National parks in Tennessee

A slightly curvy section of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Early Fall

97ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

Parkway · AL

Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway is one of America's most underrated long-distance road experiences, a free 444-mile corridor threading Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee with virtually no commercial interruption.

Silhouette of a man with backpack standing on McAfee Knob at sunset with mountains in the distance.

95ESSENTIAL Photo Credit: ATC/Benjamin Hays

National Scenic Trail · CT

Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Over 2,190 miles connecting Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail is less a single destination than a lifetime of options.

89ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

National River & Recreation Area · KY

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area

Big South Fork is the rare free park that genuinely earns a long weekend.

88ESSENTIAL NPS Photo/Mekow

National Military Park · TN

Shiloh National Military Park

Shiloh punches well above its weight for a free park.

The sun rises behind a green field with a cannon in the foreground.

88ESSENTIAL NPS Photo / Buddy Secor

National Battlefield · TN

Stones River National Battlefield

Stones River punches well above its size.

Wisps of fog hang over the forests in the mountains.

84EXCELLENT Kristina Plaas

National Park · NC

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The most visited national park in the country earns that title honestly.

80EXCELLENT NPS

National Historic Trail · NC

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

This 330-mile, four-state trail retraces the 1780 Patriot militia march that ended at Kings Mountain, one of the Revolution's turning-point battles.

78EXCELLENT NPS Photo

National Historical Park · KY

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Cumberland Gap is a rare park that earns its historical weight through genuine outdoor substance.

77EXCELLENT NPS Photo

National Military Park · GA

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

This is one of America's oldest and most layered military parks, preserving the 1863 battlefields where the war's western theater effectively turned.

76EXCELLENT NPS Photo

Wild & Scenic River · TN

Obed Wild & Scenic River

Obed Wild and Scenic River punches above its weight for a free park.

large white house, green lawn, two trees in front

59WORTH IT NPS

National Historic Trail · AL

Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail

This is not a park you visit in a single afternoon but a 9-state corridor of conscience stretching from the Cherokee homelands of the Southeast to Oklahoma.

54NICHE NPS

National Battlefield · KY

Fort Donelson National Battlefield

Fort Donelson is where Ulysses S.

47NICHE NPS Photo

National Historic Site · TN

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site

Andrew Johnson NHS is a small, focused site in Greeneville, Tennessee that rewards visitors curious about one of American history's most contentious presidencies.

Historic photo of two men standing next to a mangled piece of metal equipment in the desert.

43NICHE Los Alamos National Laboratory

National Historical Park · NM

Manhattan Project National Historical Park

This is not a park you visit for scenery.

Potkopinu Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

27NICHE NPS Photo

National Scenic Trail · AL

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

This is not a destination park in any conventional sense.