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.
Not sure where to begin? Open Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, the top-scoring unit in Wyoming, then work down the grid. Every card opens a full verdict on who the place suits.
Wyoming in numbers
The three that lead on documented breadth and access:
- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Bighorn Canyon’s reservoir is its central feature; boaters, anglers, and paddlers will find the most to engage them here.
- Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park offers diverse appeal.
- Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone offers broad appeal.
What the Wyoming set is made of: 4 national historic trails, 2 national parks, 2 national monuments, 1 national recreation area. Entry is free at 8 of the 10.
Sources: the National Park Service listing for Wyoming and the NPS Data API and Recreation.gov RIDB records behind each unit, last pulled . Scores count documented breadth and access only.
All 10 Wyoming units, ranked
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.
100DOES IT ALL
NPS Photo / D. Lehle
National Park · WY
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton earns its perfect Experience Score.
90DOES IT ALL
NPS / Jacob W. Frank
National Park · ID
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone sets a national park benchmark.
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.
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.
62GOOD RANGE
NPS Photo
National Historic Trail · CA
California National Historic Trail
The California National Historic Trail presents a unique proposition.
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.
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.
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.
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 the Wyoming order is set
These 10 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.