<P> Twenty - seven states have national parks , as do the territories of American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands . California has the most ( nine ) , followed by Alaska ( eight ) , Utah ( five ) , and Colorado ( four ) . The largest national park is Wrangell -- St. Elias in Alaska : at over 8 million acres ( 32,375 km ) , it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska . The smallest park is Hot Springs , Arkansas , at less than 6 thousand acres ( 24 km ) . The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.2 million acres ( 211,000 km ) , for an average of 885 thousand acres ( 3,580 km ) but a median of only 236 thousand acres ( 960 km ) at Mount Rainier , the 30th largest park . The most - visited national park is Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee , with over 11.3 million visitors in 2016 , followed by Arizona 's Grand Canyon , with nearly 6 million . In contrast , only 10,047 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic in Alaska in the same year . </P>
<P> Twenty - seven states have national parks , as do the territories of American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands . California has the most ( nine ) , followed by Alaska ( eight ) , Utah ( five ) , and Colorado ( four ) . The largest national park is Wrangell -- St. Elias in Alaska : at over 8 million acres ( 32,375 km ) , it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska . The smallest park is Hot Springs , Arkansas , at less than 6 thousand acres ( 24 km ) . The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.2 million acres ( 211,000 km ) , for an average of 885 thousand acres ( 3,580 km ) but a median of only 236 thousand acres ( 960 km ) at Mount Rainier , the 30th largest park . The most - visited national park is Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee , with over 11.3 million visitors in 2016 , followed by Arizona 's Grand Canyon , with nearly 6 million . In contrast , only 10,047 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic in Alaska in the same year . </P>
how many national state parks are there in the us
how many national state parks are there in the us
Twenty - seven
Twenty - seven