A park is a piece of natural, partially undeveloped, or planted land set aside for recreational purposes, the protection of wildlife, or both. The intended use, target audience, and available land qualities impact the park business.

1. What Are National Parks?

A region set aside by a government at the national level for the preservation of the environment. A national park may be preserved for public enjoyment and leisure or due to its historical significance or scientific value.

Many of these wonderful marvels, as well as their flora and animals in a national park, are placed in their native state. The preservation of “wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride” is a shared principle, regardless of how different nations designate their national parks.

The various types of parks differ significantly in the following ways:

• Urban parks are exclusively located near cities for recreational purposes.
• Green spaces like national parks are used for recreation in rural areas.
• Green spaces used for recreation in the states and provinces include state and provincial parks.

Western states in the US include California. On September 9, 1850, it was officially admitted as the 31st state to the union, and by the 1960s, it had overtaken all others in terms of population. The biggest city there is Los Angeles.

Let’s talk about the quantity of best national parks in California. The first state has the most national parks with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four.

More than any other state, California has nine national parks, each drawing visitors differently.

2. Best National Parks in California

The best national parks in California are listed below. Let’s go into detail about the best national parks in California:

2.1. Yosemite National Park:

Yosemite National Park sits in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It is one of the best national parks in California. It is well-known for its enormous, old sequoia trees, Tunnel View, the iconic scene of the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome, and the towering Bridal Veil Fall.

In Yosemite Village are shops, restaurants, hotels, the Yosemite Museum, and the Ansel Adams Gallery, containing prints of the photographer’s iconic black-and-white views of the area.

The National Park Service oversees the 759,620-acre park, which is located in four nations and spans them all. Yosemite National Park’s waterfalls, towering granite monoliths, deep valleys, ancient giant sequoia, groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity are some of its most well-known features on a global scale.

Yosemite was established as a national park on October 1, 1890, and more than 125 years later, it continues to astound tourists. In reality, Yosemite Falls, one of the tallest falls in the world, is composed of three different falls: Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 feet), the middle cascades (675 feet), and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 feet).

Several intriguing details regarding this park include:

• The park has a wilderness designation for over 95% of its area.
• Various plants and animals can be found in Yosemite, one of the Sierra Nevada’s largest and least fragmented habitat blocks.
• The granite rock formations in Yosemite shine like fire at dusk.
• The only national park to submit a bid to host the Winter Olympics is Yosemite.
• Climbers have been lured to Yosemite and its towering rock formations since the 1880s. This is due to the unending range of obstacles it presents to climbers.
• One of the rare spots in the United States where you can view a rainbow at night is Yosemite. A rainbow can be formed from the mist of a waterfall in the spring and early summer if the sky is clear and the moon is full. This is true magic.

2.2.  Joshua Tree National Park:

Joshua Tree National Park is a significant protected area in southern California. Its distinguishing characteristics are the rough rock formations and stark desert panoramas. The park, which comes from the twisting, bristly Joshua trees that grow there, is between the higher and cooler Mojave Desert and the cactus-dotted Colorado Desert.

The famous plants that contributed to the Joshua Tree National Park name are a kind of yucca that belongs to the same subgroup as orchids and blooming grasses. It is one of the best national parks in California. One to three inches of growth per year is the fastest for these plants, contributing to their 150-year lifespan. The Mormons gave the tree the name Joshua.

Providing a home to many reptiles, insects, and birds considerably improves the Mojave Desert’s ecosystem. The Joshua tree woodlands tell a story of perseverance, beauty born of beauty, and tenacity. For those of us who call this place home, they act as a visual cue.

The following are a few intriguing details regarding this park:

• Joshua Tree National Park is managed as wilderness in 85% of its area.
• Within the Park, 57 Different Mammal Species can be found.
• The Park Has 750 Different Plant Species.
• One of the best national parks in California, Joshua Tree Park, has One of California’s best Sunsets for climbers and high liners to test their prowess; Joshua Tree offers at least 8,000 routes: a rock climber’s paradise, the park.
• The International Dark Sky Association classified Joshua Tree as an International Dark Sky Park. One of Southern California’s darkest night skies may be found in Joshua Tree National Park, providing spectacular chances to see the Milky Way.

3. Death Valley National Park:

East of the Sierra Nevada, on the border of California and Nevada, is where you’ll find Death Valley National Park in the United States. It is the nation’s hottest, driest, and lowest park. Death Valley is a place of extremes because of the ongoing drought and the severe summer heat.

Each extreme, though, has a startling contrast. Towering peaks are blanketed with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring colossal wildflower fields. Rich oases provide a haven for animals, people, and little fish. Despite its terrifying image, Death Valley is home to a diverse range of life.

