Snowcapped mountains surrounded by bright blue skies and frames by gold wildflowers on a valley floo
National Parks 5 parks California Updated 2026

National Parks in California

Photo: NPS
5
Parks
2
Free Entry
Death Valley
Most Visited

Quick answer: California has 5 national parks: Death Valley, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood National and State Parks, Channel Islands, Pinnacles.

California has 5 national parks — Death Valley, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood National and State Parks, and 2 more. 2 parks have free admission; Death Valley is the largest at 3,422,024 acres.

Map

National Parks in California

# Park Visitors (2023)
1
≈ 1.1 million (2023)
2
≈ 516K (2023)
3
≈ 433K (2023)
4
≈ 360K (2023)
5
≈ 217K (2023)

All 5 National Parks in California

1.

Death Valley National Park

Key Facts

Established
1994
Area
3,422,024 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 1.1 million (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Death Valley National Park covers 3,422,024 acres of desert basin and mountain in California and Nevada — the largest national park in the contiguous United States, established in 1994 from a national monument that dates to 1933. Badwater Basin, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in North America, and the park holds the world's highest reliably recorded air temperature of 134 °F (56.7 °C).

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2.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Key Facts

Established
1916
Area
106,589 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 516K (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Lassen Volcanic National Park protects 106,589 acres of northern California where all four types of volcanoes exist within a single park boundary and hydrothermal activity keeps the ground boiling today. The park's centerpiece is Lassen Peak, a 10,457-foot plug dome volcano that erupted in 1914 and produced a major explosive event on May 22, 1915, making it the most recently active volcano in the contiguous United States before Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Boiling mudpots, fumaroles, and steam vents cluster at Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works, both accessible from the 29-mile park highway. The park draws about 516,000 visitors per year and sits roughly 50 miles east of Redding at the southern end of the Cascade Range.

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3.

Redwood National and State Parks

Key Facts

Established
1968
Area
138,999 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 433K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Redwood National and State Parks in northern California protect 138,999 acres of coast redwood forest along a 50-mile stretch of coastline, home to the tallest trees on Earth. The complex combines one national park with three California state parks under shared management, is free to enter, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.

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4.

Channel Islands National Park

Key Facts

Established
1980
Area
249,561 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 360K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Channel Islands National Park protects five islands off the southern California coast and their surrounding ocean, covering 249,561 acres with no road access — visitors arrive only by boat or small plane. Established in 1980, the park shelters eight endemic species including the island fox and draws roughly 360,000 visitors a year.

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5.

Pinnacles National Park

Key Facts

Established
2013
Area
26,686 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 217K (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Pinnacles National Park in California protects 26,686 acres of volcanic rock spires and talus caves near Soledad, established as a national monument in 1908 and elevated to national park status in 2013. It is one of the best places in North America to observe wild California condors and ranks 59th among the 63 U.S. national parks in annual visitation.

Read more about Pinnacles National Park