Every U.S. National Park I've Been To Ranked- 250 Subscriber Special (58 National Parks Ranked)

hello and welcome to the national park wild i'm eric and while i was working on my alaska videos i got the 250 subscribers way sooner than i expected thank you so much for that so i thought before getting into my videos on the other alaska parks i'm going to rank every national park i've been to i've been to 58 of these 63 national parks so this is going to be quite a long video i'll try to keep my description short for each one i'm gonna have some separate reviews on a lot of them and already do for some but let me quickly say a few caveats first of all the parks i've not been to are acadia new river gorge mammoth cave wind cave and american samoa american samoa is one i probably will not get to for quite a while and of these 58 i want to point out i really like most of them so some really great parks will rank pretty low it's not because they're bad it's just because others i think are better it's based on my experience i'll try to explain why for each of them why i like some and one more thing i'm going to point out is that there are some where i didn't spend as much time as others so for ones that were a bit of a disadvantage i will point that out so you don't immediately think uh the park is bad it's because i didn't spend quite as much time there's a few where it was a while ago and i went or even recently and i just didn't get to see everything in any national park i have not seen every single thing in any of these so there are different things i saw and it's all based on what i saw and did in these parks now let's get into the ranking starting with last place number 58 is gateway arch national park this opinion should not anger too many it's a okay arch but as a national park it's easily last place very little nature just a bit of history not really worthy of park status number 57 this one will anger a few great smoky mountains national park hear me out i did not see a lot of this park i didn't do the longest trails because when i went it was quite a while ago it was a really bad experience due to some really big crowds like worse than any other park i had been to we just didn't see the best parts of the park so do not take my word for this this is probably a very good park but i just did not see the best parts of it number 56 is cuyahoga valley national park this one is a seba from gateway arch has a bit of nature to it i like brandywine falls however other than that it's just kind of okay there's really not a whole lot to it to see just the waterfall and after that it's a city park really number 55 is indiana dunes national park this one is very weird as it's one of the most civilized it's right there with gateway arch you have a bit of beach and history and some forests and such but then there's a steel mill right across from the park boundary you can see chicago in the distance it's not really the most wilderness like of a park and the scenery is okay not that impressive my favorite part was actually being able to see the skyline from there and if my favorite part of a national park seeing a city skyline that's not a good sign number 54 is hot springs i went in expecting the worst park but this one actually some pretty good stuff to it i saw quite a bit of wildlife including deer and many nice birds i enjoy some of the trails especially balanced rock it was a pretty quiet park the campground was really really nice and that's all good stuff the park is held back by the really awful tourist town known as hot springs but i still like the park enough that it's not a bad park it's good actually number 53 from this point on all the parks are really good none of them are bad they're just ranked where they are because i happen to like others more 53 is capital reef the main reason for this placement is because it was a drive through from arches of the bryce canyon i didn't see enough to give a full opinion on it i only did one hike and that is why this one's ranked low it's very beautiful but i didn't see quite enough number 52 was guadalupe mountains national park i saw quite a few deer in this one which is a highlight the mountains are all right but this one's not really the most impressive park for me it's an alright desert park but really not amazing number 51 is white sands national park we didn't see a lot of this one either as we were headed toward arizona for the parks there however the white sand dunes are absolutely beautiful the ones that look like completely smooth untouched that's fantastic i love that it's a really pretty park but i didn't really do much in it and that's why it ranks so low number 50 is biscayne national park this one's kind of the definition of the grasses greener on the other side because i live in florida i see a lot of the animals and some of the scenery that's in this park on a daily basis that said i had some great experiences i have to see a manatee there's some pretty cool wildlife all around seeing the miami skylines cool i enjoyed kayaking here it's a nice park i haven't actually snorkeled here yet just outside of the park i did but not in the park what i saw this park is still really good and i enjoy it the scenery is just not quite as amazing as the others above it number 49 is everglades national park same issue as this game where i see a lot of the stuff on a daily basis so it's not quite as special to me as someone doesn't see alligators and such every day now the wildlife here is still great i mean we saw