Independent
Advertising pays for the site. It never touches a score, a rank or a verdict. There is a firm wall between the two.
About parkverdict
We score and rank every US National Park unit, so the right trip is easy to find.
parkverdict is an independent editorial guide to all 474 units the National Park Service manages, not only the famous 63. We answer one question for each place: is it worth your trip, and what is it best for.
474
Park units scored on one instrument
6
Experience Score dimensions, weighted to 100
0
Paid placements, ever, in any ranking
100%
Write-ups reviewed by a human before publishing
Why we exist
Official listings tell you what exists. They do not tell you what is worth your weekend.
The government catalog of parks is comprehensive but flat. It lists monuments, historic sites, seashores, recreation areas and battlefields side by side, with no way to compare them and no sense of who each one suits.
parkverdict adds the layer that is missing. We compute one Experience Score the same way for every unit, rank them honestly by what travelers actually want, from stargazing to a day out with kids, and write a plain-language verdict for each. You should be able to shortlist a real trip in minutes, not tabs.
We are a publication, not a booking engine. Nothing here is for sale, and no park, tourism board or advertiser can move up the list.
What we hold to
Four principles behind every score
These are not decoration. Each one maps to a concrete rule about how we research, score and publish.
Consistent
The same six-dimension formula runs on all 474 units. A score here means the same thing everywhere, so parks are truly comparable.
Traveler first
We rank for the person planning a trip, not for a park's reputation. What is it like to actually go, and who is it right for.
Always updating
Fees, hours and closures change. We refresh on a schedule and correct fast when a reader flags something out of date.
Disclosure
How we are funded, and the line we will not cross
Where the money comes from
parkverdict is free to read and paid for by display advertising, including ads served through Google AdSense. That is the whole business model.
The guarantee
Advertisers have no influence over any score or ranking. Scores come from a fixed formula run on public data, computed before any ad is ever placed near them.
What we never do
We do not accept payment for a higher rank, we do not soften a verdict for anyone, and we take no sponsorship, junkets or gifts from parks or tourism boards.
If an advertisement ever appears beside a park we rank, treat the two as strangers. The ranking was decided by the Experience Score, a transparent instrument you can read in full on our methodology page. parkverdict is not affiliated with the National Park Service and earns nothing from your visit to any park.
How we work
From public data to a verdict you can trust
Every unit moves through the same pipeline. AI helps us draft at scale, but a person and a formula decide what publishes.
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Gather verified facts
We pull descriptions, activities, fees, hours, coordinates and photos from the official NPS Data API, US federal public-domain content, for the source of record on every unit.
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Draft the write-up
We use AI tools to help structure and draft each park's write-up from that verified data only. The draft is raw material, never a finished page, and never a source of new facts.
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Score each dimension
Six dimensions are scored 0 to 100 against a fixed rubric, then combined by published weights into one Experience Score. No park is hand-nudged up or down.
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Normalize across all 474
Because the same instrument runs everywhere, a score and a rank hold their meaning from a headline park to the quietest historic site.
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Human review, against the source
A human editor checks every draft against the NPS record before it goes live. We never publish an unreviewed machine draft, and we never invent facts, ratings or photos.
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Publish, then keep it honest
Pages link back to the park's official nps.gov listing. When data changes or a reader flags an error, we re-check the source, correct it, and re-score if the change warrants it.
A park's rank is earned by the experience it delivers, never by who pays us.The parkverdict editorial standard
Sources, credits and corrections
Where our facts come from, and how errors get fixed
Data source
Park facts and photographs come from the official NPS Data API, US federal public-domain content. Individual photos may carry their own credit, shown on each park page.
Verification
Every park page links to its official nps.gov listing so you can confirm current fees, hours and closures before you travel. Always check the source for live conditions.
Corrections policy
Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us and we will investigate, correct it, and re-score if it matters. Corrections are reviewed on a rolling basis.
parkverdict is made by a small editorial team that treats every unit the same way. We publish under desks rather than bylines because the instrument, not any one writer, decides the score. Here is who owns each part of the work.
Editorial & scoring
The parkverdict desk
Owns the rubric, reviews every write-up against the source, and signs off before anything publishes.
Data & sources
The data desk
Maintains the NPS Data API pipeline, photo credits and the refresh schedule that keeps park facts current.
Corrections
Reader reports
Every message from a reader is triaged, checked against nps.gov, and actioned. Accuracy is a standing job, not a one-time pass.
Start planning
See how all 474 units stack up
Browse the rankings to find the park that fits your trip, or read the full methodology behind every Experience Score.