Interesting Fun Facts About World National Parks

Are you heading out of your main gate to explore the most visited national park? There’s nothing more exciting than having some background information about various national parks and then experiencing it. Enriched with historical, geological and ecological wonders, the world’s national parks have many amusing facts. Moreover, it’s no secret how national park tours have been a part of America’s domestic adventure expedition.

Credit: Jill Charpia

22 Fun Facts about World’s National Parks

Fun Fact #1. A Great 423 National Parks Across the Country

Most people know about the existence of 63 national parks. However, there’s a gigantic number of 423 national parks in the country. That is inclusive of historic sites, battlefields, recreational areas, lakeshores, national monuments and many more.

Fun Fact #2. Forgotten Bear Shows of Yellowstone

Do you know that bear canisters used by visitors to store food and garbage in the backcountry of the famous Yellowstone were once popular for bear shows? Bear Shows were a popular attraction of this place and tourists flock to witness the amazing show of the bears looking for food. Now the open air garbage dumps used to run in the bear lunch counter.

Fun Fact #3. The Most Visited National Park

The most visited national park in the United States of America is none other than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The reason is its spectacular firefly view and picturesque biodiversity of Tennessee and North Carolina. Approximately, the park attracts millions of visitors in a year. The figure is almost double the visitors who visit the second most popular national park in the country. Nonetheless, last year, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had been a host to a mind-blowing 307.2 millions of guests.

Fun Fact #4. The Oldest National Park

The United States got its first national park in 1872, popularly known as Yellowstone. It ranks first among the World National Parks and also the oldest one. In addition, South Dakota’s Wind Cave National Park is the first cave to get the designation of a national park. It is currently the sixth longest park in the world. Wind Cave forms about 95% of the world’s calcite called box-work.

Fun Fact #5. Grand Canyon is Really Grand

Have you ever wondered how grand Arizona’s Grand Canyon is? Located just behind the Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon covers over a mile in depth of the entire length of 277 miles of the state. The debate of this national park is infamous as the scientists had different views of the canyon’s origin of whether the Colorado River actually carved the entire canyon, or it was already there as an ancient gorgeous?

Whatever may be the reason, the Grand Canyon has become the second most visited national park in the United States of America, with a footfall of 5.9 millions of visitors every year. In addition, the Grand Canyon is bigger than the state of Little Rhody. According to geographical information, the Grand Canyon is 1904 sq miles long, while Little Rhody is just 1212 sq miles.

Fun Fact #6. Yellowstone Is Home to Many Geysers

Another interesting fact about Yellowstone is that the National Park has more than 500 active geysers, which is more than half of the geysers found in the whole world. Here, you can witness the super volcano, Yellowstone Caldera. This super volcano is the cause for the three of the six biggest volcanic eruptions in the world, and it is on pace to blast after thousands of years! So, do visit the national park whenever you can!

Fun Fact #7. Enjoy a unique adventure in the Colorado National Park

To witness the tallest sand dunes in North America named as the Star Dune, you have to visit Colorado National Park. The height of the Great Sand Dunes is 755 feet tall, making it a perfect racing getaway for adrenaline junkies. Turn your adventurous more on and try sand boarding when coming to the Colorado National Park. So, get ready to sled down the giant Star Dune on custom made sleds and sand boards.

Fun Fact #8. Denali has a different way of admission charging

Denali is completely on the other end of the gamut of its fellow free parks in the state of Alaska. Mostly the admission charges of the national parks carry out per vehicle. However, Denali charges each individual and entry fee. This is primarily because of the absence of a traditional entrance to the park. So, while booking a bus tour or reserving a campground, the authority charges people.

Fun Fact #9. Find the lowest Point in the National Park

Have you been to Death Valley National Park? The park has a badwater basin that sits at an epic 283 feet below sea level. The dichotomy lies in its highest point that is at the Telescope Peak of 11,049 feet.

Fun Fact #10. Intriguing Theories about the names of Grand Tetons Peaks

There are varied theories found about the naming of the peaks of the Grand Tetons. The most interesting being the story of how French voyageurs set their eyes on the well-defined mountains after completing a long journey. They promptly coined these mountains as the “Les trois tétons,” meaning “the three years”.

The three striking peaks have names of their own. In French, the largest one literally says “the big test”.

Fun Fact #11. Longest Cave System in the National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park spreads over a mesmerizing site of 400+ miles. NPS estimates the length to encompass at least over 600 miles. Thus, making it the longest cave system not just in America, but in the whole world.

Fun Fact #12. Grand Teton and Yellowstone are Neighbors

It would be a criminal offence to visit either Grand Teton or Yellowstone. Just Joking! Well, you can cover both the national parks in a day as the south entry gate of Yellowstone and north entrance of Grand Teton are only 10 miles away from one another. So, make sure to visit both.

