I was going through my photo files and found a picture of a quilt of our National Parks that actually won third place at the most recent county fair.

According to Google AI

As of 2026, there are 63 officially designated national parks in the United States, managed by the National Park Service. These "crown jewel" parks are located across 30 states and two U.S. territories, with the newest being New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia.
Key Details About U.S. National Parks:
Total Count: 63 officially named "National Parks".
Total Units: The broader National Park System includes over 430 units, including national monuments, battlefields, and historic sites.
First & Latest: Yellowstone (1872) was the first; New River Gorge (2020) is the latest.
Top Locations: California has the most (9), followed by Alaska (8), Utah (5), and Colorado (4).
Diverse Coverage: Parks are spread across 30 states, including sites in American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
While the system contains over 400 total areas, only 63 have the specific "National Park" designation.

Most people know the big-name parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. What most people don’t realize is that the full list is way longer. There are far more national parks out there than you’d expect.

There are 63 National Parks across the U.S. Each one has its own vibe and its own kind of beauty. No two parks feel anything alike.

We’re talking everything from massive glaciers in Alaska to coral reefs in the Virgin Islands, giant sand dunes in Colorado, and wild cave systems in New Mexico.

When you look at all of them together, the variety is unreal. It really hits you how different each place is and how much there is to see. That’s a big part of why visiting every single park has turned into a lifelong goal for so many travelers. And honestly, I’m right there with them.

To make it easier, I put all 63 parks in A–Z order. It’s a quick way to see the full list without getting overwhelmed. You can scroll through and get a feel for each one at a glance.

AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS
Arches National Park, Utah	Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Big Bend National Park, Texas	Biscayne National Park, Florida
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado	Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Canyonlands National Park, Utah	Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico	Channel Islands National Park, California
Congaree National Park, South Carolina	Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio	Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
Denali National Park, Alaska	Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
Everglades National Park, Florida	Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska
Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri	Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Glacier National Park, Montana	Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming	Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado	Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas	Haleakala National Park, Hawaii
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii	Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana	Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
Joshua Tree National Park, California	Katmai National Park, Alaska
Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska	Kings Canyon National Park, California
Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska	Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
Lassen Volcanic National Park, California	Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado	Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa	New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia
North Cascades National Park, Washington	Olympic National Park, Washington
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona	Pinnacles National Park, California
Redwood National Park, California	Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Saguaro National Park, Arizona	Sequoia National Park, California
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia	Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands	Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
White Sands National Park, New Mexico	Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska	Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming
Yosemite National Park, California	Zion National Park, Utah