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Closest national parks to San Francisco

By Stacker

Published July 19, 2025 12:07 AM

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Closest national parks to San Francisco

Approximately 331 million people visited American national parks in 2024, representing a 2% year-over-year growth and the fourth straight year of growth.

President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 signed the act creating the National Park Service to leave natural and historic phenomenons “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Since then, our national parks have welcomed visitors from around the world to experience some of the best the country has to offer and showcase the country’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Today, the country’s 63 national parks contain at least 247 species of endangered or threatened plants and animals, more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.

Stacker compiled a list of the closest national parks to San Francisco. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from Here and are only available within the lower 48 states. All featured distances and driving times are estimated using representative locations from the center of each metro and national park—for some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.

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#1. Pinnacles National Park (California)

– Distance: 108 miles
– Driving time: 2.3 hours
– Date founded: January 10, 2013
– 2024 visitors: 354,076 (#48 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,685.73 acres

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#2. Yosemite National Park (California)

– Distance: 152 miles
– Driving time: 4.1 hours
– Date founded: October 1, 1890
– 2024 visitors: 4,121,807 (#6 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 761,747.50 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#3. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

– Distance: 192 miles
– Driving time: 4.0 hours
– Date founded: August 9, 1916
– 2024 visitors: 357,651 (#47 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 106,589.02 acres

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#4. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

– Distance: 216 miles
– Driving time: 7.4 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1940
– 2024 visitors: 699,389 (#34 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 461,901.20 acres

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#5. Sequoia National Park (California)

– Distance: 219 miles
– Driving time: 7.2 hours
– Date founded: September 25, 1890
– 2024 visitors: 1,309,573 (#24 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 404,062.63 acres

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#6. Redwood National Park (California)

– Distance: 260 miles
– Driving time: 5.7 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2024 visitors: 622,883 (#35 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 138,999.37 acres

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#7. Channel Islands National Park (California)

– Distance: 305 miles
– Date founded: March 5, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 262,581 (#50 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 249,561.00 acres

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#8. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)

– Distance: 320 miles
– Driving time: 8.7 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 1,440,484 (#21 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,408,395.63 acres

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#9. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

– Distance: 357 miles
– Driving time: 6.8 hours
– Date founded: May 22, 1902
– 2024 visitors: 504,942 (#39 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 183,224.05 acres

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#10. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

– Distance: 441 miles
– Driving time: 9.9 hours
– Date founded: October 27, 1986
– 2024 visitors: 152,068 (#54 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 77,180.00 acres

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#11. Joshua Tree National Park (California)

– Distance: 451 miles
– Driving time: 8.7 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 2,991,874 (#11 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 795,155.85 acres

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#12. Zion National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 507 miles
– Driving time: 11.7 hours
– Date founded: November 19, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 4,946,592 (#2 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 147,242.66 acres

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#13. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 553 miles
– Driving time: 13.8 hours
– Date founded: February 25, 1928
– 2024 visitors: 2,498,075 (#15 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 35,835.08 acres

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#14. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

– Distance: 573 miles
– Driving time: 12.0 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 4,919,163 (#3 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres

Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock

#15. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 606 miles
– Driving time: 14.2 hours
– Date founded: December 18, 1971
– 2024 visitors: 1,422,490 (#23 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 241,904.50 acres

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#16. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

– Distance: 627 miles
– Driving time: 13.1 hours
– Date founded: March 2, 1899
– 2024 visitors: 1,620,006 (#19 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 236,381.64 acres

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#17. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 674 miles
– Driving time: 19.6 hours
– Date founded: September 12, 1964
– 2024 visitors: 818,492 (#27 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 337,597.83 acres

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#18. Arches National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 693 miles
– Driving time: 14.6 hours
– Date founded: November 12, 1971
– 2024 visitors: 1,466,528 (#20 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 76,678.98 acres

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#19. Olympic National Park (Washington)

– Distance: 707 miles
– Driving time: 14.8 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1938
– 2024 visitors: 3,717,267 (#8 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 922,649.41 acres

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#20. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

– Distance: 720 miles
– Driving time: 12.9 hours
– Date founded: December 9, 1962
– 2024 visitors: 559,254 (#37 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 221,390.21 acres

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#21. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

– Distance: 728 miles
– Driving time: 14.9 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1929
– 2024 visitors: 3,628,222 (#9 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 310,044.36 acres

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#22. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

– Distance: 756 miles
– Driving time: 15.3 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2024 visitors: 16,485 (#62 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 504,780.94 acres

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#23. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

– Distance: 758 miles
– Driving time: 16.6 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1906
– 2024 visitors: 480,065 (#41 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 52,485.17 acres

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#24. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

– Distance: 768 miles
– Driving time: 14.5 hours
– Date founded: October 14, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 946,369 (#26 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 92,876.75 acres

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#25. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)

– Distance: 772 miles
– Driving time: 15.3 hours
– Date founded: March 1, 1872
– 2024 visitors: 4,744,353 (#4 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres

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#26. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)

– Distance: 794 miles
– Driving time: 16.5 hours
– Date founded: October 21, 1999
– 2024 visitors: 335,862 (#49 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 30,779.83 acres

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#27. Glacier National Park (Montana)

– Distance: 867 miles
– Date founded: May 11, 1910
– 2024 visitors: 3,208,755 (#10 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,013,126.39 acres

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#28. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