dozens of alligators last time we went i've seen this park quite a bit i enjoy biking here it's a really good park however there are others that i just think are a lot more impressive number 48 is north cascades another one where i just did not see a lot of it please do not get too mad two big issues here time where i did not spend more than half a day here and weather where clouds covered most of the mountains we got to see a few cool waterfalls and i liked that but we didn't even get all the way up to diablo lake we didn't see a lot of the park at all that said the mountains are still very pretty number 47 is shenandoah national park the eastern parks are just overall not really as impressive as the ones in the west shenandoah is nice there's some good history here saw plenty of deer there's some good stargazing the scenic drive is obviously very nice that's what it's known for actually and some of the hikes were good the scenery was better than great smoky mountains in my opinion but not by a ton and it's not an amazing park it's good for sure but does not quite beat out a few with better scenery number 46 is kings canyon national park i've mentioned before i didn't really see enough of this park to give a full verdict because when i went snow unfortunately meant we did not get into the canyon we saw the outside of the canyon and it was pretty i also really love the general grant tree so there is some really good stuff here but we didn't see enough of it to get the full opinion so while it definitely has great scenery we didn't see quite enough number 45 is kobach valley national park in my opinion this is the weakest of the alaska parks the sand dunes in the arctic are cool however what held them back is that when we went it really didn't feel like an alaska day so the sand dunes didn't feel quite as otherworldly as if it were like a pretty cool day the sand dunes are cool we didn't see a ton of the mountains in kobach but it's still a good park flying in is really awesome and i'll be honest this summer a lot more was going on in the park than i expected so it wasn't quite as quiet and the serene solitude people talk about that said i'm so grateful i got to go here number 44 is hungary national park an underrated one for sure some hate it but i had a great experience with no one on the trails nice weather really great wildlife with plenty of birds and some deer the boardwalk trail being a really nice underrated hike and this park is just a really fun one it doesn't have the most to do and it is just for us as far as scenery goes but the experience was really really great for me number 43 is voyageur's national park i have seen basically every corner of kabetogama lake and there's some cool rocky shore and forests here we saw deer and i liked being on the water overall however this park falls flat when it comes to hiking more than anything else and also bugs are a huge issue it's not just mosquitoes ticks are without a doubt the biggest downside to this park in at least summer it was a big issue for us and it kind of holds back voyagers as a whole but even so this one's not quite as amazing as some of the desert and mountain parks above it number 42 is mesa verde national park on a trip in july 2020 to 11 national parks this was the weakest one but still amazing i went to some great parks in that trip and this one if you're into history a lot more than you are nature this could be one of your absolute favorites i like history for sure but i'm more into the nature part not to say there isn't good scenery here as soda canyon is a very nice area solid desert the biggest issue for me is that there isn't quite as much to do in the northern part of the park and the southern part is mostly the cliff dwellings which i did not get the tour due to coven very good park nonetheless number 41 is petrified forest this is one where scenery was much more important than the experience we got to spend very little time here because the park closed at five the day we went this was one i also went to in 2020 on a different trip now the scenery is amazing honestly blue mesa was stunning the painted desert looks really awesome and the petrified wood is actually quite a cool sight so the park looks very nice and while sure we didn't have a ton of time to see everything the hikes and the scenery we did do and see were really really good number 40 is badlands national park this is the one where it's been the longest since i went to the park it's been about six years now so i don't have the most fair review i remember the scenery being cool we saw bighorn sheep and some antelope so it is a good park the biggest issue for me is the lack of hikes however the drive is very nice and going back i'm sure this park would be quite higher in the rankings number 39 is joshua tree this california park is incredibly popular and one of the most respected for me it's a pretty small scale desert park i like some of the rock formations for sure and barker dam is one of the most underrated experiences i've had in the park with some really great bird life and cool scenery there's some mountains surrounding the trees themselves are really awesome seeing thousands of them as you drive by it's a cool park i like it but it's not a park that will blow me away honestly some might be blown away but not personally me number 38 is redwood national park one crazy thing about this one is that it's forest and beach that's the main things here i'm more in the mountains and desert but this one has some amazing