National Park Rankings

Do park age, size, or popularity line up with Kat and Nick's favorites?

Last updated September 19, 2026 | Analysis regenerated 2026-09-20 (UTC)

My aunt Kat and uncle Nick are National Park experts, having been to 33 of the 63! They independently rank these parks, and so I thought it would be interesting to try out some statistics and see if their preferences aligned with some facts about the parks.

We use Spearman's rank-correlation test to compare their rankings with park age, size, visits, and other park characteristics. In this test, the coefficient ρ measures the direction and strength of rank association, from -1 (reversed order) to +1 (matching order), with 0 indicating no monotonic association. P-values measure how unusual an association at least this strong would be under no association; the Holm adjustment controls the risk of false positives from searching for low p-values across63 planned hypothesis tests. If their rankings align with the ordered rank of a park, then we expect a high ρ and a low p-value.

Kat and Nick's independent rankings themselves illustrate the test: ρ = 0.90with an approximate two-sided p < 0.001. A high positive ρ indicates aligned preferences; a low p-value provides evidence against no association.

Results

3 of 63 completed comparisons meet the adjusted p < 0.05 threshold. The smallest adjusted p-value is 0.017.

The largest absolute consensus correlation is Elevation relief (ρ = 0.60). Correlation does not establish causation.

Show Kat and Nick alongside consensus

Consensus Spearman correlations across all park features; exact values are in the following table. — All 21 features; correlations use the ranked parks with measurements for each feature.

Rank correlations and two-sided permutation p-values

Kat	Park age	33	0.21	0.249	1.000
Kat	Park size	33	0.36	0.043	1.000
Kat	2025 visits	33	0.24	0.176	1.000
Kat	Mapped trail mileage	33	0.47	0.006	0.315
Kat	Highest mapped elevation	33	0.47	0.006	0.332
Kat	Elevation relief	33	0.59	< 0.001	0.026
Kat	Roadside terrain relief	29	0.42	0.025	1.000
Kat	Distance from Dillsburg	33	-0.40	0.021	1.000
Kat	Nearby U.S. population	33	-0.08	0.641	1.000
Kat	Mapped road density	29	-0.06	0.771	1.000
Kat	Designated wilderness	33	0.47	0.006	0.332
Kat	Wet-day frequency	33	0.02	0.929	1.000
Kat	Cloud cover	33	-0.23	0.192	1.000
Kat	Snow-cover season	33	0.12	0.500	1.000
Kat	Tree-covered land	33	0.03	0.874	1.000
Kat	Surface water	33	-0.07	0.717	1.000
Kat	Land-cover diversity	33	-0.03	0.893	1.000
Kat	Documented native mammals	30	0.28	0.132	1.000
Kat	Artificial nighttime light	33	-0.27	0.123	1.000
Kat	Human-caused sound increase	32	-0.17	0.364	1.000
Kat	Peak-month visitation share	33	-0.01	0.948	1.000
Nick	Park age	33	0.23	0.197	1.000
Nick	Park size	33	0.34	0.052	1.000
Nick	2025 visits	33	0.12	0.488	1.000
Nick	Mapped trail mileage	33	0.39	0.025	1.000
Nick	Highest mapped elevation	33	0.49	0.004	0.220
Nick	Elevation relief	33	0.60	< 0.001	0.022
Nick	Roadside terrain relief	29	0.42	0.024	1.000
Nick	Distance from Dillsburg	33	-0.55	0.001	0.069
Nick	Nearby U.S. population	33	-0.22	0.214	1.000
Nick	Mapped road density	29	-0.03	0.882	1.000
Nick	Designated wilderness	33	0.53	0.002	0.100
Nick	Wet-day frequency	33	-0.11	0.536	1.000
Nick	Cloud cover	33	-0.33	0.060	1.000
Nick	Snow-cover season	33	0.12	0.487	1.000
Nick	Tree-covered land	33	-0.10	0.586	1.000
Nick	Surface water	33	-0.13	0.459	1.000
Nick	Land-cover diversity	33	0.09	0.615	1.000
Nick	Documented native mammals	30	0.25	0.190	1.000
Nick	Artificial nighttime light	33	-0.43	0.013	0.680
Nick	Human-caused sound increase	32	-0.27	0.142	1.000
Nick	Peak-month visitation share	33	-0.01	0.959	1.000
Consensus	Park age	33	0.19	0.280	1.000
Consensus	Park size	33	0.34	0.055	1.000
Consensus	2025 visits	33	0.17	0.342	1.000
Consensus	Mapped trail mileage	33	0.43	0.013	0.680
Consensus	Highest mapped elevation	33	0.48	0.005	0.283
Consensus	Elevation relief	33	0.60	< 0.001	0.017
Consensus	Roadside terrain relief	29	0.41	0.029	1.000
Consensus	Distance from Dillsburg	33	-0.51	0.003	0.181
Consensus	Nearby U.S. population	33	-0.13	0.463	1.000
Consensus	Mapped road density	29	-0.07	0.706	1.000
Consensus	Designated wilderness	33	0.53	0.002	0.099
Consensus	Wet-day frequency	33	-0.06	0.736	1.000
Consensus	Cloud cover	33	-0.31	0.082	1.000
Consensus	Snow-cover season	33	0.10	0.568	1.000
Consensus	Tree-covered land	33	-0.04	0.840	1.000
Consensus	Surface water	33	-0.11	0.540	1.000
Consensus	Land-cover diversity	33	0.03	0.847	1.000
Consensus	Documented native mammals	30	0.26	0.161	1.000
Consensus	Artificial nighttime light	33	-0.35	0.047	1.000
Consensus	Human-caused sound increase	32	-0.20	0.285	1.000
Consensus	Peak-month visitation share	33	-0.02	0.896	1.000

Kat and Nick's largest difference is 15 rank positions. The consensus is an equal-weight summary of their rankings, not a third independent person.

