Wisconsin's NPS flagship is Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (21 islands on Lake Superior, ferry- or kayak-only to most), plus Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (jointly with Minnesota), the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (1,200 miles across the state), the North Country National Scenic Trail, and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail segments. Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP, Minnesota), Duluth (DLH, Minnesota), and Milwaukee (MKE) anchor different parts of the network. Apostle Islands' practical visiting window is mid-May through October: ferries operate seasonally, ice caves form in cold winters but require lake conditions that aren't reliable year to year (the official NPS Apostle Islands page tracks ice-cave accessibility). Saint Croix Riverway is a paddle-and-camp summer destination. The state's NPS footprint is heavily water-and-trail rather than mountain or desert.
Every NPS unit in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's 4 NPS units: 2 National Scenic Trails · 1 National Lakeshore · 1 National Scenic Riverway. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 1,116,027 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch, see methodology). The most-visited unit is Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway at about 825K annual visits.
Every National Park Service site in Wisconsin, mapped.
Each glowing marker is one site, placed at its real coordinates and colored by type. Select a marker for its yearly visits and a link, or use the filters to show or hide a group.
Marker positions are each unit's official NPS coordinates. State outline: U.S. Census cartographic boundary (public domain). Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.
Unit
Designation
5-yr avg visits
Busiest month
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
National Scenic RiverwaySACN
825,051
July
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
National LakeshoreAPIS
261,558
July
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
National Scenic TrailIATR
29,418
July
North Country National Scenic Trail
National Scenic TrailNOCO
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Methodology
Unit list and per-unit visit counts come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. The "5-year average visits" column is the mean of 2021-2025 Recreation Visits. Multi-state NPS units (Yellowstone, Death Valley, Great Smoky Mountains and others) are listed under every state they touch; the per-unit visit count is the unit's total, not a per-state share. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.
Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.