drive, and backcountry driving both above and below the badlands formations, we enjoyed this park a lot more than we expected to, given that it’s not the type of landscape we find the most beautiful.

Petrified Forest National Park – Petrified wood is incredibly cool, which gives this small park the edge over Theodore Roosevelt. The Blue Mesa trail area was another unique formation we really enjoyed.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park – We’ve only seen the south unit of the park, so we may give it a higher ranking on a return visit. One advantage this park has over Petrified Forest is the presence of bison and prairie dogs, neither of which we saw when visiting Petrified Forest.

Ranking National Parks: Best Deserts

Big Bend National Park – The landscape of this massive park is incredibly diverse. There were mountains, a canyon, vast open deserts, cool rock formations, and cacti in just about every color you can imagine. This remote park is well worth the visit.

Guadalupe Mountains – This national park is not as accessible by vehicle as Big Bend is and has very limited camping options, so we were only able to explore a small section of it. While I appreciate that the wilderness here is more intact and protected because of this limited accessibility, I enjoy the park less for this reason.

Not yet visited: Saguaro National Park, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park

Note: We placed all the red rock Utah parks in a rock formation category.

Ranking National Parks: Best Sand Parks

White Sands National Park – Sandy desert parks feel like a separate category to us than desert parks, because the landscape is much more limited. (What can I say? I love a colorful cactus!) White Sands is a fun place to sled and it’s very cool to walk the dunes surrounded by mountains in the distance, but visitors are pretty limited on what they can do there.

Great Sand Dune National Park – We enjoyed White Sands more than Great Sand Dune, because the dunes are easier to access on foot and smaller (so they’re easier to climb).

Not yet visited: Indiana Dunes National Park

Ranking National Parks: Best Forests

Lots of National Parks have trees, but not every park with trees belongs in this category. I specifically chose parks where you go to see the trees themselves. I know many people love to visit National Parks to see fall foliage and parks like Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, and Rocky Mountain are all very busy during the fall. But since I haven’t visited these parks at the right time to compare the fall foliage, I’m going to focus on trees people come to see year-round.

And unfortunately, we haven’t visited any of them yet.

Not yet visited: Kings Canyon National Park, Great Basin National Park, Redwood National Park, Sequoia National Park, Olympic National Park rainforest

Ranking National Parks: Best Mountains

Grand Teton National Park – If you want to look at gorgeous, rugged mountains, Grand Teton can’t be beat.

Glacier National Park – The mountains in Glacier are absolutely stunning, but they are a little harder to access, which is why I gave Grand Teton the slight edge.

Zion National Park – There’s nothing like being surrounded by the mountains of Zion. These views are well worth putting up with the crowds.

Crater Lake National Park – While the main feature here is the lake and not the mountains, you’ll still have mountains in pretty much every overlook.

Big Bend National Park – The Chisos Mountains surrounded by desert make for a very striking view.

Shenandoah – Growing up near the layered mountain views of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park, I know how beautiful these views can be. But they’re just not as impressive as a giant snow-capped mountain.

Guadalupe Mountains – Like Big Bend’s little sister.

Not yet visited: Rocky Mountain, Kings Canyon, Great Basin, Great Smoky Mountains, Haleakala, Denali, Gates of the Artic, Kenai Fjords, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St. Elias, American Samoa, Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic

Ranking National Parks: Best Wildlife

This is a difficult category to judge, because we don’t prioritize wildlife experiences at most National Parks. It’s also hard to rank which animals are more exciting to see than others. Based on our experience, here’s what we think the average National park guests would enjoy.

Yellowstone National Park – Bison and elk in abundance.

Grand Teton National Park – We saw lots of elk here and 3 bears, although only one was close enough to photograph with my long lens.

Badlands National Park – We saw lots of bison and prairie dogs as well as a bighorn sheep and a turkey.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Bison and prairie dogs, although not as many as in Badlands.

Wind Cave National Park – We saw bison and pronghorn here.

Glacier National Park – We saw one bear, one bighorn sheep, and several mountain goats. Since I would consider these mostly chance encounters, I’m rank Glacier lower for wildlife viewing specifically.

Big Bend National Park – Specifically the backcountry drives are where we saw wild horses and a coyote. We also saw javelinas in the Rio Grande Village Campground.

Not yet visited: Everglades, Denali, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark National Park

Note: In spite of our best efforts, we still haven’t seen a moose. Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain are supposed to be good places to see them.

Ranking National Parks: Best Lakes & Waterfalls

Glacier National Park – Avalanche Lake, Swiftcurrent Lake, and Lake Josephine are all top tier stunning. And we didn’t even make it to Grinnell Lake or Hidden Lake.

Crater Lake National Park – This place is vast and gorgeous and such a deep sapphire blue color.

