By state
National parks in New York
Every national park and public-land unit in New York, scored and ranked by our Experience Score.
New York has 29 National Park Service units. These parks stretch across the entire state and offer a wide variety of experiences. You can find the quiet beaches of Fire Island National Seashore or explore Revolutionary War forts at Fort Stanwix National Monument in the Mohawk Valley. The parks around New York Harbor attract the most visitors. However, places like the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, and the long-distance Appalachian and North Country National Scenic Trails, offer experiences for those traveling beyond the city. History, water activities, and extensive trail mileage are common themes across these parks. New York is a good destination for travelers seeking diverse activities on one trip. A family can spend an afternoon at Sagamore Hill. You can stargaze at night on Fire Island. Or, you can paddle the Delaware River for multiple days, all within the same state.
100DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo / Middleton Evans
National Historic Trail · VA
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail offers a unique, dispersed national park experience.
100DOES IT ALL
NPS photo
Park · NY
National Parks of New York Harbor
National Parks of New York Harbor is less a park than a decentralized network.
100DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo
Scenic & Recreational River · NY
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a 73-mile expanse between New York and Pennsylvania, offers a rare, undammed waterway in the Northeast.
95DOES IT ALL
Photo Credit: ATC/Benjamin Hays
National Scenic Trail · CT
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
The Appalachian Trail, a monumental 2,190-mile footpath, traverses 14 states from Georgia's Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
95DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo
National Seashore · NY
Fire Island National Seashore
Fire Island National Seashore garners a 95 Experience Score, reflecting its substantial offerings.
95DOES IT ALL
NCTA
National Scenic Trail · MI
North Country National Scenic Trail
The North Country National Scenic Trail presents a singular case: not a park unit, but a 4,800-plus-mile continuous footpath.
88DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo
National Monument · NY
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Stanwix National Monument offers a deep dive into American Revolutionary War history and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, centrally located in Rome, New York.
88DOES IT ALL
NPS/Audrey Tiernan
National Historic Site · NY
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Sagamore Hill offers a genuine historical experience.
88DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo
National Historical Park · NY
Saratoga National Historical Park
Saratoga National Historical Park marks the 1777 British army surrender, a key turning point in the Revolution.
77WIDE RANGE
Doug Racine/USFWS
National Wildlife Refuge · NY
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is a premier wetland birding destination in the Northeast, situated at the north end of Cayuga Lake within the Atlantic Flyway.
74WIDE RANGE
NPS Photo
National Recreation Area · NY
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a sprawling, multi-unit urban escape covering 27,000 acres across a dozen distinct sites in New York and New Jersey.
72WIDE RANGE
USFWS
National Wildlife Refuge · NY
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, a 2,550-acre coastal preserve on Long Island's south shore, centers on the Carmans River.
66GOOD RANGE
NPS Photo
National Monument · NY
Statue Of Liberty National Monument
The Statue of Liberty National Monument offers a unique, museum-driven experience, distinct from any wilderness or recreational park.
64GOOD RANGE
NPS photo / Michael B. Shaver
National Monument · NY
Governors Island National Monument
Governors Island, a 172-acre car-free island in New York Harbor, is accessible by ferry from Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn.
62GOOD RANGE
NPS Photo
Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument · NJ
Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument
Ellis Island functions primarily as a museum, centered on the Main Immigration Building.
62GOOD RANGE
NPS photo
National Historic Site · NY
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site offers a concentrated historical experience.
54FOCUSED
NPS Photo
National Historical Park · NY
Women's Rights National Historical Park
Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY offers a compact, purpose-built historic experience.
53FOCUSED
NPS Photo
National Monument · NY
African Burial Ground National Monument
African Burial Ground National Monument holds immense historical significance within a compact Lower Manhattan footprint.
52FOCUSED
NPS
National Historical Park · NY
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, presents a focused view into the later life of an American icon.
51FOCUSED
NPS Photo
National Historic Site · NY
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Lindenwald, the Hudson Valley estate of Martin Van Buren, offers an Experience Score of 51.
50FOCUSED
NPS Photo
Park · DC
Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay Park offers a decentralized experience across six states and Washington D.C.
49FOCUSED
NPS Photo
National Memorial · NY
General Grant National Memorial
General Grant National Memorial offers a focused, urban historical experience within Manhattan's Riverside Park.
49FOCUSED
Courtesy of the Tenement Museum
National Historic Site · NY
Lower East Side Tenement Museum National Historic Site
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum offers a focused, intense historical immersion.
45FOCUSED
NPS
National Memorial · NY
Federal Hall National Memorial
Federal Hall offers a modest experience for a site of immense historical importance.
45FOCUSED
NPS Photo/Kevin Daley
National Memorial · NY
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Hamilton Grange National Memorial delivers a focused historical immersion.
42FOCUSED
NPS Photo / Bill Urbin
National Historic Site · NY
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's sole owned home.
41FOCUSED
NPS Photo/Bill Urbin
National Historic Site · NY
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
Vanderbilt Mansion presents a compact, tour-dependent historic site on the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York.
30FOCUSED
NPS Photo
National Historic Site · NY
Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
This Hyde Park, New York site commemorates the nation's 32nd and longest-serving president, Franklin D.
30FOCUSED
Photo by Escape Brooklyn
National Historic Site · NY
Thomas Cole National Historic Site
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, preserving Cedar Grove in Catskill, New York, centers on the genesis of the Hudson River School.
How the New York order is set
These 29 New York units are ranked by one number, run identically nationwide: the Experience Score, built only from public records on documented breadth and access. It says nothing about scenery or how busy a place gets. Same formula everywhere, so a New York park and a desert one are read on the same terms.
Keep the blind spots in mind: scenery, seasonal crowds, trail conditions and program quality are all outside this score. A quiet, single-focus spot can land low and still win the weekend. The ranking is a fair look at what is documented, not a ruling on which New York park you will love.