Largest individual ranking differences

Pinnacles	26	11	15
Great Smoky Mountains	17	26	9
Isle Royale	29	21	8
Zion	9	3	6
Mammoth Cave	18	24	6
Crater Lake	21	16	5

Rankings and underlying data

63 parks; 33 have observed preference ranks; acreage snapshot 2026-06-30
Position
1	Saguaro	1	4	1.5	1994-10-14	92,800	847,749	188.8	2,636	1,971	625	3,129	1,091,458	0.135	76.9	65.3	34	11.5	23.3	0	0.703	66	2.715	4.7	15.7
2	Death Valley	4	1	1.5	1994-10-31	3,408,375	1,320,134	247.5	3,347	3,432	2,932	3,494	5,413	0.153	90.7	26.2	35.6	30	1.8	0.1	0.784	46	0.373	2.8	11.1
3	Arches	3	2	3	1971-11-12	76,679	1,511,740	12.6	1,717	512	494	2,786	18,389	0.281	0	68.1	44.9	145.6	0.2	0.1	0.966	43	0.383	3.4	12.8
4	Joshua Tree	2	5	4	1994-10-31	795,156	2,932,644	250.9	1,768	1,614	1,378	3,488	528,379	0.097	75.2	17.3	27.4	1.2	0	0	0.799	51	0.394	4.5	14
5	Zion	9	3	5	1919-11-19	147,243	4,984,525	72	2,664	1,547	1,261	3,118	250,015	0.108	84.5	68.3	37.7	149.7	36.5	0	1.309	67	0.38	2	11.8
6	Olympic	5	6	6	1938-06-29	923,046	3,584,187	585.9	2,405	2,409	1,968	3,789	84,746	0.076	94.5	195.8	68.2	182.4	84.8	2.3	0.621	50	0.451	2.8	15.8
7	Grand Teton	6	7	7	1929-02-26	310,044	3,800,648	242.3	4,182	2,256	524	2,793	51,504	0.38	0	158.2	59.8	247	39.3	10.7	1.322	52	0.392	3.5	20.7
8	Sequoia	7	9	8	1890-09-25	404,063	1,378,337	460.7	4,410	4,010	2,537	3,614	487,539	0.084	88.1	52	38.2	133.6	56.3	0.8	1.02	—	0.413	2.6	14.5
9	Lassen Volcanic	8	8	9	1916-08-09	106,589	504,777	166.9	3,156	1,686	1,548	3,726	206,611	0.187	74.1	86.6	42.1	145.2	74.6	2	0.78	29	0.367	1.7	22.4
10	Yellowstone	11	10	10	1872-03-01	2,219,791	4,762,988	1,051.3	3,444	1,880	1,576	2,774	9,278	0.085	0	177.7	64.7	252.3	62.9	4.8	1.032	57	0.459	2.9	20.5
11	Mount Rainier	10	13	11	1899-03-02	236,382	1,635,342	175.7	4,386	4,140	1,735	3,636	2,109,474	0.172	96.8	183.1	57.9	198.8	69.1	0.6	1.022	53	0.763	3.2	26.4
12	Capitol Reef	12	12	12	1971-12-18	241,905	1,388,476	105.9	2,730	1,545	1,037	2,935	5,227	0.152	0	55.1	50.6	136.8	11.4	0	1.225	57	0.385	2.4	15.9
13	Redwood	13	15	13	1968-10-02	139,091	1,202,480	237.4	987	988	965	3,910	133,548	0.335	0	110.6	69.8	118.8	91.6	5.3	0.365	77	0.325	2.2	18.5
14	Guadalupe Mountains	14	14	14	1972-09-30	86,367	206,423	35.6	2,654	1,551	1,196	2,651	15,331	0.084	48.7	63.2	38.8	35.7	12.7	0	1.15	67	0.374	2.5	14.7
15	Kings Canyon	15	17	15	1940-03-04	461,901	779,791	368.1	4,281	3,209	1,069	3,606	143,763	0.046	98.4	61.2	38.2	181.6	35.7	1.7	1.146	—	0.393	2.9	16.4
16	Pinnacles	26	11	16	2013-01-10	26,686	343,208	27.8	1,005	781	494	3,833	763,660	0.179	61	54.7	37.4	1.1	26.9	0	1.101	43	0.392	2.1	13
17	Congaree	16	20	17	2003-11-10	26,693	287,833	0.6	41	17	17	775	1,128,408	0.058	55.1	132.6	50.6	20.4	97.5	2.3	0.129	32	0.57	3.1	11.8
18	Crater Lake	21	16	18	1902-05-22	183,224	632,242	84.6	2,705	2,292	1,245	3,736	222,542	0.193	0	136.2	51.7	188.1	83.6	7.2	0.622	66	0.357	2.1	30
19	Hot Springs	20	19	19	1921-03-04	5,554	2,494,611	26.4	428	302	—	1,545	689,617	—	0	125.6	52.6	39.1	98.1	0	0.109	29	1.756	10.1	14.1
20	Shenandoah	22	18	20	1935-12-26	200,454	1,682,152	223.9	1,227	1,062	1,062	222	892,398	0.487	41.8	128.9	58.2	114.8	99.8	0	0.016	51	0.566	2.5	19.6
21	Voyageurs	19	22	21	1975-04-08	218,223	206,326	51.7	429	92	88	1,558	13,341	0.007	0	126.7	66.1	188.5	58.5	35.2	0.881	40	0.666	2.3	20.7
22	Mammoth Cave	18	24	22	1941-07-01	72,042	660,734	27.4	292	167	160	854	617,114	0.53	0	140.8	58.1	71.3	91.8	0.7	0.346	46	0.515	2	15.6
23	Great Smoky Mountains	17	26	23	1934-06-15	522,427	11,527,939	837.9	2,023	1,767	1,767	755	1,341,211	0.207	0	156.6	57.1	81.9	99.3	0.2	0.046	64	0.475	1.7	13.5
24	Carlsbad Caverns	23	23	24	1930-05-14	46,766	410,778	37.6	1,991	895	660	2,612	58,156	0.269	68.4	62.1	39.7	32.7	8.9	0	0.857	65	0.433	2.4	13.4
25	Grand Canyon	24	25	25	1919-02-26	1,201,647	4,430,653	451.4	2,796	2,796	2,795	3,131	13,907	0.069	0	64.5	41.7	89.8	21.1	1.1	1.405	84	0.385	3.8	11.5
26	Isle Royale	29	21	26	1940-04-03	571,790	29,091	158.8	424	242	—	1,284	3,735	—	26.1	149.4	81.1	178.7	22.7	76.3	0.592	17	0.613	—	30.7
27	Cuyahoga Valley	25	30	27	2000-10-11	32,607	3,025,325	185.4	360	185	—	403	3,780,352	—	0	159	71.7	131.7	86.9	0.6	0.487	41	3.131	10.4	12.8
28	White Sands	28	29	28	2019-12-20	146,344	659,742	8.5	1,249	64	23	2,729	235,617	0.025	0	63.4	38.4	47.9	0	1	0.703	37	0.467	5.3	13.9
29	Indiana Dunes	27	31	29.5	2019-02-15	16,268	2,629,497	67.9	273	97	41	866	6,714,765	0.501	0	127.8	60.4	128.2	75.7	6.2	0.928	37	7.713	10.2	16.2
30	Canyonlands	31	27	29.5	1964-09-12	337,598	796,057	176	2,192	1,054	921	2,829	15,587	0.208	0	52.9	44.9	124.7	1.6	1.5	1.035	49	0.386	2.6	15.2