Grand Teton National Park – Our paddle on String Lake was one of my favorite experiences of the entire year. And again, there are several lakes like Delta and Phelps that we haven’t been able to hike to yet, but the photos I’ve seen look incredible.

Yellowstone National Park – Waterfalls might not be what you think of when you picture Yellowstone, but the falls at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are quite impressive and not to be missed. Lake Yellowstone is also quite lovely.

Cuyahoga National Park – Brandywine Falls is one of the most prominent features of Cuyahoga National Park, and there are other waterfalls you can hike to.

New River Gorge National Park – While this park does have a few waterfalls, they’re not as large as Brandywine Falls.

Shenandoah National Park – This park has several popular waterfalls, but we haven’t been to any of them.

Not yet visited: Great Smoky, Yosemite, Lassen Volcanic, North Cascades, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Ranking National Parks: Best Islands and Coastlines

Acadia National Park – The rocky coastlines in Acadia are beautiful, as is the view of the islands from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Not yet visited: Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Virgin Islands, Isle Royale, Voyageurs, Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords, American Samoa, Channel Islands, Olympic National Park

Looks like we need to get ourselves to some coastline and islands National Parks ASAP!

Ranking National Parks: Best Caves

Mammoth Cave National Park – Ryan has done multiple cave tours here and says he would like to do them all! There’s a wide variety of cave formations in addition to tour options, so there’s lots to see here.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park – A large self-guided loop here as well as 1 cave tour section. Not as much variety as Mammoth Cave, but the bat flight here would be very cool to see.

Wind Cave National Park – The cave tour here is shorter and more limited in cave formations, mostly highlighting the unique boxwork formations. We also missed the vastness of Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns, as the cave rooms aren’t very large here.

Ranking National Parks: Best Rock Formations

Bryce Canyon National Park – Walking among the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon makes for such a fun and interesting hiking experience, and the overlooks of the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater are truly beautiful.

Arches National Park – The only thing that detracts from the beauty of the sandstone arches is how crowded the park and trails get.

Canyonlands National Park – While the main feature at Canyonlands is the vast canyon, it does also have many cool rock formations and arches. (Although I think you can only hike to one arch.)

Not yet visited: Pinnacles National Park, Capitol Reef National Park

Ranking National Parks: Best Wetlands

Not yet visited: Congaree National Park, Everglades National Park

These two East Coast parks are next on our list!

Ranking National Parks: Best Historic Parks

All the parks obviously have historical value, but this category is meant for National Parks where history plays a major role in your visit. When visiting these parks, you’ll want to plan more time to explore historical buildings, take a ranger-led tour, or read exhibit signage to get the full story of the park. You could also say that I needed a good spot to put Hot Springs and Gateway Arch.

Hot Springs National Park – The visitor center of this museum is very well done, but the placement of this park right in the middle of a city is an odd contrast to the rest of the National Parks.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park – While Theodore Roosevelt ranked higher than Hot Springs on our overall list of best US National Parks, for the historic elements alone, I think Hot Springs is the more interesting park. Visitors who enjoy presidential history will appreciate touring the cabin and Elkhorn Ranch sites.

Not yet visited: Mesa Verde National Park, Gateway Arch National Park

Ranking National Parks: Best Unique Features

While all the US National Parks were set aside to protect natural landscapes, wildlife, and resources, there are some parks that truly stand out as one of a kind. There’s no way to rank them really, but here are the National Parks with the most unique features.

Yellowstone National Park – The best place in the world to see both geysers and colorful hot springs is Yellowstone National Park, which is why it’s such a big international tourism destination. It’s also a volcanic caldera, which many people don’t know.

Petrified Forest National Park – One of the best known locations of petrified wood.

Crater Lake National Park – Formed when a volcanic explosion collapsed the mountain, creating a caldera that filled with rain and snow melt.

Not yet visited: Mesa Verde, Haleakala, Hawai’i Volcanoes, Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords, Wrangell-St. Elias, Lassen Volcanic National Park

What are the Best National Parks for 1 Week Trip?

With a full week to explore the best US National Parks, here are the top ones I’d recommend (in no particular order):

Yellowstone National Park – One of the most iconic National Park family vacation spots, this massive park takes a week to explore. We’d also highly recommend pairing Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park for a 1 week trip.

Glacier National Park – With both an east and west side of the park and tons of incredible hikes, you’d easily fill a week long vacation here.

Big Bend National Park – This remote park is massive and has significant drive times between the 3 main areas.

Acadia National Park – If you want a week long family vacation that pairs National Park exploration and hiking with a beach vacation, this is the best place to get it.

Bryce and Zion National Park – If you’re not a huge hiker, a week in Zion might be more than you need, but pair it with Bryce and some fun activities in the St. George area, and you’ve got yourself a fun week!

What are the Best National Parks for 1 Day Visit?

