As of 2024, the United States has 63 officially designated national parks. This count refers specifically to places whose formal congressional designation is “national park,” not to every property managed by the National Park Service.
The National Park System contains more than 400 units, including national monuments, historic sites, seashores, battlefields, preserves, recreation areas, and other designations. That broader figure is the source of one of the most common counting mistakes. A national preserve may be administered alongside a national park, but it is generally counted separately from the park designation.
The first national park was Yellowstone, established in 1872. The National Park Service itself was created in 1916 to manage the growing collection of protected places. The number 63 can change when Congress redesignates or creates a new national park, so a quiz asking for a particular year must be read carefully. In 2024, however, 63 was the accepted total.