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California

In this State

  • 28

    National Park Sites

  • 13

    Protected Parks

  • 37

    Buddy Bison Programs

California National Parks & National Park Service Sites: A Complete Guide

California is home to eight national parks and 20 additional National Park Service sites — more units of the National Park System than any other state. From the granite cliffs and waterfalls of Yosemite to the desert extremes of Death Valley and Joshua Tree, the ancient groves of Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Redwood, and the isolated marine ecosystems of the Channel Islands, California’s parks capture nearly every major landscape found in the American West. Historic sites and monuments add another layer, preserving stories of Indigenous heritage, Gold Rush settlement, labor and civil rights history, and the WWII home front and incarceration era. Because so much of this land sits at the intersection of dense population centers and irreplaceable ecosystems, California has become a national focal point for conservation — protecting critical inholdings, rare species, and public access before development closes the window for good.

How Many National Park Service Sites Are in California?

  • 8 National Parks
  • 20 additional National Park Service sites

That’s 28 National Park Service sites in California in total — more than any other state.

The Eight National Parks in California

The Eight National Parks in California   

Here’s a closer look at each of California’s eight national parks:

Yosemite National Park (Sierra Nevada, CA) Yosemite Valley delivers some of the most iconic views in the National Park System, framed by Half Dome and El Capitan, while the sequoias of Mariposa Grove and the tallest waterfall in North America draw visitors from around the world. First protected by Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and designated a national park in 1890, Yosemite is also a premier backpacking destination with sweeping access to the High Sierra backcountry, and the historic Ahwahnee Hotel still captures the feel of its early years.

Joshua Tree National Park (Southern California) Named for the large, slow-growing yucca that can live up to 1,000 years, this Mojave Desert park is a magnet for rock climbers and boulderers. Despite its arid terrain, it’s remarkably biodiverse — home to 250 bird species, 53 mammal species, seven kinds of rattlesnake, and the rosy boa — and its drylands preserve more than 10,000 years of human history.

Lassen Volcanic National Park (Mineral, CA) True to its name, Lassen’s landscape is shaped almost entirely by volcanic activity; although its last eruption was in 1915, the park stays active with hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. Day hiking and camping are popular through the warmer months, and winter brings snowshoeing, including ranger-led walks.

Pinnacles National Park (Paicines, CA) One of just four release sites for the California condor as part of the effort to reestablish the species in the wild, Pinnacles is built on an ancient volcanic landscape rich with wildlife, including more than 400 species of bees. Visitors can explore 32 miles of trails or duck into one of the park’s two talus caves.

Death Valley National Park (CA & NV) Death Valley earns its reputation as the lowest, driest, and hottest national park — Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level, even as surrounding peaks climb to 11,000 feet. The Mojave Desert landscape here is a showcase of geology, from colorful layered rock and volcanic deposits to exposed fossils and unusual formations like the Devil’s Golf Course.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Tulare & Fresno Counties, CA) Jointly managed, these two parks protect the largest trees on Earth — some reachable by road, others only by trail into more remote groves. Elevations range from 1,370 to 14,494 feet, so plant life and climate shift dramatically across the parks, which offer both backcountry and front-country camping along with four lodges.

Redwood National & State Parks  (Del Norte & Humboldt Counties, CA) Along this stretch of coastline, Pacific rainforest conditions grow the tallest trees on Earth — the park’s tallest redwood, known as Hyperion, rises nearly 380 feet — the tallest tree on Earth. Beyond the redwoods, the park includes 40 miles of coastline with tide pools well worth exploring.

Channel Islands National Park (Ventura, CA) Five arid islands make up this park, and their isolation from the mainland has left them with few native land mammals — only four species — but a rich diversity of marine life, including abundant sea lions, seals, dolphins, and whales. Giant sea bass and the state fish, the Garibaldi, patrol the surrounding kelp forests

Other National Park Service Sites Across California

California is also home to 20 additional National Park Service sites, each preserving a different piece of the state’s natural and cultural history. These include:

