By state · OH

National Parks in Ohio.

Ohio's NPS network at a glance — units, designations, visit totals, and what shapes the visiting season.

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

Ohio has more than five NPS units, anchored by Cuyahoga Valley National Park (between Cleveland and Akron) and Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. Other units include Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial (Lake Erie), William Howard Taft National Historic Site (Cincinnati), Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, First Ladies National Historic Site, and segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Cleveland-Hopkins (CLE), Columbus (CMH), and Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky (CVG) anchor different parts of the network. Cuyahoga Valley is the year's busiest unit and runs the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad through the park (operator-published schedule — verify on the railroad's own page). October peak foliage drives the Cuyahoga Valley's busiest week; summer is the heaviest overall season.

Every NPS unit in Ohio.

Ohio's 10 NPS units: 3 National Historic Sites · 2 National Historical Parks · 1 National Monument · 1 National Park · 1 National Historic Trail · 1 National Scenic Trail · 1 Memorial. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 3,160,872 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Cuyahoga Valley National Park at about 2.86M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Cuyahoga Valley National Park National ParkCUVA 2,857,285 July
Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial MemorialPEVI 95,293 July
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park National Historical ParkDAAV 80,761 December
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park National Historical ParkHOCU 55,826 July
James A Garfield National Historic Site National Historic SiteJAGA 32,735 July
William Howard Taft National Historic Site National Historic SiteWIHO 24,956 July
First Ladies National Historic Site National Historic SiteFILA 9,204 July
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument National MonumentCHYO 4,812 July
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail National Historic TrailLECL
North Country National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailNOCO

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.

Independence

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.

Last updated · 2026-05-19