Pioneers who got lost there gave Death Valley its name. One of the men in the group gave the place the term Death Valley due to their near-death experience. It is one of the best national parks in California. Death Valley, the largest national park south of Alaska, is renowned for its extremes.

With the lowest elevation on the continent—282 feet below sea level—it is North America’s hottest and driest place, with less than two inches/five centimeters of rainfall annually and a record high temperature of 134°F.

With more than 3 million acres of wilderness and hundreds of miles of backcountry roads, Death Valley is a huge national park.

Several intriguing details regarding this park include:

• The record for the hottest location on earth belongs to Death Valley.
• The lowest point in North America is in Death Valley.
• The Charcoal Kilns is a historical artifact from the park. Today, guests are welcome to tour the kilns and learn about the people who constructed them.
• Death Valley is a terrific site to marvel at the Milky Way’s vastness, view the moon’s finer details, and experience some of the country’s darkest night sky.
• Death Valley is the largest national park in the United States and the fifth-largest globally.
• In Death Valley, a volcanic explosion left its mark. From a parking lot on its rim, visitors may see the entire crater, but further investigation on paths reveals other smaller craters and the intriguing results of erosion.

4. Lassen Volcanic National Park:

Lassen Volcanic National Park can be found in Northern California. The park’s most notable feature is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade range.

One of the best national parks in California, Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few places on earth where all four types of volcanoes—plug dome, shield cylindrical cone, and stratovolcano—can be found. It is full of hydrothermal sites, such as the huge field of bubbling mud pots at Bumpass Hell.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to boiling fumaroles, meadows freckled with wildflowers, pristine mountain lakes, and several volcanoes. On August 9, 1916, Lassen Volcanic became a national park. The Pacific time zone corresponds to Lassen Volcanic National Park.

The American black bear, bobcat, mountain lion, raccoon, coyote, fox, weasel, and skunk are among its members. There are also lesser-known species like the American marten and ringtails. Lassen Park is the largest of more than 30 volcanic domes erupted during the past 300,000 years in northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park.

5. Pinnacles National Park:

Pinnacles National Park, a national park in the United States, protects the East of the Salinas Valley in Central California, a mountainous region.

One of the best national parks in California, Pinnacles was originally established in 1908 by the President and re-designated as such in 2013. The national park’s East and West Divisions are only connected by walkways and are divided by rock formations.

Water and shade are on the east side, while tall walls are on the west. Granite climbers are drawn to the stunning pinnacles that the rock formations create. The best seasons to visit Pinnacles are spring and fall due to the intense heat in the summer. One of the least appreciated national parks is this one.

• You Can Explore Bat-Filled Caves
• Bear Gulch Cave and Balconies Cave, home to bat colonies, are two of Pinnacles National Park’s main attractions. Talus caverns are located here.
• The newest national park in the United States is Pinnacles.
• In Pinnacles National Park, there is the greatest variety of bee species.
• Pinnacles are only 42 square miles but are home to more than 400 different kinds of bees. This makes the National Park home to the greatest variety of bee species.

6. Channel Islands National Park:

Five of the eight Channel Islands off California’s Pacific coast are environmentally rich islands that make up Channel Islands National Park. The islands have been comparatively undeveloped despite being near the shore of the heavily populated state.

Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa are the names of these five islands.

On “Anacapa Island,” trails lead to Inspiration Point, a clifftop lookout point with a 1932 lighthouse. Along with seals, sea lions, and thousands of seabirds, this area is also home to tidepools teeming with aquatic life, including sea stars and urchins.

Additionally, Anacapa is renowned for having some of the best kayaking and diving in the entire globe. It is regarded as one of the best national parks in California because of its extensive features.

The enormous Painted Cave is among the numerous sea caves on “Santa Cruz“ Island. In addition, Santa Cruz is home to the rare island scrub jay, one of 387 bird species in the park, which draws birders from all over the world. An island fox, roughly one-third the size of a regular fox, can also be seen.

Unusual Torrey trees can be found on “Santa Rosa” Island. Santa Rosa Island, a rough and mostly unexplored 53,000-acre wilderness paradise, is arguably the most underappreciated of all the Channel Islands (which is saying something). Thousands of seals congregate at Point Bennett on “San Miguel” Island.

Seabirds nesting in the isle “Santa Barbara” in the south attract them. The smallest of the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Island, is uninhabited and one square mile in size. Like Anacapa, it has rocky cliffs, many birdwatching opportunities, and good kayaking and diving.

7. Point Reyes National Park:

Point Reyes National Seashore spans 71,028 acres (287.44 km2). Ten Mile Beach, an iconic stretch of the coastline, the Point Reyes Lighthouse, and epic hiking trails are just a few of the attractions in Point Reyes National Seashore. The coastline at Point Reyes is stunning!

