Look at a national parks map of the United States and one thing jumps out: the parks are not spread evenly. Most of them sit in the West, several come in tight clusters a short drive apart, and a good number cannot be reached by road at all. Reading the map that way is the first step to planning a road trip that spends more time in parks than on interstates.
This guide walks through where the 64 national parks are, how they group by region, which neighbors are easy to combine and which official maps are worth having before you leave.
How many national parks are on the map
There are 64 national parks in the United States since Chiricahua, in southeastern Arizona, was redesignated from national monument to national park in October 2026. They are spread across 30 states and two territories, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Do not confuse them with the wider national park system. The National Park Service manages more than 400 sites, including national monuments, seashores, historic sites and parkways such as the Blue Ridge Parkway. A national parks map that shows every unit will look far more crowded than one that shows only the 64 “national parks”.
| State | Number of national parks | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| California | 9 | Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Redwood |
| Alaska | 8 | Denali, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Wrangell-St. Elias |
| Utah | 5 | Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef |
| Colorado | 4 | Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
| Arizona | 4 | Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Chiricahua |
A handful of parks also cross state lines. Yellowstone reaches into Montana and Idaho from Wyoming, and Great Smoky Mountains straddles Tennessee and North Carolina.
Reading the national parks map region by region
The Rocky Mountains and northern Plains
Yellowstone and Grand Teton form the heart of this region, with Glacier to the north in Montana and Rocky Mountain to the south in Colorado. East of the Rockies, Badlands, Wind Cave and Theodore Roosevelt bring the Plains into the picture. Distances here are large but roads are good and scenic.
California and the Southwest
California’s nine parks run from the redwood coast to the Mojave. Next door, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and West Texas hold the canyon and desert parks: the Grand Canyon, the Utah five, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend. This is the densest region for a multi-park drive.
The Pacific Northwest
Washington has Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades; Oregon has Crater Lake. Together with Redwood just south of the Oregon line, they form a natural summer loop.
The Midwest and East
The eastern half of the country has fewer parks, and they are farther apart: Acadia in Maine, Shenandoah in Virginia, New River Gorge in West Virginia, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio, Indiana Dunes, and the three South Florida parks, Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas. Isle Royale and Voyageurs sit in the northern lakes country.
Alaska, Hawaii and the territories
Alaska’s eight parks hold most of the system’s acreage, but only a few are reachable by road, notably Denali, Kenai Fjords and Wrangell-St. Elias. Others, like Gates of the Arctic or Katmai, require a plane or boat. Hawaii has Haleakalā and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes, both drivable once you are on the islands.
Park clusters you can link in one road trip
The real value of a national parks map is spotting neighbors. These pairings are close enough to combine without long transfer days:
- Yellowstone and Grand Teton: directly connected by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway; you drive out of one park and straight into the other.
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon: adjoining parks managed together, linked by the Generals Highway.
- Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns: about 40 minutes apart across the Texas and New Mexico line.
- Badlands and Wind Cave: both in western South Dakota, joined by the Black Hills, a natural two-park loop.
- Olympic and Mount Rainier: both within a few hours of Seattle.
- Redwood and Crater Lake: a half-day drive between the northern California coast and southern Oregon.
- Joshua Tree and Death Valley: the two big Mojave parks, best combined in winter, with Death Valley about two hours from Las Vegas.
- Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains: connected end to end by Skyline Drive and the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway.
- Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas: all in South Florida, with Dry Tortugas about 70 miles west of Key West by boat or seaplane.
Once you have spotted a cluster, the next step is choosing which parks deserve the most time. Our guide to the top national parks to road trip to ranks them region by region, with the scenic drive, season and number of days for each.
Official national park maps worth having
Commercial road atlases are fine for the interstates, but inside the parks the National Park Service maps are the reference. Here is what to use:
- The park brochure map: handed out at entrance stations and visitor centers. It shows roads, visitor centers, campgrounds, viewpoints and seasonal closures, and every park offers it.
- Park map pages on nps.gov: each park’s website has a “Maps” section with downloadable versions of the brochure map and often detailed maps of popular areas, shuttle routes or trail networks.
- The official NPS App: the National Park Service’s free app lets you download park maps and information for offline use before you lose cell coverage.
- Topographic trail maps: for serious hiking, USGS topographic maps give the terrain detail the brochure maps leave out.
Download what you need before you arrive. Large parts of Yellowstone, Big Bend, Death Valley, Olympic and many other parks have little or no cell service, and GPS routing apps sometimes send drivers onto unpaved or seasonally closed roads.
Tips for using a national park map to plan a road trip
- Start with the season, then the region. High mountain parks such as Glacier or Rocky Mountain have roads that close in winter, while desert parks are best from fall to spring. The map only becomes useful once you know which half of it is open.
- Count driving hours, not miles. Park roads are slow, often 25 to 45 mph with frequent stops, and a 50-mile scenic drive can fill half a day.
- Group two to four neighboring parks. Long transfers between distant parks eat into the trip. A tight cluster lets you spend most days inside the parks.
- Check entrance rules. A few parks use reservations; in 2026, Rocky Mountain ran timed entry and Acadia required a reservation for Cadillac Summit Road.
- Plan fuel stops. In remote parks like Big Bend and Death Valley, gas stations are far apart. Fill up whenever you can.
National parks map FAQ
Which state has the most national parks?
California, with nine, followed by Alaska with eight and Utah with five.
Where can I get a free official national park map?
At any entrance station or visitor center, or from the “Maps” page on the park’s website at nps.gov. The NPS App also lets you save maps offline.
Which national parks are closest to each other?
Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon, share boundaries or connecting roads. Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns are about 40 minutes apart.
Can you drive to every national park?
No. Several parks in Alaska, plus Dry Tortugas in Florida and Isle Royale in Michigan, can only be reached by boat or plane.