31	Bryce Canyon	30	28	31	1928-02-25	35,835	1,967,367	18.1	2,780	777	757	3,037	42,317	0.376	0	61.8	42.3	138.1	56.7	0	1.158	55	0.34	3	13.5
32	Petrified Forest	32	32	32	1962-12-09	221,390	315,951	4.6	1,892	304	231	2,925	53,658	0.045	23.8	57.8	43.2	78.4	0	0	0.847	32	0.566	3.7	13.7
33	Gateway Arch	33	33	33	2018-02-22	193	2,209,028	4.4	144	26	—	1,141	2,798,645	—	0	123.2	55	94.2	25.4	4.7	1.373	—	47.619	16.9	22.5
34	Acadia	—	—	—	1919-02-26	49,077	4,079,318	175.8	465	468	468	849	217,765	1.451	0	153.8	64.5	129.8	91.8	3	0.389	31	0.451	3.3	20.7
35	American Samoa	—	—	—	1988-10-31	8,257	43,258	13.6	967	969	—	11,238	—	—	0	241	65.5	0	56.3	28.7	1.125	4	0.304	—	22.8
36	Badlands	—	—	—	1978-11-10	242,743	1,139,361	9.1	1,017	295	295	2,130	116,920	0.303	25.5	80.2	55.2	143.4	0.9	0	0.792	35	0.393	3.9	20.4
37	Big Bend	—	—	—	1944-06-12	801,162	568,104	172.7	2,363	1,839	1,678	2,670	3,230	0.161	0	62.1	38	12.8	1	0.1	0.941	77	0.358	2.2	18.8
38	Biscayne	—	—	—	1980-06-28	172,971	486,567	—	2	7	1	1,656	3,972,891	0.073	0	188.4	55.5	0	0.2	95.4	0.204	9	0.736	—	11
39	Black Canyon of the Gunnison	—	—	—	1999-10-21	30,780	250,086	16.6	2,756	1,115	971	2,632	101,239	0.288	49.8	103.8	54.1	199.2	56.2	0.2	1.121	50	0.38	2.9	22
40	Channel Islands	—	—	—	1980-03-05	249,561	227,186	94.5	732	735	480	3,822	662,059	0.279	0	35.8	48.9	0.9	6.1	49.6	1.154	38	0.325	—	12.7
41	Denali	—	—	—	1917-02-26	4,740,911	543,300	66.7	6,152	6,004	1,145	5,307	1,619	0.012	45.8	234.9	71.2	345.8	20	1.6	1.548	37	2.473	0.4	27.9
42	Dry Tortugas	—	—	—	1992-10-26	64,701	89,355	1.1	3	3	—	1,806	11	—	0	133.1	52.2	—	0	99.9	0.01	2	0.278	—	11.2
43	Everglades	—	—	—	1947-12-06	1,508,939	778,198	31.5	8	10	9	1,679	1,264,047	0.042	86.5	188.4	55.5	0	0.6	37.2	1.151	23	0.36	—	12.7
44	Gates of the Arctic	—	—	—	1980-12-02	7,523,897	14,923	—	2,416	2,229	301	5,375	0	0	96.4	155.1	59.8	304.6	8.4	0.9	1.33	37	2.027	0.5	33.3
45	Glacier	—	—	—	1910-05-11	1,013,126	3,136,557	0.8	3,178	2,232	1,757	3,043	113,891	0.066	0	194.3	63.6	235.4	59.2	2.9	1.23	58	0.571	3	24.4
46	Glacier Bay	—	—	—	1980-12-02	3,223,383	740,044	11.2	5,139	5,140	66	4,603	0	0.001	83.1	256.6	77.2	326.1	20	20.6	1.502	42	1.234	—	22.2
47	Great Basin	—	—	—	1986-10-27	77,180	161,210	80	3,956	2,065	1,660	3,171	5,053	0.118	0	66.9	42.7	155.3	63.6	0	1.01	53	0.351	2.5	22.9
48	Great Sand Dunes	—	—	—	2004-09-24	107,337	432,498	19.7	3,217	923	477	2,474	77,064	0.048	30.9	96.2	49.2	187.1	4	0.1	0.916	48	0.396	1.5	17.3
49	Haleakala	—	—	—	1916-08-01	33,489	853,711	32.6	3,053	3,056	3,053	7,642	161,079	0.16	69.7	173.7	44	0	35.4	0.3	1.174	1	0.273	0.3	10.7
50	Hawai'i Volcanoes	—	—	—	1916-08-01	344,812	1,877,854	139.5	4,166	4,169	2,479	7,676	167,814	0.063	32.7	261.9	54.8	0	9.1	0.5	0.847	1	0.305	0.3	9.6
51	Katmai	—	—	—	1980-12-02	3,674,529	34,479	12.1	2,350	2,350	435	5,637	0	0.004	88.6	228	73.9	243	12.7	7.7	1.556	34	0.845	0.7	39.2
52	Kenai Fjords	—	—	—	1980-12-02	669,650	425,369	16.6	1,957	1,957	609	5,348	22,284	0.001	0	246.5	74.8	—	17	3.1	1.289	32	0.923	1.1	31.1
53	Kobuk Valley	—	—	—	1980-12-02	1,750,716	7,786	—	1,439	1,435	—	5,620	4,691	—	10.6	136.1	60.6	268.3	40.8	1.7	1.221	27	2.15	0.2	37.1
54	Lake Clark	—	—	—	1980-12-02	2,619,816	19,778	1	3,081	3,081	—	5,492	214	—	86.3	200.3	71.6	280.1	14	3.7	1.673	35	1.299	0.9	35.8
55	Mesa Verde	—	—	—	1906-06-29	52,485	463,130	25.7	2,608	774	774	2,731	186,239	0.402	14.9	81.3	45.8	169.7	27.1	0	1.136	63	0.372	2.9	18.3
56	New River Gorge	—	—	—	2020-12-27	72,405	1,958,440	84.8	1,003	764	—	422	469,877	—	0	157.2	63.5	117.5	94.3	3.7	0.266	47	0.529	2.7	13.8
57	North Cascades	—	—	—	1968-10-02	504,781	46,925	158	2,773	2,590	1,680	3,577	33,536	0.006	99.7	199.3	65.9	226.6	55.5	0.4	1.271	65	0.564	3.2	35.9
58	Rocky Mountain	—	—	—	1915-01-26	265,918	4,171,431	354.1	4,341	2,025	1,474	2,423	1,304,421	0.165	95.3	134	58.1	228.6	60.4	0.5	1.149	58	0.416	3.8	18.3
59	Theodore Roosevelt	—	—	—	1947-04-25	70,447	729,893	93.4	874	286	280	2,267	52,907	0.301	43.4	80.5	58.9	173.6	16.8	0.7	0.917	34	0.466	5.1	21.3
60	Virgin Islands	—	—	—	1956-08-02	15,041	471,074	21.6	388	391	391	2,690	—	1.986	0	206.8	47.3	0	56.6	41.2	0.803	5	2.324	—	11.8
61	Wind Cave	—	—	—	1903-01-09	33,971	606,258	61.8	1,518	435	333	2,212	138,532	0.207	0	88.3	55.5	175.4	25.7	0	0.582	54	0.399	2.7	18.4
62	Wrangell-St. Elias	—	—	—	1980-12-02	8,323,146	108,840	113.8	5,449	5,449	872	4,890	0	0.002	93	128.2	72.6	360.4	12.4	2.3	1.332	40	2.019	0.5	34.1
63	Yosemite	—	—	—	1890-10-01	761,748	4,278,413	807.8	3,983	3,335	2,696	3,648	102,220	0.13	94.7	77.9	36.3	181.2	55.5	1.2	1.113	72	0.387	2.5	14.4

