Palm Springs, CA

In celebration of National Parks Week, Travel Lemming released its second-annual data-backed ranking of all 63 US national parks. Joshua Tree cinched the #2 spot as the second-best national park in the US, largely due to its affordability, great weather, ease of access, number of jobs, and high review scores. 

Of California’s 9 national parks, Joshua Tree (#2), Channel Islands (#7), and Redwood (#10) all made the Top 10 designation. Meanwhile, popular parks like Yosemite and Death Valley failed to crack the top rankings.

Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park took the #1 slot overall. 

Travel Lemming’s national parks ranking is based on data analysis and scoring each park across seven factors: affordability, accessibility, biodiversity, crowds, reviews, jobs, and weather.

The report revealed the following insights regarding California’s national parks:

• California has the most national parks in the Top 10 list of any state, with 3 of its 9 national parks in the top ranks.

• Joshua Tree National Park scores especially high in Weather (#10) and Visitor Spending (#8). It’s one of the most affordable and comfortable national parks.

• Channel Islands National Park comes in at #7 overall, with its #2 weather designation an advantage in the ranks.

• Redwood National and State Parks ranks #10 overall and is the highest-rated California national park.

• Death Valley National Park graces the #15 slot, with sparse crowds and high biodiversity among its key ranking attributes.

• Sequoia and Yosemite National Park tied in the #22 slot. Sequoia scores high in weather at #5, while Yosemite shines in Jobs (#8) and Biodiversity (#9).

• Yosemite National Park’s rankings are largely driven down due to crowding and a lack of affordability.

• Pinnacles National Park takes spot #31. It ranks high in weather, affordability, and accessibility but falls short with crowds, jobs, reviews, and biodiversity.

• Kings Canyon National Park comes in at #36 and failed to land a Top 10 designation in any factor, although good weather (#11) is a strength of the park. 

• Lassen Volcanic National Park lands in spot #39, with accessibility (#19) as its highest-ranking factor.

• Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley is the most affordable park, Hawai’i’s Haleakalā National Park has the best weather, Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains is the most biodiverse, Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic the least crowded, and Missouri’s Gateway Arch the most accessible.

The top 10 US national parks in the USA according the report are: 

Surprisingly, the most renowned national parks did not perform well in the rankings, largely due to the crowds and affordability factors. Yellowstone National Park ranks at position #16 and Zion National Park at slot #18. 

Joshua Tree at Sunset

Travel Lemming Writer Meg O’Connor commented: “As a data scientist and a huge fan of the outdoors, I love how much variety the United States has in its terrain, flora, and fauna. These data-driven rankings provide a numerical glimpse into how diverse our National Parks really are, and I feel like I could live several lifetimes and never get bored of visiting them.”

“Since we truly have some stunning hidden gems in our park system, I think these rankings will help draw attention to some of the lesser-known but absolutely awe-inspiring parks in this country.”

Methodology

National Parks were ranked on seven factors, based on the following data: 

• Crowds – Number of visits per acre of park land in 2023. (Sources: NPS 2023 Recreation Visit Data, Wikipedia Acreage Data)
• Reviews – Average visitor review score out of 5. (Sources: Google Maps, Yelp, TripAdvisor)
• Weather – A human comfort-based points system based on monthly temperature, seasonal humidity, amount of precipitation, and number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. (Sources: NOAA, Current Results, American Meteorological Society, Lightning Safety Council, CDC)
• Affordability – Average spending per visitor per park in 2023 (Sources: NPS Visitor Spending Effects, NPS 2023 Recreation Visit Data)
• Accessibility – Average driving distance to the park from the closest FAA Primary Airport and the closest hub airport. (Sources: FAA, Google Maps Driving Distance, Wikipedia Major US Airports) 

• Jobs – The total number of jobs associated with each national park as defined by the 2022 NPS Visitor Spending Effects Report (Sources: NPS)
• Biodiversity – Number of species deemed “present or probably present.” (Source: NPS Species List) 

Overall rankings were determined by each park’s average ranking across all factors. Further details are available in the report’s methodology section.