– Distance: 914 miles
– Driving time: 18.5 hours
– Date founded: January 26, 1915
– 2024 visitors: 4,154,349 (#5 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 265,847.74 acres

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#29. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

– Distance: 917 miles
– Driving time: 19.9 hours
– Date founded: September 24, 2004
– 2024 visitors: 437,661 (#44 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 107,345.73 acres

Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#30. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

– Distance: 972 miles
– Driving time: 17.4 hours
– Date founded: December 20, 2019
– 2024 visitors: 702,236 (#33 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 146,344.31 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#31. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

– Distance: 1,062 miles
– Driving time: 19.7 hours
– Date founded: January 9, 1903
– 2024 visitors: 489,399 (#40 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,970.84 acres

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#32. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

– Distance: 1,066 miles
– Driving time: 19.4 hours
– Date founded: October 15, 1966
– 2024 visitors: 226,134 (#52 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 86,367.10 acres

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#33. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

– Distance: 1,081 miles
– Driving time: 19.6 hours
– Date founded: May 14, 1930
– 2024 visitors: 460,474 (#43 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 46,766.45 acres

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#34. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

– Distance: 1,113 miles
– Driving time: 21.0 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2024 visitors: 1,094,245 (#25 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 242,755.94 acres

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#35. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

– Distance: 1,149 miles
– Driving time: 21.8 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2024 visitors: 732,951 (#31 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 70,446.89 acres

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#36. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

– Distance: 1,242 miles
– Driving time: 23.6 hours
– Date founded: June 12, 1944
– 2024 visitors: 561,458 (#36 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 801,163.21 acres

Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock

#37. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 1,578 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 736,282 (#30 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#38. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

– Distance: 1,643 miles
– Driving time: 28.7 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1921
– 2024 visitors: 2,461,812 (#16 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 5,554.15 acres

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#39. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

– Distance: 1,646 miles
– Driving time: 30.9 hours
– Date founded: April 8, 1975
– 2024 visitors: 199,030 (#53 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 218,222.35 acres

Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

#40. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

– Distance: 1,738 miles
– Driving time: 29.5 hours
– Date founded: February 22, 2018
– 2024 visitors: 2,563,052 (#14 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 192.83 acres

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#41. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 1,819 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 81,670 (#56 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres

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#42. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

– Distance: 1,835 miles
– Driving time: 35.8 hours
– Date founded: April 3, 1940
– 2024 visitors: 28,806 (#58 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 571,790.30 acres

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#43. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

– Distance: 1,882 miles
– Driving time: 31.0 hours
– Date founded: February 15, 2019
– 2024 visitors: 2,705,209 (#13 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,349.08 acres

Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock

#44. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 1,946 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 419,468 (#46 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 669,650.05 acres

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

#45. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

– Distance: 1,976 miles
– Driving time: 34.4 hours
– Date founded: July 1, 1941
– 2024 visitors: 747,042 (#28 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 72,472.87 acres

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#46. Katmai National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,046 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 36,230 (#57 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres

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#47. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,093 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 18,505 (#60 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres

Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock

#48. Denali National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,123 miles
– Date founded: February 26, 1917
– 2024 visitors: 466,227 (#42 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres

ZakZeinert // Shutterstock

#49. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)

– Distance: 2,140 miles
– Driving time: 36.7 hours
– Date founded: June 15, 1934
– 2024 visitors: 12,191,834 (#1 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 522,426.88 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#50. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

– Distance: 2,169 miles
– Driving time: 35.6 hours
– Date founded: October 11, 2000
– 2024 visitors: 2,912,454 (#12 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 32,571.89 acres

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#51. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)

– Distance: 2,232 miles
– Driving time: 38.1 hours
– Date founded: December 27, 2020
– 2024 visitors: 1,811,937 (#17 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,021 acres

Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#52. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

– Distance: 2,328 miles
– Driving time: 39.5 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 2003
– 2024 visitors: 242,049 (#51 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,692.60 acres

MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

#53. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)

– Distance: 2,341 miles
– Date founded: July 1, 1961
– 2024 visitors: 732,477 (#32 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,488.98 acres

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#54. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

– Distance: 2,349 miles
– Date founded: August 1, 1916
– 2024 visitors: 1,433,593 (#22 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 344,812.18 acres

Jon Bilous // Shutterstock

#55. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

– Distance: 2,370 miles
– Driving time: 41.6 hours
– Date founded: December 26, 1935
– 2024 visitors: 1,720,211 (#18 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 200,445.92 acres

BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#56. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,393 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 11,907 (#63 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres

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#57. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

– Distance: 2,481 miles
– Driving time: 48.0 hours
– Date founded: October 26, 1992
– 2024 visitors: 84,873 (#55 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 64,701.22 acres

BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#58. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,503 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 17,233 (#61 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres

Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock

#59. Everglades National Park (Florida)

– Distance: 2,562 miles
– Driving time: 46.1 hours
– Date founded: May 30, 1934
– 2024 visitors: 741,983 (#29 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres

Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock

#60. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

– Distance: 2,597 miles
– Driving time: 45.0 hours
– Date founded: June 28, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 512,213 (#38 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 172,971.11 acres

Romiana Lee // Shutterstock

#61. Acadia National Park (Maine)

– Distance: 2,808 miles
– Driving time: 50.0 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 3,961,661 (#7 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 49,071.40 acres