Download all park data · Measurement notes and missing-data reasons

Unvisited parks to consider

Ordered by elevation relief (highest first), the feature with the lowest Holm-adjusted consensus p-value (ρ = 0.60, adjusted p = 0.017). This is a one-feature shortlist, not predicted enjoyment.

Unvisited parks ordered by the strongest adjusted consensus association

1	Denali	6,003.88
2	Wrangell-St. Elias	5,449.3
3	Glacier Bay	5,140.4
4	Hawai'i Volcanoes	4,169.15
5	Yosemite	3,334.89
6	Lake Clark	3,080.88
7	Haleakala	3,055.65
8	North Cascades	2,590.42
9	Katmai	2,350.05
10	Glacier	2,232.46
11	Gates of the Arctic	2,228.51
12	Great Basin	2,065.34
13	Rocky Mountain	2,024.75
14	Kenai Fjords	1,957.31
15	Big Bend	1,838.97
16	Kobuk Valley	1,435.26
17	Black Canyon of the Gunnison	1,115.43
18	American Samoa	969.13
19	Great Sand Dunes	923.4
20	Mesa Verde	774.1
21	New River Gorge	764.28
22	Channel Islands	735.09
23	Acadia	467.59
24	Wind Cave	434.62
25	Virgin Islands	390.97
26	Badlands	294.7
27	Theodore Roosevelt	285.72
28	Everglades	10.31
29	Biscayne	6.65
30	Dry Tortugas	2.65

Download recommendations

Outliers

Here, "outlier" means a large ordering disagreement, not a statistically significant anomaly. The gap is metric rank - preference rank. A positive gap means the park is preferred to its metric position; a negative gap means it is liked less. The benchmark is perfect alignment, not a fitted model.

