In celebration of National Parks week, Travel Lemming released a data-backed ranking of all 63 US national parks. Shenandoah, Virginia’s only national park, surprised by clinching the top spot as the best national park in the US.
Travel Lemming’s national parks ranking is based on an analysis of data scoring each park across six factors: affordability, accessibility, biodiversity, crowds, reviews, and weather.
The report revealed the following insights:
· Shenandoah National Park tops the list at 1st overall, with exceptional scores in affordability, accessibility, and biodiversity.
· Shenandoah ranks as the 2nd most affordable National Park in the USA. The only more affordable park in America is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
· With 2,563 species, Shenandoah ranks 6th for biodiversity.
· Shenandoah ranks #7 in accessibility, because it is relatively close to major airports like Dulles International Airport, which is just 55.5 miles driving distance away.
· Shenandoah is the 19th best reviewed national park in the USA, with an average visitor rating of 4.77 out of 5.
· Several lesser-known parks rank in the top 20, challenging conventional ideas of the top US national parks.
· Iconic national parks fared worse in the data, largely due to crowds and affordability. Grand Canyon National Park was ranked #15, Yellowstone National Park at position #23, and Yosemite National Park at slot #34.
The full ranking can be found at: https://travellemming.com/best-national-parks-in-usa/.
