Which National Parks are closest to Fresno? (Excluding Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon)
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Fresno is well known for its proximity to Yosemite National Park, and locals will often suggest Sequoia National Park or Kings Canyon National Park as alternatives, but if you look beyond the closest three then there are many other federally-protected areas of natural beauty waiting to be found.
Stacker compiled a list of the closest national parks to Fresno, ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Fresno and each national park – excluding Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park, which were ranked one, two, and three on the list. The list begins with the fourth closest National Park:
#4. Pinnacles National Park (California)
– Distance: 86 miles
– Driving time: 2.9 hours
– Date founded: January 10, 2013
– 2020 visitors: 165,740 (#48 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,685.73 acres
#5. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
– Distance: 162 miles
– Driving time: 6.3 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 820,023 (#22 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
#6. Channel Islands National Park (California)
– Distance: 190 miles
– Date founded: March 5, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 167,290 (#47 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 249,561.00 acres
#7. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
– Distance: 276 miles
– Driving time: 5.9 hours
– Date founded: August 9, 1916
– 2020 visitors: 542,274 (#29 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 106,589.02 acres
#8. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
– Distance: 295 miles
– Driving time: 6.5 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 2,399,542 (#10 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 795,155.85 acres
#9. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
– Distance: 330 miles
– Driving time: 11.2 hours
– Date founded: October 27, 1986
– 2020 visitors: 120,248 (#50 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 77,180.00 acres
#10. Zion National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 367 miles
– Driving time: 9.2 hours
– Date founded: November 19, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 3,591,254 (#3 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 147,242.66 acres
#11. Redwood National Park (California)
– Distance: 391 miles
– Driving time: 10.5 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2020 visitors: 265,177 (#43 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 138,999.37 acres
#12. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 416 miles
– Driving time: 11.2 hours
– Date founded: February 25, 1928
– 2020 visitors: 1,464,655 (#15 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 35,835.08 acres
#13. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 422 miles
– Driving time: 9.5 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 2,897,098 (#6 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
#14. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
– Distance: 446 miles
– Driving time: 8.8 hours
– Date founded: May 22, 1902
– 2020 visitors: 670,500 (#26 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 183,224.05 acres
#15. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 477 miles
– Driving time: 12.0 hours
– Date founded: December 18, 1971
– 2020 visitors: 981,038 (#20 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 241,904.50 acres
#16. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 543 miles
– Driving time: 17.6 hours
– Date founded: September 12, 1964
– 2020 visitors: 493,914 (#30 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 337,597.83 acres
#17. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 566 miles
– Driving time: 10.4 hours
– Date founded: December 9, 1962
– 2020 visitors: 384,483 (#38 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 221,390.21 acres
#18. Arches National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 568 miles
– Driving time: 12.8 hours
– Date founded: November 12, 1971
– 2020 visitors: 1,238,083 (#17 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 76,678.98 acres
#19. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 608 miles
– Driving time: 12.3 hours
– Date founded: October 14, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 762,226 (#24 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 92,867.42 acres
#20. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 618 miles
– Driving time: 14.1 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1906
– 2020 visitors: 287,477 (#42 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 52,485.17 acres
#21. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 666 miles
– Driving time: 14.7 hours
– Date founded: October 21, 1999
– 2020 visitors: 341,620 (#39 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 30,779.83 acres
#22. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
– Distance: 670 miles
– Driving time: 16.3 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1929
– 2020 visitors: 3,289,638 (#5 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 310,044.36 acres
#23. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 705 miles
– Driving time: 15.2 hours
– Date founded: March 2, 1899
– 2020 visitors: 1,160,754 (#18 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 236,381.64 acres
#24. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
– Distance: 723 miles
– Driving time: 16.7 hours
– Date founded: March 1, 1872
– 2020 visitors: 3,806,306 (#2 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
#25. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 782 miles
– Driving time: 17.4 hours
– Date founded: September 24, 2004
– 2020 visitors: 461,532 (#32 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 107,341.87 acres
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.