Feature

Consensus preference rank versus Park age; fitted trend and matching-rank reference. — 33 ranked parks with data; feature rank 1 = oldest. Preference rank 1 = favorite.Blue is the fitted trend; gray dashed is matching ranks.Open full-size chart.

Park age outlier chart

Park size outlier chart

2025 visits outlier chart

Mapped trail mileage outlier chart

Highest mapped elevation outlier chart

Elevation relief outlier chart

Roadside terrain relief outlier chart

Distance from Dillsburg outlier chart

Nearby U.S. population outlier chart

Mapped road density outlier chart

Designated wilderness outlier chart

Wet-day frequency outlier chart

Cloud cover outlier chart

Snow-cover season outlier chart

Tree-covered land outlier chart

Surface water outlier chart

Land-cover diversity outlier chart

Documented native mammals outlier chart

Artificial nighttime light outlier chart

Human-caused sound increase outlier chart

Peak-month visitation share outlier chart

Consensus departures

Consensus: largest rank gaps within each metric's available ranked parks

Park age	Death Valley	33	1.5	26.5	+25
Park age	Saguaro	33	1.5	25	+23.5
Park age	Bryce Canyon	33	31	9	-22
Park age	Grand Canyon	33	25	6	-19
Park size	Arches	33	3	24	+21
Park size	Saguaro	33	1.5	22	+20.5
Park size	Grand Canyon	33	25	3	-22
Park size	Isle Royale	33	26	6	-20
2025 visits	Saguaro	33	1.5	20	+18.5
2025 visits	Lassen Volcanic	33	9	26	+17
2025 visits	Great Smoky Mountains	33	23	1	-22
2025 visits	Gateway Arch	33	33	11	-22
Mapped trail mileage	Arches	33	3	29	+26
Mapped trail mileage	Congaree	33	17	33	+16
Mapped trail mileage	Great Smoky Mountains	33	23	2	-21
Mapped trail mileage	Grand Canyon	33	25	5	-20
Highest mapped elevation	Arches	33	3	21	+18
Highest mapped elevation	Joshua Tree	33	4	20	+16
Highest mapped elevation	Bryce Canyon	33	31	9	-22
Highest mapped elevation	Grand Canyon	33	25	8	-17
Elevation relief	Arches	33	3	23	+20
Elevation relief	Congaree	33	17	33	+16
Elevation relief	Grand Canyon	33	25	5	-20
Elevation relief	Great Smoky Mountains	33	23	11	-12
Roadside terrain relief	Arches	29	3	23	+20
Roadside terrain relief	Saguaro	29	1.5	20	+18.5
Roadside terrain relief	Grand Canyon	29	24	2	-22
Roadside terrain relief	Great Smoky Mountains	29	22	5	-17
Distance from Dillsburg	Olympic	33	6	31	+25
Distance from Dillsburg	Death Valley	33	1.5	25	+23.5
Distance from Dillsburg	Gateway Arch	33	33	7	-26
Distance from Dillsburg	Cuyahoga Valley	33	27	2	-25
Nearby U.S. population	Death Valley	33	1.5	31	+29.5
Nearby U.S. population	Arches	33	3	25	+22
Nearby U.S. population	Gateway Arch	33	33	3	-30
Nearby U.S. population	Indiana Dunes	33	29.5	1	-28.5
Mapped road density	Olympic	29	6	23	+17
Mapped road density	Saguaro	29	1.5	17	+15.5
Mapped road density	Indiana Dunes	29	26.5	2	-24.5
Mapped road density	Bryce Canyon	29	28	5	-23
Designated wilderness	Arches	33	3	25	+22
Designated wilderness	Grand Teton	33	7	25	+18
Designated wilderness	Petrified Forest	33	32	16	-16
Designated wilderness	Kings Canyon	33	15	1	-14
Wet-day frequency	Death Valley	33	1.5	32	+30.5
Wet-day frequency	Joshua Tree	33	4	33	+29
Wet-day frequency	Cuyahoga Valley	33	27	4	-23
Wet-day frequency	Isle Royale	33	26	7	-19
Cloud cover	Saguaro	33	1.5	32	+30.5
Cloud cover	Death Valley	33	1.5	31	+29.5
Cloud cover	Isle Royale	33	26	1	-25
Cloud cover	Cuyahoga Valley	33	27	2	-25
Snow-cover season	Saguaro	33	1.5	31	+29.5
Snow-cover season	Joshua Tree	33	4	32	+28
Snow-cover season	Bryce Canyon	33	31	12	-19
Snow-cover season	Isle Royale	33	26	8	-18
Tree-covered land	Joshua Tree	33	4	31	+27
Tree-covered land	Arches	33	3	30	+27
Tree-covered land	Great Smoky Mountains	33	23	2	-21
Tree-covered land	Cuyahoga Valley	33	27	7	-20
Surface water	Saguaro	33	1.5	30.5	+29
Surface water	Death Valley	33	1.5	22	+20.5
Surface water	Isle Royale	33	26	1	-25
Surface water	Gateway Arch	33	33	8	-25
Land-cover diversity	Saguaro	33	1.5	22	+20.5
Land-cover diversity	Olympic	33	6	25	+19
Land-cover diversity	Gateway Arch	33	33	2	-31
Land-cover diversity	Bryce Canyon	33	31	6	-25
Documented native mammals	Lassen Volcanic	30	8	28.5	+20.5
Documented native mammals	Arches	30	3	20.5	+17.5
Documented native mammals	Grand Canyon	30	23	1	-22
Documented native mammals	Bryce Canyon	30	29	11	-18
Artificial nighttime light	Death Valley	33	1.5	29	+27.5
Artificial nighttime light	Arches	33	3	26	+23
Artificial nighttime light	Gateway Arch	33	33	1	-32
Artificial nighttime light	Indiana Dunes	33	29.5	2	-27.5
Human-caused sound increase	Zion	32	5	30	+25
Human-caused sound increase	Lassen Volcanic	32	9	31	+22
Human-caused sound increase	Gateway Arch	32	32	1	-31
Human-caused sound increase	Indiana Dunes	32	28.5	3	-25.5
Peak-month visitation share	Death Valley	33	1.5	33	+31.5
Peak-month visitation share	Arches	33	3	28	+25
Peak-month visitation share	Gateway Arch	33	33	4	-29
Peak-month visitation share	Isle Royale	33	26	1	-25

