Curious what the oldest national parks in America are? Want to know if you share a birthday with a national park? Looking for a reason for another (random) anniversary celebration?
From the very first federal preserve in 1832 (Hot Springs) and the world’s first national park established in 1872 (Yellowstone) to the most recently created national parks, you’ll find all national park anniversary dates below.
The Complete National Park Birthdays Calendar 2020
This table contains a complete list of all national park birthdays. You can sort the columns to see a(n):
- Chronological timeline of the years they were established
- Handy annual national parks birthday list
- Alphabetical overview of all 62 U.S. national parks
| Year | Month/Day | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1832 | 04/20 | Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas |
| 1872 | 03/01 | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho |
| 1890 | 09/25 | Sequoia National Park, California |
| 1890 | 10/01 | Kings Canyon National Park, California |
| 1890 | 10/01 | Yosemite National Park, California |
| 1899 | 03/02 | Mount Rainier National Park, Washington |
| 1902 | 05/22 | Crater Lake National Park, Oregon |
| 1903 | 01/09 | Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota |
| 1906 | 06/29 | Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado |
| 1906 | 12/08 | Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona |
| 1907 | 05/06 | Lassen Volcanic National Park, California |
| 1908 | 01/16 | Pinnacles National Park, California |
| 1909 | 03/02 | Olympic National Park, Washington |
| 1909 | 07/31 | Zion National Park, Utah |
| 1910 | 05/11 | Glacier National Park, Montana |
| 1915 | 01/26 | Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado |
| 1916 | 07/08 | Acadia National Park, Maine |
| 1916 | 08/01 | Haleakala National Park, Hawaii |
| 1916 | 08/01 | Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii |
| 1917 | 02/26 | Denali National Park, Alaska |
| 1918 | 09/24 | Katmai National Park, Alaska |
| 1919 | 02/26 | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona |
| 1922 | 01/24 | Great Basin National Park, Nevada |
| 1923 | 06/08 | Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah |
| 1923 | 10/25 | Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico |
| 1925 | 02/26 | Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska |
| 1926 | 05/22 | Shenandoah National Park, Virginia |
| 1926 | 05/22 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee |
| 1926 | 05/25 | Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky |
| 1929 | 02/26 | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming |
| 1929 | 04/12 | Arches National Park, Utah |
| 1931 | 03/03 | Isle Royale National Park, Michigan |
| 1932 | 03/17 | Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado |
| 1933 | 01/18 | White Sands National Park, New Mexico |
| 1933 | 02/11 | Death Valley National Park, California |
| 1933 | 03/01 | Saguaro National Park, Arizona |
| 1933 | 03/02 | Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado |
| 1934 | 05/30 | Everglades National Park, Florida |
| 1935 | 06/20 | Big Bend National Park, Texas |
| 1935 | 12/21 | Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri |
| 1936 | 08/10 | Joshua Tree National Park, California |
| 1937 | 08/02 | Capitol Reef National Park, Utah |
| 1938 | 04/26 | Channel Islands National Park, California |
| 1939 | 01/25 | Badlands National Park, South Dakota |
| 1947 | 04/25 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota |
| 1956 | 08/02 | Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands |
| 1964 | 09/12 | Canyonlands National Park, Utah |
| 1966 | 10/15 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas |
| 1966 | 11/05 | Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana |
| 1968 | 10/02 | North Cascades National Park, Washington |
| 1968 | 10/02 | Redwood National Park, California |
| 1968 | 10/18 | Biscayne National Park, Florida |
| 1971 | 01/08 | Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota |
| 1975 | 06/26 | Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio |
| 1976 | 10/18 | Congaree National Park, South Carolina |
| 1978 | 12/01 | Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska |
| 1978 | 12/01 | Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska |
| 1978 | 12/01 | Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska |
| 1978 | 12/01 | Lake Clark National Park, Alaska |
| 1978 | 12/01 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska |
| 1988 | 10/31 | National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa |
| 1992 | 10/26 | Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida |
Additionally, it’s important to know that many of these national parks were national monuments or reservations first. I should clarify that the dates in this national park birthdays overview are when they were first established.
These are the days they became a federally protected park, whether it was as a national monument, a reservation or a national park.
This is, for example, why the birthday of White Sands National Park, technically the newest national park in America, is January 18, 1933 (when it was established as a national monument) and not December 20, 2019 (when it was redesignated a national park).
It’s also why Hot Springs National Park is the oldest National Park Service site. This park was the very first federal park created by the U.S. government, established on April 20, 1832, decades before the designation of Yellowstone as the first national park. (The “Hot Springs Reservation” was redesignated Hot Springs National Park in 1921.)
Therefore, while Hot Springs is the oldest federally protected park, Yellowstone is still the oldest national park!
All National Park Service Sites Anniversary Dates
For an overview of the anniversaries of all 400+ national park sites in America, you’ll find a comprehensive timeline on the National Park Service website
The National Parks Service itself was founded on August 25, 1916. Each year, this day is one of the handful of days when you can visit all national parks for free.