The Size of the Largest National Parks Will Blow Your Mind
National parks capture the imagination in countless ways – some subtle, others not so much – but one of the many incredible aspects of the National Park System is the sheer size of our largest national parks. Our most massive parks span millions of acres, and protect everything from towering mountains and deep canyons to vast deserts and enormous glaciers. Even if the undeniable richness of these landscapes weren’t a factor, the sheer vastness of these parks would still be staggering.
Biggest of them all
The uncontested heavyweight champion of the National Park System is Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. At 13.2 million acres, it's larger than Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined. The park is also one of the wildest places in North America, with vast areas of untouched wilderness, an incredible abundance of wildlife, and hardly a man-made structure to be found.
Wrangell-St. Elias spans the convergence of four mountain ranges and encompasses some of the highest peaks in the U.S., including the 18,008-foot Mount Saint Elias. It's also a place of wild extremes. More than a quarter of the park is covered in glaciers, yet it's also a hotbed of volcanic activity, with thousands of lava flows converging in the 2,000-acre Wrangell Volcanic Field.
Look to Alaska
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve may be the largest national park in the U.S., but some of its neighbors aren't too far behind. In fact, seven of the 10 biggest national parks can be found in Alaska. Each of these giants has something special to offer.
- Gates of the Arctic National Park and & Preserve (8.4 million acres) is Alaska's northernmost park, home to the rugged Brooks Range and the hardy Alaska natives who have hunted caribou on this land for thousands of years.
- Denali National Park and & Preserve (6 million acres) centers on Denali, the tallest peak in North America, and protects vast glaciers and boreal forests.
- Katmai National Park and & Preserve (4.3 million acres) harbors one of the largest grizzly bear populations in the world. Thousands of bears congregate at Katmai every year to feast on abundant salmon runs in the Brooks River.
- Glacier Bay National Park and & Preserve (3.3 million acres) is best known for its awe-inspiring tidewater glaciers, which stretch from the mountains to the coast.
Biggest in the Lower 48
Alaska may have its share of huge national parks, but the contiguous United States is also home to giants that feature some of America's most iconic landscapes. Be sure to check out these massive parks in the lower 48 states.
- Death Valley National Park (3.4 million acres) is the hottest, driest, and lowest place in the U.S., harboring a stunning diversity of plants and animals.
- Yellowstone National Park (2.2 million acres) encompasses a vast area of geothermal features, from the iconic Old Faithful geyser to the Grand Prismatic Spring. It's also home to wolves, bison, and more than 50 other mammal species.
- Everglades National Park (1.5 million acres) protects southern Florida's vital wetlands, the largest tropical wilderness in the country.
- Grand Canyon National Park (1.2 million acres) includes one of America's most stunning natural features, the vast Grand Canyon, which stretches up to 15 miles wide and a mile deep at some points.
Size isn't everything, but when you're looking for a place to escape from everyday life, it's hard to argue with millions of acres of untouched wilderness. If the job of the National Park Service is to protect America's most essential landscapes, then our largest national parks make a strong case for what an important job that is.
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