12 Oldest National Parks In The United States

Congress established the National Park Service as an agency of the United States Department of the Interior on August 25, 1916. But did you know that certain national parks were created prior to the actual creation of the National Park Service?

This post looks at the 12 oldest national parks in the United States – all of these US National Parks predate the organization that now manages them. Other National Park System units were established during the same time frame.

For example, Hot Springs Reservation was established on April 20, 1832, but was only designated as a National Park on June 7, 1926. This is only one example, but there are other similar situations for places Like Kings Canyon, Petrified Forest, Pinnacles, Zion, Acadia, and others. For a complete list of National Park System Areas Listed in Chronological Order, visit this link.

Here are the 12 oldest national parks in the United States:

1. Yellowstone National Park – 1872

• Location: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming
• Date Established March 1, 1872
• More Info

2. Sequoia National Park – 1890

• Location: California
• Date Established September 25, 1890
• More Info

3. Yosemite National Park – 1890

• Location: California
• Date Established October 1, 1890
• More Info

4. Mount Rainier National Park – 1899

• Location: Washington
• Date Established March 2, 1899
• More Info

5. Crater Lake National Park – 1902

• Location: Oregon
• Date Established May 22, 1902
• More Info

6. Wind Cave National Park – 1903

• Location: South Dakota
• Date Established January 9, 1903
• More Info

7. Mesa Verde National Park – 1906

• Location: Colorado
• Date Established June 29, 1906
• More Info

8. Glacier National Park – 1910

• Location: Montana
• Date Established May 11, 1910
• More Info

9. Rocky Mountain National Park – 1915

• Location: Colorado
• Date Established January 26, 1915
• More Info

10. Haleakala National Park – 1916

• Location: Hawaii
• Date Established August 1, 1916
• * Haleakala National Park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were established as Hawaii National Park in 1916. They were then split in 1960.
• More Info

11. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

• Location: Hawaii
• Date Established August 1, 1916
• * Haleakala National Park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were established as  a single Hawaii National Park in 1916. They were then split in 1960.
• More Info

12. Lassen Volcanic National Park

• Location: California
• Date Established August 9, 1916
• More Info

Learn more about the National Parks at Wikipedia.org.

See Also:

• NPMaps.com Offers 1000+ National Park Maps For Free
• US National Park Highpoints Map And List
• 12 Largest National Parks In The United States
• 21 Smallest National Parks In The United States