Kat departures

Kat: largest rank gaps within each metric's available ranked parks

Park age	Joshua Tree	33	2	26.5	+24.5
Park age	Saguaro	33	1	25	+24
Park age	Bryce Canyon	33	30	9	-21
Park age	Grand Canyon	33	24	6	-18
Park size	Saguaro	33	1	22	+21
Park size	Arches	33	3	24	+21
Park size	Isle Royale	33	29	6	-23
Park size	Grand Canyon	33	24	3	-21
2025 visits	Saguaro	33	1	20	+19
2025 visits	Lassen Volcanic	33	8	26	+18
2025 visits	Gateway Arch	33	33	11	-22
2025 visits	Grand Canyon	33	24	4	-20
Mapped trail mileage	Arches	33	3	29	+26
Mapped trail mileage	Congaree	33	16	33	+17
Mapped trail mileage	Grand Canyon	33	24	5	-19
Mapped trail mileage	Canyonlands	33	31	14	-17
Highest mapped elevation	Joshua Tree	33	2	20	+18
Highest mapped elevation	Arches	33	3	21	+18
Highest mapped elevation	Bryce Canyon	33	30	9	-21
Highest mapped elevation	Grand Canyon	33	24	8	-16
Elevation relief	Arches	33	3	23	+20
Elevation relief	Congaree	33	16	33	+17
Elevation relief	Grand Canyon	33	24	5	-19
Elevation relief	Crater Lake	33	21	7	-14
Roadside terrain relief	Arches	29	3	23	+20
Roadside terrain relief	Saguaro	29	1	20	+19
Roadside terrain relief	Grand Canyon	29	23	2	-21
Roadside terrain relief	Great Smoky Mountains	29	17	5	-12
Distance from Dillsburg	Olympic	33	5	31	+26
Distance from Dillsburg	Joshua Tree	33	2	24	+22
Distance from Dillsburg	Gateway Arch	33	33	7	-26
Distance from Dillsburg	Cuyahoga Valley	33	25	2	-23
Nearby U.S. population	Death Valley	33	4	31	+27
Nearby U.S. population	Arches	33	3	25	+22
Nearby U.S. population	Gateway Arch	33	33	3	-30
Nearby U.S. population	Indiana Dunes	33	27	1	-26
Mapped road density	Olympic	29	5	23	+18
Mapped road density	Joshua Tree	29	2	19	+17
Mapped road density	Indiana Dunes	29	25	2	-23
Mapped road density	Bryce Canyon	29	27	5	-22
Designated wilderness	Arches	33	3	25	+22
Designated wilderness	Grand Teton	33	6	25	+19
Designated wilderness	Petrified Forest	33	32	16	-16
Designated wilderness	Pinnacles	33	26	11	-15
Wet-day frequency	Joshua Tree	33	2	33	+31
Wet-day frequency	Death Valley	33	4	32	+28
Wet-day frequency	Isle Royale	33	29	7	-22
Wet-day frequency	Cuyahoga Valley	33	25	4	-21
Cloud cover	Saguaro	33	1	32	+31
Cloud cover	Joshua Tree	33	2	33	+31
Cloud cover	Isle Royale	33	29	1	-28
Cloud cover	Cuyahoga Valley	33	25	2	-23
Snow-cover season	Saguaro	33	1	31	+30
Snow-cover season	Joshua Tree	33	2	32	+30
Snow-cover season	Isle Royale	33	29	8	-21
Snow-cover season	Bryce Canyon	33	30	12	-18
Tree-covered land	Joshua Tree	33	2	31	+29
Tree-covered land	Arches	33	3	30	+27
Tree-covered land	Shenandoah	33	22	1	-21
Tree-covered land	Cuyahoga Valley	33	25	7	-18
Surface water	Saguaro	33	1	30.5	+29.5
Surface water	Joshua Tree	33	2	24	+22
Surface water	Isle Royale	33	29	1	-28
Surface water	Gateway Arch	33	33	8	-25
Land-cover diversity	Saguaro	33	1	22	+21
Land-cover diversity	Olympic	33	5	25	+20
Land-cover diversity	Gateway Arch	33	33	2	-31
Land-cover diversity	Bryce Canyon	33	30	6	-24
Documented native mammals	Lassen Volcanic	30	7	28.5	+21.5
Documented native mammals	Arches	30	3	20.5	+17.5
Documented native mammals	Grand Canyon	30	22	1	-21
Documented native mammals	Bryce Canyon	30	28	11	-17
Artificial nighttime light	Death Valley	33	4	29	+25
Artificial nighttime light	Arches	33	3	26	+23
Artificial nighttime light	Gateway Arch	33	33	1	-32
Artificial nighttime light	Indiana Dunes	33	27	2	-25
Human-caused sound increase	Lassen Volcanic	32	8	31	+23
Human-caused sound increase	Zion	32	9	30	+21
Human-caused sound increase	Gateway Arch	32	32	1	-31
Human-caused sound increase	Indiana Dunes	32	27	3	-24
Peak-month visitation share	Death Valley	33	4	33	+29
Peak-month visitation share	Arches	33	3	28	+25
Peak-month visitation share	Gateway Arch	33	33	4	-29
Peak-month visitation share	Isle Royale	33	29	1	-28

