By state · PA

National Parks in Pennsylvania.

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

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

Pennsylvania has more than fifteen NPS units, heavily concentrated in Revolutionary-era and Civil War history. Headline units include Independence National Historical Park (Philadelphia, with the Liberty Bell), Gettysburg National Military Park, Valley Forge, Steamtown National Historic Site, Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, Eisenhower National Historic Site (adjacent to Gettysburg), Fort Necessity, Hopewell Furnace, Friendship Hill, Delaware Water Gap NRA (jointly with NJ), and Allegheny Portage Railroad. Philadelphia International (PHL) anchors the southeastern units; Pittsburgh (PIT) reaches the western network; Harrisburg (MDT) is closest to Gettysburg. Independence runs the year's heaviest urban-NPS visitor pressure; Gettysburg peaks early July around the battle anniversary. The state's NPS network is unusually historically dense — visitor centers and interpretive programs operate year-round with reduced winter hours.

Every NPS unit in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania's 26 NPS units: 7 National Historic Sites · 3 National Scenic Trails · 3 National Historic Trails · 3 National Memorials · 3 National Historical Parks · 1 Other · 1 National Monument · 1 National Recreation Area · 1 National Battlefield · 1 National Military Park · 1 National Wild and Scenic River · 1 Scenic & Recreational River. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 16,918,583 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Appalachian National Scenic Trail at about 6.22M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailAPPA 6,215,118 July
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area National Recreation AreaDEWA 4,199,028 July
Independence National Historical Park National Historical ParkINDE 2,390,363 July
Valley Forge National Historical Park National Historical ParkVAFO 1,742,720 July
Gettysburg National Military Park National Military ParkGETT 733,270 June
Flight 93 National Memorial National MemorialFLNI 356,848 September
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River Scenic & Recreational RiverUPDE 325,020 July
Fort Necessity National Battlefield National BattlefieldFONE 256,810 July
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site National Historic SiteALPO 184,097 July
First State National Historical Park National Historical ParkFRST 184,029 October
Johnstown Flood National Memorial National MemorialJOFL 125,404 July
Eisenhower National Historic Site National Historic SiteEISE 67,359 September
Steamtown National Historic Site National Historic SiteSTEA 61,031 August
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site National Historic SiteHOFU 51,090 August
Friendship Hill National Historic Site National Historic SiteFRHI 17,950 August
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site National Historic SiteEDAL 6,866 June
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial National MemorialTHKO 1,580 July
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail National Historic TrailCAJO
Chesapeake Bay CBPO
Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument National MonumentCIBS
Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site National Historic SiteGLDE
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail National Historic TrailLECL
Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River National Wild and Scenic RiverLODE
North Country National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailNOCO
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail National Scenic TrailPOHE
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail National Historic TrailWARO

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