A new ranking of national parks is missing some well-known names.
When it comes to ournational parks , there ’s definitely something of a hierarchy not too unlike Hollywood . On the A - tilt , of trend , it ’s hard to compete with stars like Yellowstone , Joshua Tree , Zion , andYosemite . These parks are sensational for a reason , but their icon position entail they are alsovery democratic among visitors , which can make the experience of going there a crowd , less - than - idealistic experience .
The crowds at some of these democratic parks is a big reason why a new ranking of the body politic ’s top national parks is missing some conversant names among the top 10 . In honor ofNational Park Week , change of location guidebook websiteTravel Lemminghas just ranked all 63 national green across seven factors including affordability , accessibility , biodiversity , brushup , weather , job , and — most devastatingly for the like ofYellowstone — crowds .
The result of this exercise was a top 10 dominated by mostly lesser - known parks , including Virginia ’s Shenandoah National Park ( which grabbed the top attitude for the 2nd yr in a row ) . The park was highly praise for both its accessibility and biodiversity .
Olympic National Park|Carmen Martínez Torrón/Moment/Getty Images
Here are the top 10 , fit in to the data :
1 . Shenandoah National Park ( Virginia)2 . Joshua Tree National Park ( California)3 . Olympic National Park ( Washington)4 . Great Smoky Mountains National Park ( Tennessee / North Carolia)5 . North Cascades National Parks ( Washington)6 . Grand Canyon National Park ( Arizona)7 . Channel Islands National Park ( California)8 . New River Gorge National Park ( West Virginia)9 . Everglades National Park ( Florida)10 . Redwood National and State Parks ( California )
Aside from the overall ranking , a few parks are desirable of a shout out in specific categories . Ohio ’s Cuyahoga Valley , for object lesson , turned out to be the most affordable park this twelvemonth , while those look for the best weather should channelise to Hawaii ’s Haleakalā National Park . In terms of biodiversity , plant life and fauna enthusiasts will obtain the most at Tennessee ’s Great Smoky Mountains , which also swank the most occupation associated with biodiversity . To avert crowds , or else , Alaska ’s Gates of the Arctic National Park is your best wager , since it is the least herd , while Missouri ’s Gateway Arch is the most accessible common .
To check out the full ranking of national parks , head to this website .