Fun Fact #13. Road access Isn’t possible in every National Park

There are a few national parks like Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park, California’s Channel Islands and Michigan’s Isle Royale where you can’t just drive and reach. You can get access to these national parks either by plane or boat as they are on remote islands. Dry Tortugas National Park is approximately 70 miles away from Key West in Florida. Most of the area of this park is open water, encompassing 7 small islands. The best part of this national park is its amazing snorkeling and scuba diving and exploring sea turtles of 5 different species.

Fun Fact #14. The Least-visited National Park

There is a least-visited national park in the United States of America. Kobuk Valley attracts just as low as 3,000 visitors every year, whereas Zion National Park gets annual visitors of 4 million on average. The reason for low visitors in the Kobuk Valley National Park is its extremely remote site. This remote park is so far-fetched in northwestern Alaska that no roads can connect to the park. If you like adventure, get yourself prepared for a true wild adventure to reach there! In addition, Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks also have no roads. These parks are well-protected in the pristine wilds.

Fun Fact #15. See the First Sunrise from This National Park

The U.S gets its first sliver of sunlight on Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is the highest point in the Acadia National Park. The mountain sees the first light for several months, typically from mid-October to the early days of March.

Fun Fact #16. The Smallest National Park

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, popularly known as the Gateway Arch National Park, takes its name from the famous 630-feet tall Gateway Arch. It has an area of only 2% the size of the next smallest national park in the U.S.

Situated in St. Louis, Missouri, this national park has the Old Courthouse, which was once a Dred Scott Case site. Plus, the park also has the Museum of Westward Expansion displaying the history of the American West, the Lewis, Clark Boat House and Nature Centre. The park is not only a popular tourist place but also popular as an event and festival venue.

Located in the center of St. Louis, the centerpiece of the Gateway of Arch National Park is the Gateway Arch. The easy access makes it easier for people to visit the park by car or any public transportation. To witness the breathtaking panoramic beauty of the city from the arch’s top, take a tram ride.

Fun Fact #17. Hot Springs National Park Was a Spa

Even though it started as a spa, the steamy spring waters in Arkansas have been a part of the Hot Springs National Park since 1921. In 1832, the United States of America designated the location as a recreational area where Americans used to bathe in the hot springs water flowing from the Hot Springs Mountain slopes. A widespread belief is that warm water possesses several therapeutic and medicinal properties. Therefore, the area is a deep-rooted heritage site for spas.

Fun Fact #18. The Largest National Park of the US is in Alaska

Visit the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve to discover volcanoes in the largest national park in the UN. Established in 1980, the national park has Mount Saint Elias among the tallest mountains and volcanoes of North America. Another interesting thing about the park is that over a quarter area remains under the glaciers, remarkably known as the Hubbard Glacier, Malaspina Glacier and the Nabesna Glacier. With this, Alaska has 8 national parks, marking the state as the second largest number of national parks after California. However, you won’t see a tiger in any of these national parks.

Fun Fact #19. National Parks cover 3.4 percent of the American soil

Spanning over 27 States of the US, national parks cover a shopping 84.6 million acres of the country’s land. St. Elias, the largest national park in America alone, sprawls across 8.3 million acres. But don’t mistake it for thinking of all the United States’ national parks to be so massive. The smallest national park, Hot Springs, blanket on 5500 acres of Arkansas soil. This house of 47 hot springs is perhaps the first piece of land that was federally protected in 1832 but got its honorific name as a national park after 1921.

Fun Fact #20. The World’s Largest Tree Is in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park gives shelter to the largest known tree in the world, the General Sherman. The General Sherman has a great volume of 52,500 cubic feet, which when compared to an 88,500 cubic feet Olympic swimming pool, is more than half of the size of the pool. It isn’t the oldest or tallest tree in the world. The General Sherman is reaching its middle age after living 2000 years, and scientists say the tree is still growing.

Fun Fact #21. Mesa Verde National Park has thousands of Archaeological Sites

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado preserves 5000 archaeological sites, including the 600 cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Thus, making it the largest archaeological preserve in the United States of America.

Fun Fact #22. Many National Parks Offer Free Entry

There are several national parks in the United States like the Great Smoky Mountains, Hot Springs National Park, Channel Islands, Voyageurs and more which offer completely free entry, especially if you are a US Veteran. However, you may still have to pay for transport parking, gear rentals, camping, etc.

Conclusion

The United States is a home to several remarkable national parks. Among them, the congress designated 63 national parks as preserved areas. Every national park has its own natural beauty, distinct ecosystem, geological features and recreational options. Therefore, millions of visitors step into the national parks every year. If you are about to explore them, their historical fun facts mentioned in the article will surely arouse your excitement.  But no matter which National Park you choose next, always remember to Travel Till You Drop!