Closest national parks to Bakersfield

Written by:
July 17, 2026
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock

Closest national parks to Bakersfield

Approximately visited American national parks in 2025, a 2.7% year-over-year decrease and the first annual decline since 2020.

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 contain at least 247 species of , more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.

compiled a list of the closest national parks to Bakersfield. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Bakersfield, CA Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from 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鈥攆or some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.

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#1. Sequoia National Park (California)

- Distance: 75 miles
- Driving time: 5.4 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
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#2. Channel Islands National Park (California)

- Distance: 100 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
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#3. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

- Distance: 101 miles
- Driving time: 6.4 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
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Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock

#4. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)

- Distance: 124 miles
- Driving time: 4.5 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
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#5. Pinnacles National Park (California)

- Distance: 157 miles
- Driving time: 4.1 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
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Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock

#6. Yosemite National Park (California)

- Distance: 177 miles
- Driving time: 5.4 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
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Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock

#7. Joshua Tree National Park (California)

- Distance: 194 miles
- Driving time: 5.1 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
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Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock

#8. Zion National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 344 miles
- Driving time: 7.5 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
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#9. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

- Distance: 350 miles
- Driving time: 9.5 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
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#10. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 374 miles
- Driving time: 7.9 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
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#11. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

- Distance: 386 miles
- Driving time: 7.8 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
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#12. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 396 miles
- Driving time: 9.5 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
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#13. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 463 miles
- Driving time: 10.2 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
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#14. Redwood National Park (California)

- Distance: 500 miles
- Driving time: 12.6 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
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#15. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 507 miles
- Driving time: 8.8 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
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#16. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 519 miles
- Driving time: 10.8 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
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#17. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 526 miles
- Driving time: 15.9 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
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#18. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

- Distance: 554 miles
- Driving time: 10.7 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
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#19. Arches National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 556 miles
- Driving time: 11.0 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
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#20. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 585 miles
- Driving time: 12.4 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
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#21. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 648 miles
- Driving time: 12.9 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
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#22. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

- Distance: 716 miles
- Driving time: 15.6 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
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#23. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 741 miles
- Driving time: 13.8 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
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#24. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 753 miles
- Driving time: 15.7 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
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#25. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)

- Distance: 773 miles
- Driving time: 16.0 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
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#26. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 798 miles
- Driving time: 16.6 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
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#27. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 809 miles
- Driving time: 17.1 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
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#28. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 832 miles
- Driving time: 15.7 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
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#29. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 850 miles
- Driving time: 15.9 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
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#30. Olympic National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 905 miles
- Driving time: 18.7 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#31. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 930 miles
- Driving time: 19.1 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
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#32. Glacier National Park (Montana)

- Distance: 959 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
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#33. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 991 miles
- Driving time: 19.0 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
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#34. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 997 miles
- Driving time: 19.9 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
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#35. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 1,040 miles
- Driving time: 20.4 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
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#36. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

- Distance: 1,127 miles
- Driving time: 22.5 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#37. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

- Distance: 1,455 miles
- Driving time: 24.6 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
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#38. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

- Distance: 1,588 miles
- Driving time: 26.4 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
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#39. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

- Distance: 1,600 miles
- Driving time: 31.9 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
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#40. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

- Distance: 1,760 miles
- Driving time: 29.6 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
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#41. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

- Distance: 1,775 miles
- Driving time: 34.9 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
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#42. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 1,805 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
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#43. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

- Distance: 1,817 miles
- Driving time: 30.3 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
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#44. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)

- Distance: 1,973 miles
- Driving time: 32.5 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#45. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

- Distance: 2,045 miles
- Driving time: 34.2 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
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#46. Wrangell鈥揝t. Elias National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,048 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
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#47. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)

- Distance: 2,084 miles
- Driving time: 34.9 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#48. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

- Distance: 2,153 miles
- Driving time: 35.4 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
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#49. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,189 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
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#50. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

- Distance: 2,228 miles
- Driving time: 38.4 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
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#51. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 2,259 miles
- Driving time: 43.9 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
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Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock

#55. Denali National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,357 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
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#56. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 2,384 miles
- Driving time: 40.8 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
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#57. Hawai驶i Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 2,478 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
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MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

#58. Haleakal膩 National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 2,480 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
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#59. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,619 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
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#60. Acadia National Park (Maine)

- Distance: 2,713 miles
- Driving time: 49.0 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
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BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#61. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,735 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
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#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)

- Distance: 3,488 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
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Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock

#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)

- Distance: 4,817 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres

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