By state · WA

National Parks in Washington.

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

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

Washington has Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks — three of the lower-48 parks with the most distinct landscapes — plus San Juan Island, Ebey's Landing, Lake Roosevelt, and Lake Chelan NRA. Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) is the dominant anchor for all three parks. Olympic's geography spans temperate rainforest (Hoh), alpine peaks (Hurricane Ridge), and ocean coast in one park. Mount Rainier is the southernmost glaciated stratovolcano in the Cascade range, and its high-country road windows are tight. North Cascades is the least-visited of the three because its access roads (North Cascades Highway, Stehekin) are remote and seasonal. The Pacific Northwest's dry window runs roughly July through mid-September — the only reliably clear weather block for these parks; the rest of the year is rain.

Every NPS unit in Washington.

Washington's 17 NPS units: 5 National Historical Parks · 3 National Historic Sites · 3 National Parks · 2 National Historic Trails · 1 National Historical Reserve · 1 National Geologic Trail · 1 National Recreation Area · 1 Affiliated Area. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 8,222,551 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Olympic National Park at about 3.08M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Olympic National Park National ParkOLYM 3,080,171 August
Mount Rainier National Park National ParkMORA 1,644,420 July
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area National Recreation AreaLARO 1,176,192 July
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site National Historic SiteFOVA 964,072 July
San Juan Island National Historical Park National Historical ParkSAJH 524,645 July
Nez Perce National Historical Park National Historical ParkNEPE 343,582 June
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park National Historical ParkLEWI 270,041 July
Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park National Historical ParkKLSE 65,921 July
Whitman Mission National Historic Site National Historic SiteWHMI 51,715 May
Manhattan Project National Historical Park National Historical ParkMAPR 48,902 July
North Cascades National Park National ParkNOCA 30,354 July
Minidoka National Historic Site National Historic SiteMIIN 22,536 July
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve National Historical ReserveEBLA — —
Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail National Geologic TrailIAFL — —
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail National Historic TrailLECL — —
Oregon National Historic Trail National Historic TrailOREG — —
Wing Luke Museum Affiliated Area Affiliated AreaWING — —

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.

Adjacent reading

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