In celebration of National Parks Week, Travel Lemming analyzed data to rank all 63 US national parks. West Virginia’s New River Gorge ranks #8 best in the country, beating iconic national parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion.
For National Parks Week, Travel Lemming released a data-backed ranking of all 63 US national parks. New River Gorge in West Virginia clinched the #8 spot overall, also ranking among the most affordable and biodiverse parks in the country.
Travel Lemming’s national parks ranking is based on an analysis of data scoring each park across seven factors: affordability, accessibility, biodiversity, crowds, reviews, jobs, and weather.
The report revealed the following insights:
- At 243.1595214 visitors per acre, New River Gorge National Park is the third most-crowded national park in the country.
- New River Gorge is the #4 most biodiverse park in the USA, with 2,776 species present or probably present in the park.
- With an average review score of 4.866666667/5, the park is the #12 best-reviewed national park in the USA.
- New River Gorge scores moderately in the weather category, ranking at #35. Weather was calculated using a human comfort-based points system that incorporates temperature, humidity, precipitation, and lightning strikes.
- The park ranks #5 in Visitor Spending, indicating it’s a cost-effective park to visit. The average visitor spends $46.44970224 while visiting New River Gorge.
- New River Gorge ranks #28 in the jobs category, with 1040 jobs across various industries associated with the park.
- The park is the #27 most accessible national park in the USA, based on the average distance in miles to its FAA Primary airport and its airport hub.
- Overall, Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley is the most affordable park, Hawai’i’s Haleakalā National Park has the best weather, Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains is the most biodiverse, Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic the least crowded, and Missouri’s Gateway Arch the most accessible.
The top 10 US national parks in the USA according to the report are: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Joshua Tree National Park in California, Olympic National Park in Washington, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, North Cascades National Park in Washington, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Channel Islands Park in California, New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, Everglades National Park in Florida, and the Redwood National and State Parks in California.
Surprisingly, the most renowned national parks did not perform well in the rankings, largely due to the crowds and affordability factors. Yellowstone National Park ranks at position #16, Zion National Park at slot #18, and Yosemite National Park at slot #22.
Travel Lemming Writer Meg O’Connor commented: “As a data scientist and a huge fan of the outdoors, I love how much variety the United States has in its terrain, flora, and fauna. These data-driven rankings provide a numerical glimpse into how diverse our National Parks really are, and I feel like I could live several lifetimes and never get bored of visiting them.”
“Since we truly have some stunning hidden gems in our park system, I think these rankings will help draw attention to some of the lesser-known but absolutely awe-inspiring parks in this country.”
Travel Lemming is a popular online travel guide with over 10 million annual readers. It is known for highlighting emerging and off-the-beaten-path destinations, and for the authentic guides produced by its team of dozens of local and expert travel creators.