By state
National parks in Washington
Every national park and public-land unit in Washington, scored and ranked by our Experience Score.
Washington's National Park Service units offer varied landscapes. North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic anchor three distinct corners of the state. They cover terrain from glaciated alpine wilderness to temperate rainforest to rugged Pacific coastline. Beyond these three, the collection extends east. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area stretches along a large reservoir. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island preserves working farmland and coastal prairie. Smaller units include Fishtrap Recreation Area and Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, which provide solitude. Stargazing conditions are consistently good across these units. This indicates the amount of dark sky still present in Washington. Hikers and campers will find suitable areas almost everywhere. The state particularly benefits those who plan to visit both the wet western and open eastern regions.
Not sure where to begin? Open Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, the top-scoring unit in Washington, then work down the grid. Every card opens a full verdict on who the place suits.
Washington in numbers
The three that lead on documented breadth and access:
- Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve This destination caters to history enthusiasts, outdoor generalists, cyclists, paddlers, birdwatchers, and families seeking unstructured exploration.
- North Cascades National Park This park excels for specific outdoor pursuits.
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt delivers most for boaters, kayak campers, anglers, and families road-tripping through eastern Washington.
What the Washington set is made of: 4 national historical parks, 3 national parks, 2 lake & reservoirs, 2 national historic sites. Entry is free at 14 of the 19.
Sources: the National Park Service listing for Washington and the NPS Data API and Recreation.gov RIDB records behind each unit, last pulled . Scores count documented breadth and access only.
All 19 Washington units, ranked
100DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo / H. Richards
National Historical Reserve · WA
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
Ebey's Landing offers a distinct national park experience.
100DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo/D.Dixon
National Park · WA
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park offers a genuinely wild, glacier-studded alpine experience less than three hours from Seattle.
97DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo
National Recreation Area · WA
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Lake Roosevelt is a 150-mile-long reservoir in northeast Washington, an expanse backed by Grand Coulee Dam and canyon walls shaped by Ice Age floods.
93DOES IT ALL
Bureau of Land Management
Lake & Reservoir · WA
Twin Lakes Recreation Area
Twin Lakes Recreation Area, a free, multi-use outdoor destination in Washington's shrub-steppe, presents a varied activity menu.
90DOES IT ALL
Jeff Clark, Bureau of Land Management
Recreation Area · WA
Fishtrap Recreation Area
Fishtrap Recreation Area, a 9,000-acre Bureau of Land Management unit in eastern Washington, presents a diverse and compelling offering.
90DOES IT ALL
JD Hascup Photo
National Park · WA
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier offers one of the most complete national park experiences in the American West.
90DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo/Jon Preston
National Park · WA
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park presents a rare degree of ecological diversity, its defining characteristic.
89DOES IT ALL
Diana Douglass, Share the Experience
National Wildlife Refuge · WA
Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge
Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, a 42,657-acre tract within the Selkirk Mountains of northeastern Washington, functions as a working landscape.
88DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo/Gary Tarleton
National Historical Park · WA
San Juan Island National Historical Park
San Juan Island National Historical Park presents a unique convergence of historical significance and natural appeal.
83WIDE RANGE
NPS Photo
National Historical Park · ID
Nez Perce National Historical Park
Nez Perce National Historical Park offers a singular experience among national park units.
78WIDE RANGE
NPS Photo
National Historical Park · OR
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park offers a multi-layered experience.
76WIDE RANGE
Bureau of Land Management
Wilderness Area · WA
Chopaka Lake and Chopaka Mountain Wilderness Study Area
Chopaka Lake offers a genuinely remote, high-quality backcountry destination in northern Okanogan County, Washington.
75WIDE RANGE
NPS Photo
National Historic Site · WA
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Whitman Mission National Historic Site near Walla Walla, Washington, offers a potent, if sober, experience.
74WIDE RANGE
NPS Photo / Alex Wiles
National Historic Trail · IA
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail presents a formidable undertaking.
69GOOD RANGE
Jeff Clark, Bureau of Land Management
Lake & Reservoir · WA
Boundary Reservoir Recreation Area
Boundary Reservoir, situated in Washington's remote northeast corner, is defined by its water-access only recreation sites.
66GOOD RANGE
NPS Photo / Troy Wayrynen
National Historic Site · OR
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site offers a genuinely engaging historical experience, focusing on the fur trade and early American Pacific Northwest settlement.
62GOOD RANGE
NPS photo
National Historic Trail · ID
Oregon National Historic Trail
The Oregon National Historic Trail spans over 2,000 miles across six states, encompassing public lands, private property, urban areas, and wilderness.
43FOCUSED
NPS
National Historical Park · WA
Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park
The Seattle Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park operates as an urban history museum.
40FOCUSED
Lindsay Kennedy
Affiliated Area · WA
Wing Luke Museum Affiliated Area
The Wing Luke Museum is an indoor, interpretive experience, an NPS Affiliated Area in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.
How the Washington order is set
These 19 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington park you will love.