There is no standard size for a U.S. national park. The National Park Service (NPS) manages many kinds of sites, including national parks, preserves, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas and memorials. Their areas differ by designation and boundary.
The NPS identifies Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska as the largest national park site at about 13.2 million acres (roughly 20,600 square miles). Its FAQ lists Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania as the smallest site at 0.02 acre—about 871 square feet. These examples span very different kinds of NPS sites, so the smallest figure is not a national park titled “National Park.” See the NPS FAQ.
For a comparison between designated parks, the NPS lists Yosemite National Park at 759,620 acres, or about 1,187 square miles. By comparison, Grand Canyon National Park covers about 1,904 square miles. NPS Yosemite statistics.
| U.S. NPS site | Approximate area | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial | 0.02 acre (about 871 sq ft) | Smallest site in the NPS FAQ |
| Yosemite National Park | 759,620 acres (about 1,187 sq mi) | National park example |
| Grand Canyon National Park | About 1,904 sq mi | National park example |
| Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve | About 13.2 million acres (about 20,600 sq mi) | Largest NPS site in the NPS FAQ; includes a preserve |
These are area measurements, not length or width. An acreage figure alone does not tell you a park's shape or the distance across it. For a particular park, check its NPS statistics and map; see our Grand Canyon length, width and area guide for one example.