stuff the massive trees and ferns combined really feel like an otherworldly place seeing large elk in the elk prairie area is great the beaches are very nice and i really liked getting to overlook some of the beaches i had a nice experience here it's a very quiet park there's not a lot going on which i like the only issue as far as like civilization goes is that you drive on an interstate or state road points so it is a bit noisy in certain areas right outside the park but you have to cross through them to go from place to place that said very nice park number 37 is glacier bay another one i did not go very far into the park i didn't see any glaciers because the tour amazon was of an entire area and glacier bay was just part of it however we saw humpback whales and orcas and a sea otter some of the most amazing wildlife i've ever seen in a park we saw a few mountains but not a lot so if we go back i'm sure this park could be top 20 but for now it has to sit a bit lower number 36 is isle royale national park this park has pretty good trails it has some good wildlife i saw some moose when i went here and i really love stole trail especially in the scoville points it's a really beautiful trail other than that this park is a forested island and not the most impressive scenery for me it's pretty quiet overall there's a little more going on this year because there's a lot going on in national parks but overall this is a really great park and definitely worth a visit without a doubt number 35 is gates of the arctic national park this one we were the only ones in as i expected and some of the mountains are absolutely mind-blowing the gates themselves were the highlight however other than that the mountains do not stack up against the rest of alaska and the overall experience we didn't spend a bunch of days backpacking here we only did like flight seeing unfortunately we did land in a few spots and it was a great park to see however all those that we spent more time and had a better experience in do have an advantage number 34 is saguaro national park many pronounces saguaro as i used to but it is saguaro and there are tons of cacti here the mountains are okay but that's really not what the park is protecting it's all about the wildlife and the awesome night sky i saw so many cool animals here coyote many types of rabbits golden eagles hawks falcons even great horned owls tons of lizards and the sunsets and stargazing here were unbelievable the park's two separate union units are both great i personally prefer the western unit seeing thousands of cacti is great and this is just a really awesome park number 33 is virgin islands national park i mentioned that i'm not quite into beaches as much as other types of scenery but the beaches here are amazing some are crowded but the amazing francis bay had no one in the area and there are so many turtles in these beaches we actually saw turtles staying raised we even saw deer on the island they are invasive unfortunately but we saw a lot of awesome animals the only big issue with this one is that it's spread around across an island that has a lot of small towns and villages all around so it's definitely not the most wild park out there for sure and the scenery is not quite as amazing as the ones above it but it's still a really great park with amazing snorkeling number 32 is kenai fjords i've only seen the land portion not really the coastal except for one whale and one otter i saw at one point harding ice field is really awesome exit glacier is beautiful if i've seen a bit more of this park it probably would rank higher however i have not seen quite enough of it for it to be in the top 30. number 31 is carl's bad caverns these are without a doubt the best caves i've ever seen really beautiful what's above ground is not amazing but you're there for the caves we saw some deer above ground too if these were my first caves this part could still be top 10 because of how blown away it would have been that said i kind of knew what to expect but they are really massive and you can walk around them without a tour i love that definitely a really great park number 30 is pinnacles this park is so underrated it doesn't have mind-blowing scenery cool hills with some really awesome rock formations but other than that you have amazing wildlife with california condors some incredible hiking a really awesome sense of being in the wild with very few crowds and i just really loved my experience here perfect weather i was not expecting much from this park but it's probably the best park to come out in the 2010s decade now that there was a lot of competition number 29 is great sand dunes national park another fairly new park this came out 2004 and i think it should have been named earlier because the sand dunes are amazing absolutely massive untouched dunes look really amazing with an awesome mountain backdrop high dune is one of my favorite hikes in any national park i didn't go far into the mountain areas but i really like this park the only thing is that there wasn't as much wildlife as i heard there was going to be but it's still a really really beautiful park number 28 is the underrated great basin this is in the middle of nowhere nevada and i really really loved it here because there were no crowds and while we didn't see the caves in the park we saw mountains we saw lakes and we saw desert surrounding this area there were quite a few animals the hike to wheeler peak is amazing i hear we only got to the glacier but it was really really