Closest national parks to Gulfport

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July 17, 2026
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

Closest national parks to Gulfport

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 Gulfport. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 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. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

- Distance: 365 miles
- Driving time: 7.8 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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#2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)

- Distance: 478 miles
- Driving time: 9.4 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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#3. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)

- Distance: 491 miles
- Driving time: 8.8 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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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#4. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

- Distance: 533 miles
- Driving time: 9.6 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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#5. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 551 miles
- Driving time: 15.0 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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#6. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)

- Distance: 566 miles
- Driving time: 9.8 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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Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock

#7. Everglades National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 608 miles
- Driving time: 12.9 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
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Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock

#8. Biscayne National Park (Florida)

- Distance: 638 miles
- Driving time: 11.9 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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#9. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)

- Distance: 692 miles
- Driving time: 12.5 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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#10. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)

- Distance: 778 miles
- Driving time: 13.9 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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#11. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

- Distance: 822 miles
- Driving time: 14.8 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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#12. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

- Distance: 851 miles
- Driving time: 15.1 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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#13. Big Bend National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 859 miles
- Driving time: 16.7 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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#14. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 920 miles
- Driving time: 15.8 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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#15. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)

- Distance: 944 miles
- Driving time: 17.0 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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#16. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)

- Distance: 1,023 miles
- Driving time: 17.8 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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#17. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 1,068 miles
- Driving time: 19.2 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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#18. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 1,156 miles
- Driving time: 21.9 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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#19. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 1,177 miles
- Driving time: 22.8 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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#20. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 1,202 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 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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#21. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)

- Distance: 1,203 miles
- Driving time: 23.7 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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#22. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)

- Distance: 1,210 miles
- Driving time: 22.4 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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#23. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)

- Distance: 1,216 miles
- Driving time: 21.7 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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#24. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,248 miles
- Driving time: 20.6 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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#25. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)

- Distance: 1,260 miles
- Driving time: 22.6 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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#26. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,275 miles
- Driving time: 21.2 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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#27. Arches National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,298 miles
- Driving time: 24.3 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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#28. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,306 miles
- Driving time: 29.0 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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#29. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,370 miles
- Driving time: 26.7 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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#30. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)

- Distance: 1,375 miles
- Driving time: 26.5 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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#31. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)

- Distance: 1,390 miles
- Driving time: 24.2 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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#32. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,413 miles
- Driving time: 27.6 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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#33. Zion National Park (Utah)

- Distance: 1,455 miles
- Driving time: 27.7 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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#34. Acadia National Park (Maine)

- Distance: 1,483 miles
- Driving time: 28.1 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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#35. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

- Distance: 1,504 miles
- Driving time: 28.2 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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#36. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)

- Distance: 1,522 miles
- Driving time: 29.2 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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#37. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

- Distance: 1,548 miles
- Driving time: 29.3 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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#38. Joshua Tree National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,589 miles
- Driving time: 26.3 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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#39. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)

- Distance: 1,651 miles
- Driving time: 28.2 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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#40. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)

- Distance: 1,737 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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#41. Kings Canyon National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,751 miles
- Driving time: 35.0 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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#42. Sequoia National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,755 miles
- Driving time: 34.1 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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#43. Channel Islands National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,791 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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#44. Yosemite National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,811 miles
- Driving time: 34.0 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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#45. Glacier National Park (Montana)

- Distance: 1,821 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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#46. Pinnacles National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,894 miles
- Driving time: 32.6 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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#47. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

- Distance: 1,945 miles
- Driving time: 35.6 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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#48. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

- Distance: 2,011 miles
- Driving time: 39.0 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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#49. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 2,077 miles
- Driving time: 39.0 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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#50. Redwood National Park (California)

- Distance: 2,083 miles
- Driving time: 40.9 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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Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#51. North Cascades National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 2,104 miles
- Driving time: 41.6 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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#52. Olympic National Park (Washington)

- Distance: 2,182 miles
- Driving time: 42.1 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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#53. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 2,961 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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#54. Wrangell鈥揝t. Elias National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,180 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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#55. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,419 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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#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,485 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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#57. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,556 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
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#58. Katmai National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,599 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
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#59. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,622 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. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)

- Distance: 3,776 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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#61. Hawai驶i Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 4,168 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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#62. Haleakal膩 National Park (Hawaii)

- Distance: 4,188 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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Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock

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

- Distance: 6,233 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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