Point Reyes National Seashore was created to preserve and protect wilderness, natural ecosystems, and cultural heritage along the western United States’ dwindling undeveloped coastline. The second foggiest place in North America is Point Reyes.

Point Reyes offers visitors over 1500 kinds of flora and animals to discover, from its thunderous ocean surges breaking against rocky headlands and wide-open sand beaches to its open grasslands, brushy hillsides, and forested summits.

You may find beaches like Wildcat Beach and Almere Falls on the cliff. The Post Reyes Lighthouse, built in 1870 on a rocky headland, is a lookout point for migrating grey whales.

Undoubtedly, it is ranked as one of the best national parks in California. Numerous routes in the Phillip Burton Wilderness lead through fir and pine forests, past grasslands, and Mount Wittenberg’s summit.

8. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks  

In the two parks, the giants mentioned are the sequoias, the tallest trees in the world, located east of Fresno. Sequoia National Park, which covers more than 631 square miles, was created in September 1890, and Kings Canyon National Park, which covers 722 square miles, was created 50 years later, in 1940. Since 1943, the two parks have been managed in tandem. They cover 1,353 square miles altogether (3,500 km2).

Sequoia National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California. The first park established to safeguard a living thing was Sequoia. On the eastern edge of Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest is the 14,494-foot-tall Mount Whitney.

Kings Canyon National Park is next to Sequoia National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. The deepest canyon in the United States is in Kings Canyon National Park, which has a landscape similar to Yosemite Valley.

These national parks in Sequoia and Kings Canyon are mostly wilderness. The parks’ incredible elevation variation ranges from 1,300 feet in the lowlands to 14,494 feet in the high Sierra, resulting in a topographic diversity of over 315 different animal species throughout elevation zones.

Peregrine falcons, black bears, and even western and mountain bluebirds are a few of these magnificent creatures. These are two of the best national parks in California.

Five of the ten biggest trees in the world, including the General Sherman tree, can be found in the Giant Forest. The parks also have some of the most diverse collections of pine trees, including the enormous sugar pine, ponderosa pine, high-elevation foxtail, and whitebark pines.

9. Redwood National Park:

The northernmost portion of California in the United States is home to Redwood National Park. It was established in 1968, with a border revision in 1978, and was named a World Heritage site in 1980. Redwoods have a 4,000-year lifespan.

Redwoods look out for one another. They produce rain. In their branches, entire ecosystems are found. Here, wild creatures can thrive. Redwoods stand up to climate change.

The Redwoods are one of Earth’s most gorgeous and durable creations, some of which date back to the Roman Empire and have been growing for thousands of years. Redwood National Park is one of the best national parks in California while discussing the best parks.

Prairie and oak woodlands, powerful rivers and streams, and 37 miles of unspoiled Pacific shoreline make up the mosaic of habitats that make up Redwood Park. Redwoods, which tower over their bewildered and awed visitors, provide a look into the past even as they continue to get bigger and taller into the future.

The USA Tales team talked to Mary Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Company That Buys Houses, about sustainable environmental management and cultural preservation of Redwood National Park. Here is what she said:

“The Redwood National and State Parks in California have long been hailed as a model for sustainable environmental management and cultural preservation.

Located along the northern coast of California, these parks are home to some of the most majestic and ancient trees on Earth—the coast redwoods.

But it’s not just the towering trees that make this park system so special; it’s also how they have been able to balance conservation and preservation with the protection of indigenous heritage.

One of the key strategies used by the Redwood National and State Parks is the collaboration between state and federal agencies, as well as working closely with local indigenous communities.

This partnership has allowed for a holistic approach to park management that takes into consideration both ecological and cultural concerns. By involving local tribes in decision-making processes, the parks can ensure that their traditions and heritage are respected and preserved.

Another important aspect of the park’s sustainable management is the use of traditional ecological knowledge. This involves incorporating the knowledge and practices of indigenous communities into conservation efforts.

For example, traditional burning techniques used by indigenous peoples have been employed to help manage vegetation in the parks and reduce fuel for wildfires.

In addition, the Redwood National and State Parks have implemented various sustainable practices such as using renewable energy sources, promoting eco-friendly tourism, and implementing waste reduction and recycling programs.

These efforts not only help reduce the environmental impact of the parks but also serve as a model for visitors to take back to their communities.”

We interviewed Eric Novinson, Founder of This Is Accounting Automation, on this. Here is what he had to say:

“The Redwood forests have become a valuable tourist attraction that shows that logging isn’t the only value they provide.

As for conservation, it’s important to create opportunities for the indigenous tribes that live in the area to benefit from the tourism revenue as well as revenue from related industries.

The Yurok Tribe is already helping the US government manage the Redwood forest and related resources such as local fisheries.”

Guest Author: Saket Kumar

Last Updated on May 2, 2024 by Saket Kumar