awesome and it's just a really beautiful underrated and it's a park that i think everyone should visit because there's not a whole lot of people who go there it'll really feel like a wild experience number 27 is black canyon of the gunnison national park the canyon itself is pretty cool however what really boosts this park is the wildlife i never expected to see deer wild turkey a snake and a black bear in this park we've only seen the south rim so far but it's a really cool canyon definitely nothing like the grand canyon very unique and it's just a really awesome park and i really enjoyed my time here number 26 is haleakala national park in hawaii this hawaii park is cool the mountain part the top of haleakala peak looks amazing it's a crater incredible colors and on a good day you can see all the way to the big island and other islands of hawaii it's really cool i didn't see the coastal part of the national park i saw the coastal part of the island but not quite the park so i can't quite speak to that as much but the mountain is really really amazing number 25 top 25 starting off rengel saint elias national park i have not seen all of this park i've gone to the mccarthy area and it's not quite as impressive as some other alaska parks alaska is the most beautiful state in my eyes this area is still really great though root glacier trail is absolutely stunning white water rafting here is amazing we saw a moose it's not a very crowded park mccarthy he's a great area it's definitely worth visiting fantastic park for sure number 24 is hawaii volcanoes national park and even though i didn't see lava here and a lot was closed due to a government shutdown when i went the crater and the caldera absolutely beautiful i love the forest trails i saw some wildlife i'm a big sucker for volcanic and geothermal stuff and this park delivers really really amazing and so much to see and do number 23 is dry tortugas national park in florida the best national park east of the mississippi without a doubt scenery here it's really just a beach but below the water you have amazing coral reefs probably the best snorkeling i've ever done outside of the great barrier reef in australia there's really awesome wildlife here saw sharks turtles fort jefferson is such a fascinating historic site that i really love my time in taking the seaplane is an absolute must as you can see shipwrecks turtles other wildlife from the actual plane we saw a rainbow the day we went it's such a fascinating park the perfect balance of scenery in history and really one that i think everybody should try to get to number 22 is sequoia national park another great one in california this one's mountains are stunning generals highway is one of my favorite scenic drives in the country i like the sequoia groves the only issue is that they are the most crowded areas without a doubt we saw some nice wildlife in the southern regions just a really nice park number 21 is mount rainier i've never seen the full mountain but i've seen great stuff beautiful forest with some crystal clear rivers great waterfalls other mountains and some glaciers at the actual base of the mountain it's a really beautiful park i haven't seen the main attraction but that does not mean it's any less amazing number 20 is arches national park i once went here and it wasn't my favorite i went back in 2021 it was so amazing driving through this park is beautiful and the delicate arch trail is so amazing if you get good lighting it has some of the best photo opportunities in any national park so many great day hikes there's not a whole lot to do for more avid hikers there's a bit of backcountry area but not a ton it's a really great park i've been so fortunate to see deer here every time i go it's a really amazing desert park just edging it out is this neighbor number 19 is canyonlands what used to be in my bottom 10 after my last experience where i went to the needles has gone way up with chesler park being one of the top five best hikes ever period is just amazing island of the sky is really beautiful they're not quite as grand and impressive as some other canyons the needles area is so cool as it feels a lot more like zion where you're beneath the ground looking up at some beautiful desert mountains orange cliffs and peaks really really great park number 18 is lassen volcanic national park what an amazing place pretty quiet park with two of the best trails in the parks lassen peak and bumpus hell are both moderate trails and they're both really great nice scenery cool geothermal stuff it's a lot like yellowstone it has a lot of the elements of yellowstone on a smaller scale and as far as yellowstone goes that's a pretty good thing because yellowstone is a great park and last volcanic is definitely a great park as well number 17 is bryce canyon what an awesome sight this canyon has such fascinating rock features it looks really cool you can get some great photos hiking into the canyon is great it's a lot like a miniature grand canyon and there's nothing wrong with that because the small intimate details are really really amazing in this one and they edge out canyonlands because it's not quite as flat i should say as the canyons there bryce canyon has so many awesome rocky spires number 16 is rocky mountain national park in colorado the mountains here are great and the scenic drive is good i like the hikes that you can do the wildlife here is a standout we've seen moose bighorn sheep coyote elk deer and some fall into the deer it's a really great