Closest national parks to Idaho Falls
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
Closest national parks to Idaho Falls
Approximately 331 million people visited American national parks in 2024, representing a 2% year-over-year growth and the fourth straight year of growth.
President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 signed the act creating the National Park Service to leave natural and historic phenomenons “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Since then, our national parks have welcomed visitors from around the world to experience some of the best the country has to offer and showcase the country’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Today, the country’s 63 national parks contain at least 247 species of endangered or threatened plants and animals, more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.
Stacker compiled a list of the closest national parks to Idaho Falls. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Idaho Falls, ID Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from Here and are only available within the lower 48 states. All featured distances and driving times are estimated using representative locations from the center of each metro and national park—for some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#1. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
– Distance: 82 miles
– Driving time: 3.3 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1929
– 2024 visitors: 3,628,222 (#9 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 310,044.36 acres 
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
#2. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
– Distance: 117 miles
– Driving time: 4.0 hours
– Date founded: March 1, 1872
– 2024 visitors: 4,744,353 (#4 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres 
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
#3. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
– Distance: 335 miles
– Driving time: 8.1 hours
– Date founded: October 27, 1986
– 2024 visitors: 152,068 (#54 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 77,180.00 acres 
Pung // Shutterstock
#4. Glacier National Park (Montana)
– Distance: 366 miles
– Date founded: May 11, 1910
– 2024 visitors: 3,208,755 (#10 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,013,126.39 acres 
Manamana // Shutterstock
#5. Arches National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 372 miles
– Driving time: 7.8 hours
– Date founded: November 12, 1971
– 2024 visitors: 1,466,528 (#20 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
#6. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 380 miles
– Driving time: 7.9 hours
– Date founded: December 18, 1971
– 2024 visitors: 1,422,490 (#23 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 241,904.50 acres 
Manamana // Shutterstock
#7. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 396 miles
– Driving time: 12.9 hours
– Date founded: September 12, 1964
– 2024 visitors: 818,492 (#27 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 337,597.83 acres 
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
#8. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 416 miles
– Driving time: 10.5 hours
– Date founded: January 26, 1915
– 2024 visitors: 4,154,349 (#5 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 265,847.74 acres 
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
#9. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 418 miles
– Driving time: 8.6 hours
– Date founded: February 25, 1928
– 2024 visitors: 2,498,075 (#15 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 35,835.08 acres 
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
#10. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 426 miles
– Driving time: 9.6 hours
– Date founded: October 21, 1999
– 2024 visitors: 335,862 (#49 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 30,779.83 acres 
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
#11. Zion National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 437 miles
– Driving time: 8.6 hours
– Date founded: November 19, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 4,946,592 (#2 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 147,242.66 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#12. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
– Distance: 448 miles
– Driving time: 10.8 hours
– Date founded: January 9, 1903
– 2024 visitors: 489,399 (#40 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,970.84 acres 
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
#13. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
– Distance: 490 miles
– Driving time: 11.4 hours
– Date founded: May 22, 1902
– 2024 visitors: 504,942 (#39 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 183,224.05 acres 
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
#14. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 490 miles
– Driving time: 10.1 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1906
– 2024 visitors: 480,065 (#41 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 52,485.17 acres 
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
#15. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
– Distance: 494 miles
– Driving time: 10.5 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2024 visitors: 732,951 (#31 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 70,446.89 acres 
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
#16. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
– Distance: 497 miles
– Driving time: 11.9 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2024 visitors: 1,094,245 (#25 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 242,755.94 acres 
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
#17. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 506 miles
– Driving time: 11.4 hours
– Date founded: March 2, 1899
– 2024 visitors: 1,620,006 (#19 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 236,381.64 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#18. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
– Distance: 515 miles
– Driving time: 13.3 hours
– Date founded: August 9, 1916
– 2024 visitors: 357,651 (#47 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 106,589.02 acres 
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
#19. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 522 miles
– Driving time: 12.3 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 4,919,163 (#3 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres 
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
#20. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 545 miles
– Driving time: 12.9 hours
– Date founded: September 24, 2004
– 2024 visitors: 437,661 (#44 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 107,345.73 acres 
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
#21. Yosemite National Park (California)
– Distance: 545 miles
– Driving time: 16.3 hours
– Date founded: October 1, 1890
– 2024 visitors: 4,121,807 (#6 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 761,747.50 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#22. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 548 miles
– Driving time: 13.9 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2024 visitors: 16,485 (#62 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 504,780.94 acres 
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
#23. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
– Distance: 560 miles
– Driving time: 11.9 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 1,440,484 (#21 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,408,395.63 acres 
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
#24. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
– Distance: 571 miles
– Driving time: 19.6 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1940
– 2024 visitors: 699,389 (#34 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 461,901.20 acres 
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
#25. Sequoia National Park (California)
– Distance: 597 miles
– Driving time: 18.5 hours
– Date founded: September 25, 1890
– 2024 visitors: 1,309,573 (#24 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 404,062.63 acres 
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
#26. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 606 miles
– Driving time: 12.5 hours
– Date founded: December 9, 1962
– 2024 visitors: 559,254 (#37 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 221,390.21 acres 
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
#27. Redwood National Park (California)
– Distance: 612 miles
– Driving time: 15.9 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2024 visitors: 622,883 (#35 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 138,999.37 acres 
f11photo // Shutterstock
#28. Olympic National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 613 miles
– Driving time: 14.6 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1938
– 2024 visitors: 3,717,267 (#8 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 922,649.41 acres 
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
#29. Pinnacles National Park (California)
– Distance: 676 miles
– Driving time: 15.6 hours
