This list covers 64 U.S. National Parks, from Acadia in Maine to Zion in Utah. The selection includes every park that carries the official “National Park” title, plus a few well-known sites with similar status.

U.S. National Parks are protected areas managed by the National Park Service to preserve land, wildlife, and history. They include towering mountains, deserts, glaciers, rainforests, caves, and volcanic landscapes. Some parks protect ancient fossils or native cultures. Millions of people visit them each year for hiking, camping, wildlife watching, and scientific research.

Interesting and little-known facts about U.S. National Parks:

• Yellowstone, created in 1872, was the first national park in the United States and the world.
• Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska covers about 13.2 million acres, which makes it larger than Switzerland.
• Mammoth Cave in Kentucky has the longest known cave system on Earth, with over 400 miles of mapped passages.
• Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited park, with more than 12 million visitors in a typical year.
• Death Valley recorded 134°F in 1913, one of the hottest air temperatures ever measured.
• Isle Royale in Michigan has one of the longest running predator-prey studies, tracking wolves and moose since 1958.

Browse the alphabetical index below to find any park. Each page lists the park name, the state where it is located, the type of park, and a short description.