While 3-4 days is best for most of these parks if you want to see everything, you can plan a really amazing 1 day itinerary if that’s all the time you have.

Grand Canyon National Park
Arches National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Badlands National Park
Mammoth Cave
Canyonlands National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Petrified Forest

Additionally, the bottom 10 or so National Parks in our rankings post are all great 1 day visits.

We’d also recommend these pairings:
Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest – 2 to 3 days
Black Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands – 3 days
Yellowstone and Grand Teton – for 4+ days
Zion and Bryce – for 4+ days

What are the Best National Parks for Kids?

When we think of recommending parks for friends with young kids to visit, all these US National Parks ranked high for us:

Big Bend National Park – This remote park might seem like an odd choice, but we visited with our 2 and 5 year old boys and it’s definitely one of the best National Parks for kids! Their favorite hikes to explore Ernst Tinaja, Tuff Canyon, and Santa Elena Canyon. You’ll also do a lot of scenic driving here, so hand the kiddos some snacks and enjoy it!

Yellowstone National Park – Geysers, hot springs, and bison are all big wins for most kids. And there are plenty of shorter boardwalk options for families with young kids (although of course, there’s the safety issue to consider).

Glacier National Park – Driving Going to the Sun Road is one of the best things to do here. Our kids also enjoyed playing at Lake McDonald and the Avalanche Lake Trail (their longest hike at the time!). This family-friendly park is one of the best National Parks for kids.

Grand Teton National Park – Our kid’s favorite spots: all the rocks at Jackson Lake and the bike path. Also a great park for scenic drives.

Arches National Park – Take the short hiking trails where you can see multiple arches to keep small kids entertained.

Acadia National Park – Young kids will love playing in tide pools. And since it’s located right next to Bar Harbor, you can find a lot of amenities and accommodations very close by.

Badlands National Park – Kids will love the freedom to hike anywhere. Also a great park for animal viewing. Kids will also love visiting Wall Drug in town.

White Sands National Park – Definitely one of the best National Parks for kids! The sand dunes are much smaller here than at Great Sands, so it’s a much easier park for families with small kids to enjoy. And my kids are still talking about sledding there!

What are the Best National Parks for Families with Older Kids?

Starting about age 7, I think the dynamic of taking kids to the best US National Parks really changes. They’re getting better at hiking. They’re stronger bikers. And with that stamina, you have more freedom to explore the parks more fully. But we still recommend being well stocked on hiking snacks!

Zion National Park – The most iconic hiking here makes it one of the best National Parks for kids with more hiking stamina. You’ll also likely have decent crowds to deal with, which can be frustrating with young kids.

Grand Canyon National Park – Hiking down into the canyon can easily be scaled to fit the age and stamina of your group.

Yellowstone National Park – Older kids will have more stamina to explore the park and boardwalks more fully.

Big Bend National Park – There are some really amazing hikes here. Balanced Rock is one we’d highly recommend.

Grand Teton National Park – There are some incredible lake hikes here for kids with more hiking stamina. And some great paddling options as well.

Acadia National Park – Hikes like The Beehive will appeal to older kids.

Glacier National Park – Amazing hiking and paddling for older kids.

Bryce Canyon National Park – Hiking down in the hoodoos adds elevation and difficulty.

Arches National Park – Escape the crowds on longer hikes in the park.

New River Gorge National Park – Visiting with older kids opens up the opportunity for the Bridge Walk or a rafting trip on the river.

Badlands National Park – Lots of climbing and hiking freedom.

White Sands National Park – Sledding is a fun activity for kids of all ages!

Guadalupe Mountains National Park – The Devil’s Hall trail is a fun rock scrambling hike.

Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns National Park – I would save cave tours for when kids are past the toddler stage, because there are lots of no touching rules, often lots of stairs, and usually a complete blackout portion of cave tours which might scare younger kids.

National Parks I Would Reclassify:

Hot Springs and Gateway Arch. Did you notice that these two parks don’t really fit into the above categories? You’ll find these two parks at the bottom of just about everyone’s National Park ranking and here’s why. They shouldn’t be part of the 63 top tier National Parks under the National Park Service. They should be national historic sites or national monuments, like Mount Rushmore. To us, National Parks are big swaths of land that have unique natural features and protected land for wildlife, where visitors are enjoying time in nature, even if that’s just on a scenic drive. These two parks are the smallest of all the National Parks and even though Hot Springs National Park does have a good bit of forested land and the opportunity for some hiking, that’s not the average guest experience.

Now that you’ve seen our favorite National Parks ranked in different categories, you might be ready to plan trips to some of our top choices. These best National Parks to visit will give you an overview of the beauty the US National Parks have to offer. Be sure to check out our National Park travel guides and itineraries to help in planning your next trip! And read this post for 10 things you need to know before your first National Park adventure.