parkverdict

By state

National parks in Wyoming

Every national park and public-land unit in Wyoming, scored and ranked by our Experience Score.

Wyoming's National Park Service units are diverse. They range from well-known parks to historic sites and overland trail corridors. Grand Teton and Yellowstone are in the state's northwest corner. They offer hiking, camping, and stargazing. East and south of this cluster, the parks change. Devils Tower stands alone in the Black Hills foothills. Bighorn Canyon cuts through high-desert country near the Montana border. Fort Laramie preserves a frontier outpost on the plains. The Oregon, California, and Mormon Pioneer historic trails cross much of the state. These trails suit travelers interested in following a route. Wyoming offers both depth and spectacle.

Summer view of the Yellowtail Dam from the Ok-A-Beh road. 100DOES IT ALL Sharron Genaux

National Recreation Area · MT

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area presents a unique, unmanicured experience spanning the Montana-Wyoming border.

Backpackers in North Fork Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton behind 100DOES IT ALL NPS Photo / D. Lehle

National Park · WY

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton earns its perfect Experience Score.

A geyser erupts steam in front of the bright sun. 90DOES IT ALL NPS / Jacob W. Frank

National Park · ID

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone sets a national park benchmark.

A large two story white building with pillars. Several windows with green shutters 74WIDE RANGE Chase Swift Photography/Chase Swift

National Historic Site · WY

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Fort Laramie presents a genuine slice of Western history.

Devils Tower looming above the trees 73WIDE RANGE NPS/ S. Carter

National Monument · WY

Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower presents an 867-foot igneous monolith, a stark geological feature on the Wyoming prairie.

A white canvas wagon sits in front of a large rock buttress with mountains in the distance. 62GOOD RANGE NPS Photo

National Historic Trail · CA

California National Historic Trail

The California National Historic Trail is not a single park you drive to - it is a sprawling 5,000-plus-mile corridor threading through ten states, tracing the routes of more than 250,000 Gold Rush-era emigrants who headed west in the 1840s and 1850s.

Red cliffs line a highway as seen from a high point with grass in the foreground. 62GOOD RANGE NPS photo

National Historic Trail · IL

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail is less a destination and more a 1,300-mile historical corridor.

A wagon swale is cut deep into limestone rock with trees in background. 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.

Atlantic City/South Pass 61GOOD RANGE Share the Experience, Shannon Givens

Recreation Area · WY

Atlantic City/South Pass

Atlantic City/South Pass is a free, low-key recreation area in central Wyoming.

A rider in a red vest on a horse in a grassy patch surrounded by sagebrush with clouds in the sky. 61GOOD RANGE NPS photo

National Historic Trail · CA

Pony Express National Historic Trail

The Pony Express National Historic Trail is less a park and more a vast historical concept.

RVs in the Greater Sand Dunes SRMA 53FOCUSED Recreation.gov

Recreation Area · WY

Greater Sand Dunes SRMA

The Greater Sand Dunes SRMA in Wyoming offers a raw, self-directed public lands experience.

National Elk Refuge, Wyoming 53FOCUSED Tony Hough - USFWS Volunteer

Recreation Area · WY

National Elk Refuge

The National Elk Refuge functions primarily as a working wildlife sanctuary.

Fish fossils exposed near cliff edge with green hills in the distance. 45FOCUSED NPS Photo

National Monument · WY

Fossil Butte National Monument

Fossil Butte National Monument, in southwest Wyoming's high desert, preserves one of the world's most significant Eocene fossil deposits.

How this page is ranked

How the Wyoming order is set

These 13 Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming park you will love.