The Covid-19 pandemic kept the country in lockdown for months. With summer setting in, America’s national parks are slowly starting to reopen.
Anyone else going a little stir crazy? About to become one of the domestic horror stories you listen to obsessively on your favorite true crime podcast? Just me? Well, in any case, its time for some fresh air. Incidentally, the air has actually gotten fresher since we all stopped going out in it.
The weather has started getting better (for some of us anyway—this year’s Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st and promises to be a gnarly one), so to the horror of animals everywhere, the National Park System has started to roll out their reopening plans.
Photo via NPS
Each park has its own reopening plan, and there are 62 parks in total. Some states are keeping all their parks shuttered. Some, like California, have several open and several closed. Hopefully as the weather gets warmer and coronavirus numbers drop, more parks will feel comfortable opening their grounds.
The following is a list of all the OPEN parks as of June 1st. Be sure to check each park’s website before you load up the minivan though, as some parks close their gates after a certain number of daily visitors.
Acadia National Park
Maine
Arches National Park
Utah
Badlands National Park
South Dakota
Big Bend National Park
Texas
Biscayne National Park
Florida
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Colorado
Bryce Canyon National Park
Utah
Capitol Reef National Park
Utah
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
New Mexico
Channel Islands National Park
California
Congaree National Park
South Carolina
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Ohio
Denali National Park
Alaska
Dry Tortugas National Park
Florida
Everglades National Park
Florida
Gates of the Arctic National Park
Alaska
Gateway Arch National Park
Missouri
Glacier Bay National Park
Alaska
Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona
Grand Teton National Park
Wyoming
Great Basin National Park
Nevada
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Colorado
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
North Carolina, Tennessee
Haleakalā National Park
Hawaii
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii
Hot Springs National Park
Arkansas
Indiana Dunes National Park
Indiana
Joshua Tree National Park
California
Katmai National Park
Alaska
Kenai Fjords National Park
Alaska
Kobuk Valley National Park
Alaska
Lake Clark National Park
Alaska
Lassen Volcanic National Park
California
Mammoth Cave National Park
Kentucky
Mesa Verde National Park
Colorado
Mount Rainier National Park
Washington
National Park of American Samoa
American Samoa
North Cascades National Park
Washington
Olympic National Park
Washington
Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona
Pinnacles National Park
California
Redwood National Park
California
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado
Saguaro National Park
Arizona
Shenandoah National Park
Virginia
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
North Dakota
Virgin Islands National Park
US Virgin Islands
Voyageurs National Park
Minnesota
Wind Cave National Park
South Dakota
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Alaska
Yellowstone National Park
Montana, Wyoming, Idaho
Zion National Park
Utah
There you have it! All of the open parks in America. Who knew Alabama didn’t have a national park? Sad.
When you do visit these national treasures, be sure to “be one” with nature. Don’t be the jerk who litters his Pringles canister and Snickers wrapper in some poor squirrel’s habitat.
If you’re having trouble deciding which park to visit, check this out.
