National Parks in France and the United States: 11 vs. 63, Two Philosophies
France's 11 national parks and the NPS's 63: inhabited zones versus wilderness, free entry versus passes, and which French park speaks to Western travelers.
An independent guide · 63 parks · 16 pages each
The 63 US national parks
One country invented the idea that a landscape could belong to no one. It made sixty-three of them. We cover them one by one, from Yellowstone to the reefs of the South Pacific, with the obsession for detail that changes a trip.
The map of all 63 parks
Albers equal-area projection. Alaska, Hawaii and the overseas territories are shown as insets. On a large screen, the printer’s loupe follows the cursor.
Why the US national parks
On March 1, 1872, the US Congress withdrew nearly 3,500 square miles of volcanic plateau from the market. No owner, no concession, no development: land kept “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” Yellowstone became the world’s first national park, and the idea that a landscape could belong to no one would go on to circle the globe.
- The sheer scale What strikes a European traveler is the scale. Wrangell-St. Elias, in Alaska, is larger than Switzerland. You don’t “do” an American park in a day. You pick one entrance, one valley, one road, and give up the rest.
- The range Between Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley, and the tundra of Gates of the Arctic, beyond the polar circle, there’s the same agency, the same passport to get stamped, the same ranger hat. That’s what makes the collection irresistible.
- The access An American national park isn’t an off-limits reserve: it’s built to be visited. Scenic drives, visitor centers, shuttles, evening ranger talks. America didn’t just invent the national park, it invented the way to take the whole family there.
- 1872 Yellowstone Ulysses S. Grant signs the act creating the world’s first national park.
- 1890 Yosemite Won by John Muir’s press campaign, who called it “the cathedral of the Sierra.”
- 1903 Three nights under the sequoias Theodore Roosevelt camps with Muir in Yosemite. Federal protection would expand in its wake.
- 1916 The National Park Service A dedicated agency, charged with leaving the parks “unimpaired for future generations.”
- 1938 The posters The Federal Art Project screen-prints the park posters. This site owes them its look.
- Today 63 parks From the Arctic Circle to the reefs of the South Pacific, under one and the same passport.
Find your park by landscape
You rarely know which park you want. You almost always know which setting you’re after. Each of the 63 parks has one dominant climate.
- Deserts & canyons 16 parks Bare rock, low raking light, immense distances. The backdrop of the Southwest and Utah road trips, the one you picture before you even leave.
- Mountains & glaciers 12 parks High passes, glacial lakes, snowfields that linger into July. You come to hike, and for the crisp air at first light.
- Far North 8 parks Alaska: tundra, brown bears, parks with no roads or trails. The trip takes serious planning, and that’s exactly what makes it worth it.
- Great plains & lakes 8 parks Tall grass, eroded badlands, Great Lakes forests. Little-visited parks where you cross paths with more bison than cars.
- Tropics & volcanoes 7 parks Florida mangroves, Hawaii lava flows, Caribbean reefs. Muggy heat, and a dry season that runs from December to April.
- Eastern forests 7 parks The Appalachians and the South: hardwood forests, early-morning mist, cave systems. This is where the American fall takes on its colors.
- Coasts & rainforests 4 parks Coasts battered by the Pacific or the Atlantic, temperate rainforests. Coastal redwoods, tides and fog banks.
The parks not to miss
If it’s a first trip, it will probably start with one of these. They’re also the busiest: read the “best time to visit” page before booking anything.
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Yellowstone Idaho · Montana · Wyoming The world’s first national park, created in 1872. More than half the planet’s geysers sit within its valleys. -
Grand Canyon Arizona 277 miles long, 6,000 feet deep. Two rims that face each other and are visited in completely different ways. -
Zion Utah A canyon you hike up by wading through the river, between 2,000-foot sandstone walls. Shuttle required much of the year. -
Bryce Canyon Utah A forest of orange hoodoos at 8,900 feet. Nearly 200 freeze-thaw cycles a year: it’s the frost that carves them. -
Death Valley Californie · Nevada The lowest point in North America, and the world heat record. Visit in winter, never in August. -
Yosemite Californie The granite walls that invented modern climbing, and waterfalls that peak in May. -
Arches Utah More than 2,000 natural arches in a single park. Timed-entry reservation required in peak season. -
Grand Teton Wyoming A range that rises straight from the plain with no foothills, just south of Yellowstone. The two are visited on a single trip.
Where to go by season
In October. The American fall. The Eastern hardwoods catch fire and the Southwest gets back to hiking temperatures.
Latest park news
Closures, wildfires, reopenings and alerts that change what you need to plan for, park by park.
Our team
We’re a small team of enthusiasts. We write what we’d have wanted to read before leaving: the reservations decided six months ahead, the high roads that don’t reopen until June, the shuttle you can’t avoid. The kind of detail you only find by really digging in.
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Jocelyn Pion Founder and editor-in-chief He launched American Parks after a first two-week trip: six parks, an RV, and the urge to record everything. He runs the editorial line, the maps and the West. -
Victoria Boissonade Writer, Northwest and Northern Rockies A Cascadia enthusiast, she covers the Northwest and the Northern Rockies. She also owns the site’s identity: the screen-printing-workshop look, the posters, the style guide. -
David Sanchez Writer, East, South and Midwest A US resident and Spanish speaker, he covers the half of the country least written about: the Appalachians, Florida, the Great Lakes, Texas. -
Erika Müller Writer, Alaska, Hawaii and overseas From the mountains, she handles the hardest parks to reach: roadless Alaska, Hawaii and the overseas territories. Where logistics matter more than the view.
Beyond the parks
ESTA, flights, gateway cities, deals and stories: the blog’s in-depth articles, for everything that surrounds the parks.
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