Nick departures

Nick: largest rank gaps within each metric's available ranked parks

Park age	Death Valley	33	1	26.5	+25.5
Park age	Joshua Tree	33	5	26.5	+21.5
Park age	Grand Canyon	33	25	6	-19
Park age	Bryce Canyon	33	28	9	-19
Park size	Arches	33	2	24	+22
Park size	Pinnacles	33	11	30	+19
Park size	Grand Canyon	33	25	3	-22
Park size	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	7	-19
2025 visits	Lassen Volcanic	33	8	26	+18
2025 visits	Death Valley	33	1	18	+17
2025 visits	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	1	-25
2025 visits	Cuyahoga Valley	33	30	7	-23
Mapped trail mileage	Arches	33	2	29	+27
Mapped trail mileage	Zion	33	3	20	+17
Mapped trail mileage	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	2	-24
Mapped trail mileage	Grand Canyon	33	25	5	-20
Highest mapped elevation	Arches	33	2	21	+19
Highest mapped elevation	Joshua Tree	33	5	20	+15
Highest mapped elevation	Bryce Canyon	33	28	9	-19
Highest mapped elevation	Grand Canyon	33	25	8	-17
Elevation relief	Arches	33	2	23	+21
Elevation relief	Congaree	33	20	33	+13
Elevation relief	Grand Canyon	33	25	5	-20
Elevation relief	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	11	-15
Roadside terrain relief	Arches	29	2	23	+21
Roadside terrain relief	Saguaro	29	4	20	+16
Roadside terrain relief	Grand Canyon	29	23	2	-21
Roadside terrain relief	Great Smoky Mountains	29	24	5	-19
Distance from Dillsburg	Olympic	33	6	31	+25
Distance from Dillsburg	Death Valley	33	1	25	+24
Distance from Dillsburg	Cuyahoga Valley	33	30	2	-28
Distance from Dillsburg	Gateway Arch	33	33	7	-26
Nearby U.S. population	Death Valley	33	1	31	+30
Nearby U.S. population	Arches	33	2	25	+23
Nearby U.S. population	Indiana Dunes	33	31	1	-30
Nearby U.S. population	Gateway Arch	33	33	3	-30
Mapped road density	Olympic	29	6	23	+17
Mapped road density	Zion	29	3	18	+15
Mapped road density	Indiana Dunes	29	28	2	-26
Mapped road density	Mammoth Cave	29	22	1	-21
Designated wilderness	Arches	33	2	25	+23
Designated wilderness	Grand Teton	33	7	25	+18
Designated wilderness	Kings Canyon	33	17	1	-16
Designated wilderness	Petrified Forest	33	32	16	-16
Wet-day frequency	Death Valley	33	1	32	+31
Wet-day frequency	Joshua Tree	33	5	33	+28
Wet-day frequency	Cuyahoga Valley	33	30	4	-26
Wet-day frequency	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	6	-20
Cloud cover	Death Valley	33	1	31	+30
Cloud cover	Saguaro	33	4	32	+28
Cloud cover	Cuyahoga Valley	33	30	2	-28
Cloud cover	Indiana Dunes	33	31	7	-24
Snow-cover season	Death Valley	33	1	29	+28
Snow-cover season	Saguaro	33	4	31	+27
Snow-cover season	Voyageurs	33	22	4	-18
Snow-cover season	Bryce Canyon	33	28	12	-16
Tree-covered land	Arches	33	2	30	+28
Tree-covered land	Death Valley	33	1	28	+27
Tree-covered land	Great Smoky Mountains	33	26	2	-24
Tree-covered land	Cuyahoga Valley	33	30	7	-23
Surface water	Saguaro	33	4	30.5	+26.5
Surface water	Death Valley	33	1	22	+21
Surface water	Indiana Dunes	33	31	5	-26
Surface water	Gateway Arch	33	33	8	-25
Land-cover diversity	Death Valley	33	1	20	+19
Land-cover diversity	Olympic	33	6	25	+19
Land-cover diversity	Gateway Arch	33	33	2	-31
Land-cover diversity	Grand Canyon	33	25	1	-24
Documented native mammals	Lassen Volcanic	30	8	28.5	+20.5
Documented native mammals	Arches	30	2	20.5	+18.5
Documented native mammals	Grand Canyon	30	23	1	-22
Documented native mammals	Great Smoky Mountains	30	24	8	-16
Artificial nighttime light	Death Valley	33	1	29	+28
Artificial nighttime light	Arches	33	2	26	+24
Artificial nighttime light	Gateway Arch	33	33	1	-32
Artificial nighttime light	Indiana Dunes	33	31	2	-29
Human-caused sound increase	Zion	32	3	30	+27
Human-caused sound increase	Lassen Volcanic	32	8	31	+23
Human-caused sound increase	Gateway Arch	32	32	1	-31
Human-caused sound increase	Cuyahoga Valley	32	29	2	-27
Peak-month visitation share	Death Valley	33	1	33	+32
Peak-month visitation share	Zion	33	3	30	+27
Peak-month visitation share	Gateway Arch	33	33	4	-29
Peak-month visitation share	Isle Royale	33	21	1	-20

Methodology

Creation means official establishment or redesignation of the current National Park unit, not authorization or its earliest federal protection. This makes a former monument "young" when it becomes a national park. Acreage is gross area, including nonfederal land and water where applicable, not just NPS-owned land or accessible recreation space.

Visitation means calendar-year recreation visits, not unique visitors, satisfaction, or crowding. NPS counting methods differ among parks and can change with equipment, staffing, closures, and natural disasters.