– Date founded: January 10, 2013
– 2024 visitors: 354,076 (#48 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,685.73 acres 
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
#30. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
– Distance: 703 miles
– Driving time: 14.5 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 2,991,874 (#11 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 795,155.85 acres 
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
#31. Channel Islands National Park (California)
– Distance: 762 miles
– Date founded: March 5, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 262,581 (#50 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 249,561.00 acres 
kojihirano // Shutterstock
#32. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 791 miles
– Driving time: 17.4 hours
– Date founded: October 14, 1994
– 2024 visitors: 946,369 (#26 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 92,876.75 acres 
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
#33. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
– Distance: 821 miles
– Driving time: 17.1 hours
– Date founded: December 20, 2019
– 2024 visitors: 702,236 (#33 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 146,344.31 acres 
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
#34. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
– Distance: 901 miles
– Driving time: 18.3 hours
– Date founded: May 14, 1930
– 2024 visitors: 460,474 (#43 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 46,766.45 acres 
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
#35. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
– Distance: 906 miles
– Driving time: 19.3 hours
– Date founded: October 15, 1966
– 2024 visitors: 226,134 (#52 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 86,367.10 acres 
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
#36. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
– Distance: 995 miles
– Driving time: 19.6 hours
– Date founded: April 8, 1975
– 2024 visitors: 199,030 (#53 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 218,222.35 acres 
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
#37. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
– Distance: 1,113 miles
– Driving time: 23.6 hours
– Date founded: June 12, 1944
– 2024 visitors: 561,458 (#36 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 801,163.21 acres 
SveKo // Shutterstock
#38. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
– Distance: 1,187 miles
– Driving time: 24.0 hours
– Date founded: April 3, 1940
– 2024 visitors: 28,806 (#58 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 571,790.30 acres 
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
#39. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
– Distance: 1,206 miles
– Driving time: 21.7 hours
– Date founded: February 22, 2018
– 2024 visitors: 2,563,052 (#14 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 192.83 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#40. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
– Distance: 1,212 miles
– Driving time: 24.0 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1921
– 2024 visitors: 2,461,812 (#16 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 5,554.15 acres 
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
#41. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
– Distance: 1,295 miles
– Driving time: 23.2 hours
– Date founded: February 15, 2019
– 2024 visitors: 2,705,209 (#13 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,349.08 acres 
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
#42. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
– Distance: 1,451 miles
– Driving time: 26.6 hours
– Date founded: July 1, 1941
– 2024 visitors: 747,042 (#28 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 72,472.87 acres 
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
#43. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 1,469 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 736,282 (#30 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#44. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
– Distance: 1,578 miles
– Driving time: 27.7 hours
– Date founded: October 11, 2000
– 2024 visitors: 2,912,454 (#12 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 32,571.89 acres 
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
#45. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
– Distance: 1,625 miles
– Driving time: 29.7 hours
– Date founded: June 15, 1934
– 2024 visitors: 12,191,834 (#1 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 522,426.88 acres 
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
#46. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
– Distance: 1,676 miles
– Driving time: 30.3 hours
– Date founded: December 27, 2020
– 2024 visitors: 1,811,937 (#17 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,021 acres 
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
#47. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 1,709 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 81,670 (#56 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres 
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
#48. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
– Distance: 1,800 miles
– Driving time: 33.8 hours
– Date founded: December 26, 1935
– 2024 visitors: 1,720,211 (#18 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 200,445.92 acres 
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#49. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
– Distance: 1,826 miles
– Driving time: 33.5 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 2003
– 2024 visitors: 242,049 (#51 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,692.60 acres 
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
#50. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 1,914 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 419,468 (#46 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 669,650.05 acres 
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
#51. Denali National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,027 miles
– Date founded: February 26, 1917
– 2024 visitors: 466,227 (#42 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres 
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock
#52. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,059 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 18,505 (#60 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres 
Robert Harding Video // Shutterstock
#53. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,072 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 36,230 (#57 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres 
Varina C // Shutterstock
#54. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 2,121 miles
– Driving time: 43.8 hours
– Date founded: October 26, 1992
– 2024 visitors: 84,873 (#55 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 64,701.22 acres 
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
#55. Everglades National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 2,175 miles
– Driving time: 40.8 hours
– Date founded: May 30, 1934
– 2024 visitors: 741,983 (#29 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres 
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
#56. Acadia National Park (Maine)
– Distance: 2,177 miles
– Driving time: 42.2 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2024 visitors: 3,961,661 (#7 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 49,071.40 acres 
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
#57. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 2,198 miles
– Driving time: 39.8 hours
– Date founded: June 28, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 512,213 (#38 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 172,971.11 acres 
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
#58. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,234 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 11,907 (#63 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres 
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
#59. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,372 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2024 visitors: 17,233 (#61 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres 
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
#60. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
– Distance: 2,962 miles
– Date founded: July 1, 1961
– 2024 visitors: 732,477 (#32 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,488.98 acres 
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
#61. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
– Distance: 2,979 miles
– Date founded: August 1, 1916
– 2024 visitors: 1,433,593 (#22 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 344,812.18 acres 
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
– Distance: 3,263 miles
– Date founded: August 2, 1956
– 2024 visitors: 423,029 (#45 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,052.33 acres 
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
– Distance: 5,415 miles
– Date founded: October 31, 1988
– 2024 visitors: 22,567 (#59 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,256.67 acres 
