Closest national parks to San Francisco

By Stacker

Published December 30, 2021 3:38 PM

Bob Pool // Shutterstock

Closest national parks to San Francisco

Approximately 237 million people visited American national parks in 2020, representing a 28% year-over-year decrease attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. Many parks were forced to close to combat the spread of the virus, but that’s not the whole story—when the parks were open, many of them saw record crowds as throngs of people desperate to safely enjoy nature descended onto parks when they reopened.

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.

Be sure to check with individual parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

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#1. Pinnacles National Park (California)

– Distance: 108 miles
– Driving time: 2.3 hours
– Date founded: January 10, 2013
– 2020 visitors: 165,740 (#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
– 2020 visitors: 2,268,313 (#12 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
– 2020 visitors: 542,274 (#29 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 106,589.02 acres

Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock

#4. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

– Distance: 216 miles
– Driving time: 7.4 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1940
– 2020 visitors: 415,077 (#35 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
– 2020 visitors: 796,086 (#23 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 404,062.63 acres

Bob Pool // Shutterstock

#6. Redwood National Park (California)

– Distance: 260 miles
– Driving time: 5.7 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2020 visitors: 265,177 (#43 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
– 2020 visitors: 167,290 (#47 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
– 2020 visitors: 820,023 (#22 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres

Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock

#9. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

– Distance: 357 miles
– Driving time: 6.8 hours
– Date founded: May 22, 1902
– 2020 visitors: 670,500 (#26 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 183,224.05 acres

Arlene Waller // Shutterstock

#10. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

– Distance: 441 miles
– Driving time: 9.9 hours
– Date founded: October 27, 1986
– 2020 visitors: 120,248 (#50 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
– 2020 visitors: 2,399,542 (#10 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 795,155.85 acres

Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#12. Zion National Park (Utah)

– Distance: 507 miles
– Driving time: 11.7 hours
– Date founded: November 19, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 3,591,254 (#3 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
– 2020 visitors: 1,464,655 (#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
– 2020 visitors: 2,897,098 (#6 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
– 2020 visitors: 981,038 (#20 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
– 2020 visitors: 1,160,754 (#18 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
– 2020 visitors: 493,914 (#30 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
– 2020 visitors: 1,238,083 (#17 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
– 2020 visitors: 2,499,177 (#9 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
– 2020 visitors: 384,483 (#38 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
– 2020 visitors: 3,289,638 (#5 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 310,044.36 acres

National Park Service/Deby Dixon // Wikimedia Commons

#22. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

– Distance: 756 miles
– Driving time: 15.3 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2020 visitors: 30,885 (#56 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
– 2020 visitors: 287,477 (#42 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
– 2020 visitors: 762,226 (#24 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 92,867.42 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
– 2020 visitors: 3,806,306 (#2 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
– 2020 visitors: 341,620 (#39 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
– 2020 visitors: 1,698,864 (#13 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres

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#28. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

– Distance: 914 miles
– Driving time: 18.5 hours
– Date founded: January 26, 1915
– 2020 visitors: 3,305,199 (#4 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 265,807.25 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
– 2020 visitors: 461,532 (#32 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 107,341.87 acres

Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#30. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

– Distance: 972 miles
– Driving time: 17.4 hours
– Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
– 2020 visitors: 415,383 (#34 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
– 2020 visitors: 448,405 (#33 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
– 2020 visitors: 151,256 (#49 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
– 2020 visitors: 183,835 (#45 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
– 2020 visitors: 916,932 (#21 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
– 2020 visitors: 551,303 (#28 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
– 2020 visitors: 393,907 (#37 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 801,163.21 acres

Alan Wu // Wikimedia Commons

#37. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 1,578 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 5,748 (#60 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
– 2020 visitors: 1,348,215 (#16 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 5,554.15 acres

BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#39. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

– Distance: 1,646 miles
– Driving time: 30.9 hours
– Date founded: April 8, 1975
– 2020 visitors: 263,091 (#44 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[47]
– 2020 visitors: 486,021 (#31 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 192.83 acres

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Sewtex // Wikimedia Commons

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

– Distance: 1,819 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 16,655 (#57 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres

MDuchek // Wikimedia Commons

#42. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

– Distance: 1,835 miles
– Driving time: 35.8 hours
– Date founded: April 3, 1940
– 2020 visitors: 6,493 (#59 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 571,790.30 acres

Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock

#43. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

– Distance: 1,882 miles
– Driving time: 31.0 hours
– Date founded: February 15, 2019
– 2020 visitors: 2,293,106 (#11 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,349.08 acres

National Park Service, Alaska Region // Wikimedia Commons

#44. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 1,946 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 115,882 (#52 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
– 2020 visitors: 290,392 (#41 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 54,011.91 acres

Katmai National Park and Preserve // Wikimedia Commons

#46. Katmai National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,046 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 51,511 (#54 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres

Ryjil Christianson // Wikimedia Commons

#47. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,093 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 4,948 (#61 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres

Denali National Park and Preserve // Wikimedia Commons

#48. Denali National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,123 miles
– Date founded: February 26, 1917
– 2020 visitors: 54,850 (#53 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres

Aviator31 // Wikimedia Commons

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

– Distance: 2,140 miles
– Driving time: 36.7 hours
– Date founded: June 15, 1934
– 2020 visitors: 12,095,720 (#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
– 2020 visitors: 2,755,628 (#7 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 32,571.88 acres

Steve Heap // Shutterstock

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

– Distance: 2,232 miles
– Driving time: 38.1 hours
– Date founded: December 27, 2020
– 2020 visitors: 1,054,374 (#19 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,021 acres

Jtmartin57 // Wikimedia Commons

#52. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

– Distance: 2,328 miles
– Driving time: 39.5 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 2003
– 2020 visitors: 119,306 (#51 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,476.47 acres

MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

#53. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)

– Distance: 2,341 miles
– Date founded: July 1, 1961
– 2020 visitors: 319,147 (#40 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,264.62 acres

jo Crebbin // Shutterstock

#54. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

– Distance: 2,349 miles
– Date founded: August 1, 1916
– 2020 visitors: 589,775 (#27 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 325,605.28 acres

Jon Bilous // Shutterstock

#55. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

– Distance: 2,370 miles
– Driving time: 41.6 hours
– Date founded: December 26, 1935
– 2020 visitors: 1,666,265 (#14 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 199,223.77 acres

National Park Service, Alaska Region // Wikimedia Commons

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

– Distance: 2,393 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 2,872 (#63 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres

U.S. National Park Service // Wikimedia Commons

#57. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

– Distance: 2,481 miles
– Driving time: 48.0 hours
– Date founded: October 26, 1992
– 2020 visitors: 48,543 (#55 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 64,701.22 acres

LCGS Russ // Wikimedia Commons

#58. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

– Distance: 2,503 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 11,185 (#58 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
– 2020 visitors: 702,319 (#25 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres

NPS // Wikimedia Commons

#60. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

– Distance: 2,597 miles
– Driving time: 45.0 hours
– Date founded: June 28, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 402,770 (#36 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
– 2020 visitors: 2,669,034 (#8 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 49,076.63 acres

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)

– Distance: 3,698 miles
– Date founded: August 2, 1956
– 2020 visitors: 167,540 (#46 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,052.53 acres

Tavita Togia, National Park Service // Wikimedia Commons

#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)

– Distance: 4,760 miles
– Date founded: October 31, 1988
– 2020 visitors: 4,819 (#62 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,256.67 acres

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