park a pretty popular one but other than that it's a really amazing mountain park now for the top 15 and all of these are absolutely amazing parks like you have to get to these number 15 is death valley national park death valley is one of the shockingly most diverse parks in the system mountains sand dunes badlands crazy deserts salt flats and so much more there's even some small canyons i saw quite a bit of wildlife here not large mammals by any means but quite a bit going on the hikes here are amazing and zabrisky point is a stunning view the one thing i'm going to say against the park is that bad water basin was not quite as amazing as i expected the rest of the park though is just absolutely fantastic number 14 is channel islands national park without a doubt one of the most underrated this is called the galapagos of north america and i see why the scenery here is really cool crazy volcanic there are some mountains on them it's not as forced in as some of the other island parks and there's a lot more scenery you can see there's some really awesome cliffs that are really amazing to look at beautiful beaches it's really good scenery not by any means the best scenery in the park but that is okay as the hiking the lack of crowds and the wildlife are amazing wildlife here amazing foxes whales dolphins lizards of all sorts really cool seabirds seal sea lions porpoises even there's a lot of cool animals we got to see the history behind the islands is really cool i was just really taken in by the wildlife such great wildlife experiences definitely deserve a really high ranking number 13 is crater lake seeing this park on a clear day with amazing mountains surrounding it's just one of the best photos don't do this justice crater lake is stunning massive lake beautiful blue amazing mountain surrounding there's a few good hikes we saw some wildlife there's waterfalls it's a really great park without a doubt one of my favorites number 12 a super underrated one theodore roosevelt national park in north dakota the badlands here are better than the ones in badlands for me because they're a little more rugged and a lot more colorful and i just thought it was a lot cooler they seem a lot larger actually and certain overlooks really look amazing however to add to this you have basically no crowds we never saw a single other car on the park road wildlife here bison wild horses elk deer if you're lucky bighorn sheep and then many prairie dogs that is really really awesome but the highlight is cottonwood campground the single best campground in the country that i've experienced with great stargazing and a really awesome river front view number 11 is grand teton national park these mountains are really beautiful and probably just as beautiful as crater lake besides that you have a few waterfalls lakes and some forest areas there are so many great overlooks for the mountains and they're really the star but to add to this you have amazing wildlife i saw bison elk deer and even quite a few moose and what i thought was a bear but ended up being more elk but there were a lot of bears in the park when we went we didn't actually end up seeing any and the hiking is pretty good a float trip on the snake river is an absolute must in this park as we got up close to beavers and bald eagles and it was a really cool experience now for the top 10 top 10 is almost impossible to get unless you're one of the 10 most amazing places in the country number 10 is olympic national park absolutely beautiful and stunning diversity mountains rainforest beaches this park has it all adds some great waterfalls amazing wildlife it's a really awesome park very spread out that's one thing that some may not like but i don't mind the large size of the park it's a really really amazing place number nine is grand canyon national park one of the most popular and famous places in the entire natural world grand canyon i have not been to the north room yet but i've hiked all the way to plateau point in the south rim and that is an amazing experience seeing a california condor was unforgettable there's so many different overlooks it's a really amazing sight the canyon is massive the only thing that may turn off some is that the south rim is kind of laid out a bit more like a tourist destination there's a lot of hotels but honestly i think civilization in this case barely takes away from the incredible canyon the park is known for number eight is zion national park why did i give this the edge over grand canyon i honestly think it's way more beautiful i really do angel's landing is an even better hike than bright angel it's one of the best hikes i've ever done really really amazing there's some good wildlife here that we saw like bighorn sheep and deer it's pretty quiet in a few areas surprisingly when you're in the main area it's very crowded that might turn off some but it's a really really amazing park with some of the best desert scenery anywhere in the world number seven is big bend national park this is the single most underrated park i've been to it is stunning the chisos mountains are amazing with lost mine trail being my second favorite hike i have ever done the wildlife is shockingly good with deer coyotes bears a lot of smaller animals and incredible bird life the star gazing isn't unbelievable and the desert areas that are not in the mountains are really cool too i love the canyons there are multiple canyons here the riverfront is really awesome cool rock formations such a large park with so much to do