Sources and updates

Measurements use the cited agency datasets and public data services. The IRMA extraction uses Calendar year, Recreation Visits, and report year 2025; the named park rows are retained rather than system-wide visitation ranks. Sources were retrieved on 2026-09-19.

Park age (NP establishment date): Order parks by their official national-park establishment or redesignation date, oldest first; earlier protection under another designation is excluded. Values rank lowest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS National Parks Index (2012-2016): establishment histories · NPS park anniversary chronology · NPS Voyageurs history: authorization versus establishment · NPS Gateway Arch redesignation · NPS Indiana Dunes redesignation · NPS White Sands redesignation · Public Law 116-260, section 202: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve designation
Park size (acres): Use gross acreage from the dated NPS workbook, including nonfederal land and water; add the Everglades expansion row as directed by the report footnote. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS gross-acreage workbook
2025 visits (visits/year): Sum the twelve monthly NPS recreation-visit counts for the stated calendar year; visits are not unique people. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025
Mapped trail mileage (mi): Length of mapped NPS trail segments inside the boundary, including unspecified trail uses but excluding explicitly closed, proposed, non-foot, or water routes. Empty inventories are missing, not zero. Values rank highest first. Available for 60/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS public trails inventory · NPS Sequoia/Kings Canyon Park Atlas: local trail inventory
Highest mapped elevation (m): Maximum grid-sampled bare-earth elevation within the park boundary; the configured raster spacing is increased for very large parks to bound memory use. A mapped approximation, not a surveyed summit elevation. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
USGS 3DEP bare-earth elevation service
Elevation relief (m): Maximum minus minimum sampled bare-earth elevation within the park, using the same grid as highest mapped elevation. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
USGS 3DEP bare-earth elevation service
Roadside terrain relief (m): Elevation range within 1 km of mapped public NPS roads, restricted to the park boundary. A terrain-access proxy, not a direct measure of scenic quality. Values rank highest first. Available for 54/63 parks and 29/33 ranked parks.
USGS 3DEP bare-earth elevation service · NPS public roads inventory · NPS Sequoia/Kings Canyon Park Atlas: local road inventory
Distance from Dillsburg (km): Great-circle distance from the Census centroid of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, to the park representative point; not driving distance. Values rank lowest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
US Census: Dillsburg borough geographic centroid
Nearby U.S. population (people within 50 mi): Sum of 2020 U.S. Census populations for tracts whose published centroids lie within 50 miles of the park representative point. This tract-centroid approximation excludes residents outside U.S. Census coverage. Values rank highest first. Available for 61/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
US Census Bureau: 2020 tract population and centroids
Mapped road density (km/km²): Length of mapped public NPS roads inside the park divided by mapped park land area. An empty road inventory is treated as missing coverage. Values rank highest first. Available for 54/63 parks and 29/33 ranked parks.
NPS public roads inventory · NPS Sequoia/Kings Canyon Park Atlas: local road inventory · European Space Agency WorldCover 2021, quantitative imagery tiles
Designated wilderness (%): Share of mapped park boundary area overlapping NPS legislated wilderness, measured on the common raster grid; excludes proposed wilderness. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS legislated wilderness inventory
Wet-day frequency (days/year): Mean annual days with NASA POWER/MERRA-2 corrected total precipitation of at least 1 mm during 2001-2020 at the representative point. Includes rain and snow; modeled native-grid conditions, not park-wide observations. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NASA POWER: 2001-2020 daily weather and cloud climatology
Cloud cover (%): NASA POWER annual cloud amount climatology for 2001-2020 at the representative point; coarse-grid conditions, not a park-wide station average. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NASA POWER: 2001-2020 daily weather and cloud climatology
Snow-cover season (days/year): Mean annual days with NASA POWER/MERRA-2 modeled snow depth of at least 1 cm during 2001-2020 at the representative point; not road-closure duration. Values rank highest first. Available for 61/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NASA POWER: 2001-2020 daily weather and cloud climatology
Tree-covered land (%): Area-weighted share of valid ESA WorldCover 2021 cells classified as tree cover (10) within the park, using a common geographic overview grid for all parks. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
European Space Agency WorldCover 2021, quantitative imagery tiles
Surface water (%): Area-weighted share of valid ESA WorldCover 2021 cells classified as permanent water (80) within the park boundary. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
European Space Agency WorldCover 2021, quantitative imagery tiles
Land-cover diversity (Shannon H): Shannon diversity (-sum p*ln p) of area-weighted ESA WorldCover 2021 class proportions within the park. A land-cover heterogeneity proxy, not a species-diversity score. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
European Space Agency WorldCover 2021, quantitative imagery tiles
Documented native mammals (species): Distinct accepted mammal species publicly recorded as Native and Present in Park by NPSpecies; inventory and disclosure effort affect the count. Values rank highest first. Available for 60/63 parks and 30/33 ranked parks.
NPSpecies: public park species inventories
Artificial nighttime light (nW/cm²/sr): 2025 mean of available VIIRS monthly nighttime radiance at the representative point, requiring positive cloud-free observation counts in at least six months. Seasonal coverage varies with daylight and clouds; this is not direct sky brightness. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
VIIRS cloud-free monthly radiance, Esri-hosted composite
Human-caused sound increase (dB): Area-weighted mean of the NPS 2013-2015 modeled human-caused increase in A-weighted hourly L50 sound level for a typical summer day. The quantitative impact rasters cover the contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii, not all territories. Values rank highest first. Available for 55/63 parks and 32/33 ranked parks.
NPS geospatial sound modeling: human-caused sound impact
Peak-month visitation share (%): Largest monthly recreation-visit count divided by the sum of all 12 calendar months in the official 2025 NPS visitor-use data package. Values rank highest first. Available for 63/63 parks and 33/33 ranked parks.
NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025