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About This Quiz
Are Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon some of your favorite places on the planet? Do you know which state you'd have to visit to explore Zion, Acadia or Grand Teton? If you're a national park natural, take our quiz to see how well you can match each park to its state!
Some spots are so majestic, so awe-inspiring, so filled with irreplaceable natural resources or wildlife that they are just too precious for private ownership. To prevent these areas from ever being developed and preserve them for future generations to enjoy, the U.S. government names them as national parks, monuments, and landmarks.Â
This process of preservation began in 1864 with the Yosemite Act, which ensured Yosemite could never be privately owned. It continued in 1872 when Congress officially declared Yellowstone to be the very first National Park in the country. Since then, 57 more National Parks have followed, ranging from the massive Wrangell-St. Elias to the much smaller Hot Springs.Â
As of 2018, more than 300 million people visit the national parks each year to take in the sites, embrace nature, and take comfort in the fact that these lands are forever protected.Â
Think you know everything there is to know about the parks? Take our quiz to see if you can match the National Park to its state!
Shenandoah:
Colorado
South Carolina
Virginia
Shenandoah National Park is part of the Atlantic state of Virginia (though away from the ocean by a good distance). It shares its name with the great Shenandoah River.
West Virginia
Grand Canyon:
Arizona
The Grand Canyon is justly famous. It gets more than five million visitors a year, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Oregon
Minnesota
Texas
Denali:
Alaska
The park is named for Mt. Denali, the highest mountain in the United States. The mountain's previous name was Mt. McKinley.
California
Washington
Oklahoma
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Great Smoky Mountains:
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
both #1 and #3
Great Smoky Mountains National Park comprises more than 500,000 acres. It straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina.
Haleakala:
Florida
Hawaii
Haleakala National Park is on the island of Maui. It is named for a dormant volcano, which last erupted about 500 years ago.
Georgia
Washington
Yosemite:
California
Yosemite is a park in northern California. One of its best known features is the batholithic rock face called El Capitan.
Nevada
Utah
Washington
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Arches:
Arizona
Colorado
Nevada
Utah
Arches National Park is located in the desert and has striking sandstone formations. The most famous of these is the Delicate Arch, which is depicted on Utah license plates.
Yellowstone:
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
all of these
Yellowstone is a very popular national park in the mountain West. Few American children, if their parents have any budget at all for travel, are not made to troop through Yellowstone at least once.
Joshua Tree:
Alaska
Arizona
California
Before it was a U2 album, Joshua Tree was (and still is) a park in the desert region of Southern California. It is named after the distinctive, spiky-leaved trees.
Texas
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Carlsbad Caverns:
Alaska
Georgia
New Mexico
This cavers's delight has a number of colorfully named features. Among them: the Balloon Ballroom, Halloween Hall and the Rock of Ages.
Utah
Crater Lake:
Arizona
Delaware
Maine
Oregon
Crater Lake is a popular outdoors destination in central Oregon. Unlike many lakes, it is not fed by any streams -- all its water is collected by rainfall.
Zion:
California
Oregon
Utah
Zion is one of the smaller national parks, at about 229 square miles. Fun fact: It is home to a large number of bat species.
Wyoming
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Death Valley:
California
Death Valley can reach daytime temperatures of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Even a drive across it should not be undertaken lightly -- make sure your car is road-worthy first!
New Mexico
Wyoming
Vermont
Grand Teton:
Arizona
Oregon
Oklahoma
Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park is home to Jackson Hole, a gorgeous valley that is a popular fishing and camping destination.
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Wind Cave:
California
South Dakota
This lesser-known park is one of the longest cave systems in the world. It has distinctive rock formations called "boxwork" and "frostwork."
Washington
Wyoming
Petrified Forest:
Arizona
This park is named for its concentration of petrified wood. It is also home, though, to beautifully-striated cliffs and rock faces, where its geologic history can be read.
Arkansas
Colorado
Nevada
Mount Rainier:
North Dakota
Connecticut
Nevada
Washington
Mount Rainier is part of the Cascade Range, which extends down into Oregon. It's an active volcano, so be prepared to end your picnic a little early!
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Mammoth Cave:
Alaska
Kentucky
This national park offers you the Green River above to raft on, and a vast cave system below to explore. We'd choose the former, but then, we never got over seeing "The Descent!"
New Hampshire
Vermont
Hot Springs:
Arkansas
Hot Springs National Park is the rare park set in an urban area. There are a number of bathhouses there, where you can take advantage of the feature that gave the park its name.
Georgia
Oklahoma
Wyoming
Gates of the Arctic:
Alaska
As its name suggests, this state park is America's northernmost state park. But don't pack your vacation bags just yet. It's more like protected land, having no recreational facilities.
Connecticut
California
Texas
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Glacier:
Alabama
Georgia
Montana
This national park shares a border with Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. Together they make up the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Texas
Cuyahoga Valley:
Delaware
Maine
Ohio
Another example of a rare national park in a developed area, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park features a number of old homes and buildings. You can also walk the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath.
South Dakota
Badlands:
Arizona
Kentucky
New Hampshire
South Dakota
This park is near Rapid City, South Dakota. Home to both grasslands and desert buttes, it was the location for films such as "Dances With Wolves" and "Thunderheart."
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Biscayne:
California
Florida
Biscayne National Park is named for Biscayne Bay. Scuba diving is a popular activity there.
Georgia
Hawaii
Great Basin:
Alaska
California
Maine
Nevada
Nevada isn't exactly America's capital of geographic wonders, but its Great Basin National Park offers hiking trails and an impressive cave system, the Lehman Caves.
Lassen Volcanic:
California
This national park is north of the better-known Yosemite. It's home to charmingly-named features like Brokeoff Mountain and Chaos Crags.
Montana
North Carolina
Wyoming
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Bryce Canyon:
Arkansas
Minnesota
North Dakota
Utah
A sparsely populated state, Utah has more than its share of America's state parks. Like Arches National Park, Bryce is known for its jagged, orange-red sandstone cliffs and towers.
Isle Royale:
New Mexico
Florida
Michigan
You'll find Isle Royale in Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes. It isn't very well known, but is well worth visiting, especially in the more hospitable summer months.
New York
Channel Islands:
Alabama
California
The largest and best known of the Channel Islands is Santa Catalina. However, it is not part of the national park, which only includes five of the eight islands, and allows recreational activities but not overnight stays.
New Jersey
Vermont
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Congaree:
California
Hawaii
South Dakota
South Carolina
Congaree National Park is named for the Congaree River. It contains an old-growth forest -- or, if you want to be poetic, "a forest primeval."
Dry Tortugas:
Georgia
Florida
If you want to go, pack a lunch. The Dry Tortugas National Park is at the far end of the Florida Keys and not accessible by car.
North Carolina
Virginia
Guadalupe Mountains:
Georgia
Montana
North Dakota
Texas
Texas may be oil- and cattle-rich, but it's low on national parks. Still, it has Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas, which contains hiking and riding trails and some historical buildings.
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Theodore Roosevelt:
Delaware
Oklahoma
North Dakota
This Badlands park offers hiking and camping to visitors. You can also see the cabin used by the park's namesake, Theodore Roosevelt.
Minnesota
Bonus question: Which of these states has no national parks?
Delaware
Iowa
Wisconsin
all of these and many more
Not all states are created equal -- at least where national parks are concerned. Twenty-four states have no national parks, while Alaska, Utah, and California have quite a few. Something to think about if you're both outdoorsy and thinking about relocating to another state!
every state has at least one national park
You Got:
/35
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