there's so much you can see and do in this park and i absolutely love it number six is yosemite national park not long ago this was number three it was for a while i've just gone to quite a few amazing parks but yosemite is still amazing the last few times i went crowds are not a huge factor the hiking here is top-notch and the scenery probably one of the five most beautiful parks in the country the experiences are great too i've seen a bit of good wildlife i really love yosemite waterfalls granite peaks cool forests to supplement but they don't take away from the main star the awesome rocky cliffs there's some cool history tunnel view is one of the best sites ever it's just an amazing park number five is catmai in alaska this is one of three alaska parks in my top five alaska is amazing cat mai has incredible mountains the valley of ten thousand smokes is an area covered in volcanic ash there's some beautiful lakes flying over the park is stunning and walking through it's even better the scenery is great but the highlight is the wildlife brooks falls is a famous place to see bears fishing i've never seen anything quite like it before watching bears catch fish tear into them it's such an amazing display of nature right in front of you easily one of the best parks just edging it out number four is lake clark also in alaska the thing that gives us the edge for me is actually wildlife let's talk scenery first tanayan mountain trail is a strenuous but really amazing trail with some of the coolest panoramic views ever so many mountains massive lakes it's really really awesome add to this you have other mountains all around massive glaciers flying around this park honestly i was speechless wildlife etches out katmai though we saw grizzly bears pretty close we saw moose as well we actually though saw gray wolves that was the highlight the wolf was quite close at a certain point not too close fortunately but seeing a grey wolf in a park was unbelievable number three glacier national park backpacking in the highline trail area was absolutely amazing when i did it in 2020 one of my favorite experiences ever and highline is probably still my favorite trail i've ever done the wildlife is great with bears goats deer moose the mountains are stunning some of the best in the entire country i love staying in granite park chalet one night driving going to the summer road is great though i've never gotten up the full road because there's always been a closure even though i've gone pretty late in the year sometimes it's just an unbelievable park absolutely a must do number two is denali in alaska my favorite alaska park wildlife here is great we got pretty close to bears saw moose caribou we didn't see any bowls but we did also see some dull sheep and a few cool birds and smaller mammals the mountains here are good there's some nice rivers lakes it's a good park for scenery except for the denali mountain itself the single most breathtaking sight i've ever seen in a national park it's the most beautiful thing i've seen and that is why i had to give it a top two spot my experiences on the bus tours are always great i love doing white water rafting once it's a really amazing park and the best one on alaska and second only to my number one yellowstone national park yellowstone has everything it doesn't have the single best site or most beautiful places or best hike but it has probably 10 of the most amazing places in any national park the geiser basins grand prismatic spring old faithful these are great areas to add to this you have incredible mountains mount washburn bunsen peak electric peak grand canyon of the yellowstone you have the mammoth hot springs to add to this there's also two amazing areas to see wildlife in lamar and hayden valleys amazing lake yellowstone is a absolutely massive lake with awesome mountains around it and another geyser basin there the wildlife is second to none while i didn't see any wolves here except for through a telescope because it was so far away i've seen bison deer elk antelope bears of both black and grizzly very and honestly there's just basically every animal you could want to see besides moose i saw here any visit here you're pretty much guaranteed to see good wildlife it's just an amazing park if you love wildlife this will be one of your favorites scenery is still one of your favorites so many great hikes here so much recreation the only thing that i kind of wish was not a big factor is that they have expanded some of the areas like old faithful as far as buildings go quite a bit in recent years that holds back the park a little bit but other than that just an amazing park absolutely flawless and easily the one i had the most fun in and my favorite experiences and that's my whole list of 58 parks ranked thank you for watching i hope you enjoyed this video if you're still here sticking around subscribe to the channel so you can help support it and know when new videos come out i have videos on cat mai lake clark denali and rangel saint-eliza coming soon i'll see you next time you

Channel: National Park Wild

Views: 534,112

Keywords: national parks ranked, us national parks ranked, america national parks ranked, best national parks, 58 national parks, worst national parks, top 10 national parks, top 10 best national parks, americas parks, americas parks top 15, yellowstone, ranking national parks, every us national park, yosemite

Id: Q6bzpE4JIHQ

Length: 35min 51sec (2151 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 30 2021