  • Castle Mountains  National Monument (Barstow, CA) Much of this remote monument is accessible only by dirt roads, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle and some planning go a long way — stop at the information center in neighboring Mojave National Preserve to find the best trail. Enjoy  unbroken high-desert landscapes, rare desert grasslands, and a rich layer of human history.
  • Cabrillo National Monument (San Diego, CA) Perched above San Diego Bay, the monument pairs coastal history with natural tide pools and sweeping ocean views from the historic Point Loma lighthouse. It’s named for Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the first European to set foot on the West Coast, and its grounds preserve the coastal defenses built to guard San Diego Bay.
  • César E. Chávez National Monument (Keene, CA) The monument centers on the Memorial Garden where labor leader and civil rights activist César Chávez is buried, a short distance from the home where he grew up. Visitors can tour his preserved office, watch films on his life, and explore exhibits in the visitor center.
  • Devils Postpile National Monument (Near Mammoth Lakes, CA) Reached by shuttle from the Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center, the monument protects Devils Postpile, a wall of ancient basalt columns towering more than 60 feet high. Nearby, stop to see 101-foot Rainbow Falls to see the rainbows that emerge from the mists of this waterfall.
  • Lava Beds National Monument (Tulelake, CA) Cooling eruptions from the Medicine Lake shield volcano have left behind more than 700 lava tube caves over the last half-million years. The visitor center rents helmets and flashlights for those who want to explore them. Dark, remote skies also make it a favorite stop for stargazers with a telescope.
  • Muir Woods National Monument (Mill Valley, CA) Just outside San Francisco, this monument preserves an old-growth grove of coastal redwoods between 600 and 800 years old, named for conservationist John Muir. Trails are well-established and accessible, but visitors need a reservation for parking or the shuttle, and there’s no cell service once inside the park.
  • Tule Lake National Monument (Tulelake, CA) Together, the former Camp Tulelake — a Civilian Conservation Corps camp later converted into a detention center and then a POW camp for German prisoners — and the Tulelake Segregation Center made up the largest WWII incarceration site in the United States. It held Japanese Americans deemed “disloyal” based on a flawed wartime questionnaire.
  • Alcatraz Island National Historic Site (San Francisco, CA) Roughly 1.25 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate strait, this small island has served as a lighthouse station, a military fortification, and a federal penitentiary. Its layered history spans 19th-century coastal defense to some of the most notorious inmates of the 20th century.
  • Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site (Danville, CA) America’s only Nobel Prize–winning playwright, who also won four Pulitzer Prizes, wrote much of his most celebrated work at his Tao House in Danville. Visitors can get to know his nearly 60 plays — 11 of which became films — on a self-guided or reserved tour, accessible only by reservation via a free shuttle from town.
  • Fort Point National Historic Site (San Francisco, CA) Built between 1854 and 1859 amid Gold Rush–era concerns about ship traffic entering San Francisco Bay, this brick fort was armed with cannon for the Civil War and remained active through World War II — though it never fired on an enemy. The Golden Gate Bridge was engineered to arch over the fort rather than demolish it.
  • John Muir National Historic Site (Martinez, CA) Home to the co-founder of the Sierra Club and one of the nation’s most influential wilderness advocates, this site reflects Muir’s friendship with President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he persuaded to expand Yosemite National Park. Muir also proposed the creation of several of California’s best-known national parks.
  • Manzanar National Historic Site (Independence, CA) One of 10 camps built to incarcerate Japanese Americans during World War II, Manzanar held families relocated without due process in the fear that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite this, nearly 26,000 Japanese Americans from Manzanar and the nine other WWII camps went on to serve in the U.S. military by war’s end.
  • Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park (Richmond, CA) This park honors the American civilians who kept the WWII home front running and the vital contributions women made to the war effort. Richmond’s four shipyards, with a combined 27 shipways, produced 747 ships — more than any other shipyard complex in the country.
  • San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (San Francisco, CA) Set in the Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, this park preserves a piece of Pacific Coast maritime history through a fleet of historic vessels, a maritime museum, a research center, and the Aquatic Park Historic District.
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco, CA) Diversity defines this park — from Alcatraz, once home to some of the country’s most notorious inmates, to the home of conservationist John Muir, to the fortifications that once guarded San Francisco Bay. Visitors can walk through redwoods, explore tide pools, stroll the beach, hike coastal and woodland trails, or look for any of the 250 bird species recorded in the park.
  • Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (Thousand Oaks, CA) A Mediterranean climate makes this one of only five such ecosystems in the world, and the only one in North America, supporting woodlands, chaparral, salt marsh, grassland, savanna, and coastal scrub. Despite sitting near dense urban areas, the park is still home to mountain lions, bobcats, gray foxes, and coyotes, and the Paramount and Peter Strauss ranches trace the history of film and television production here.
  • Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (Whiskeytown, CA) Set amid the historic California Gold Rush of 1849 — including the historic El Dorado Mine — the park offers hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and four notable waterfalls, along with water sports like water skiing and wakeboarding. Its chaparral plant community depends on periodic fire to regenerate.
  • Mojave National Preserve (Between I-15 and I-40, CA) When rainfall cooperates, this desert preserve can burst into wildflower bloom; the rest of the year, creosote bush, cholla cactus, and Joshua trees dominate the dryland landscape, with white fir found in pockets of high country. The preserve is also well known for rock climbing and bouldering, and it’s home to the Ivanpah Desert Tortoise Research Facility, a seven-acre conservation and research center.
  • Point Reyes National Seashore (Point Reyes, CA) This coastal park protects some of the last 1% of northern coastal prairie grassland remaining in California, along with close to half of all bird species found in North America and more than 50 state- or federally listed threatened or endangered species. More than 300 historic structures — ranch houses, barns, lighthouses, and a radio receiving station — sit alongside trails for hiking, camping, boating, and kayaking.
  • Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (Concord, CA) The memorial commemorates the 320 lives lost on July 17, 1944, when two ships being loaded with WWII munitions exploded at the Port Chicago naval magazine. Tours begin at the nearby John Muir National Historic Site.
Conservation & Stewardship

California’s parks and public lands protect an extraordinary range of ecosystems — from alpine peaks and ancient redwood groves to desert basins and offshore islands — along with irreplaceable habitat for rare and endangered species. That diversity only matters if it stays accessible: trails, visitor centers, and public programs make it possible for millions of people each year to experience these landscapes firsthand, not just look at them from a distance.

But long-term protection depends on more than designation. It depends on connection.

When a student stands beneath a giant sequoia in the Sierra Nevada, explores a tide pool at Point Reyes, or tours a WWII incarceration site such as Manzanar, they gain firsthand experience with public lands and the history they hold. That experience often shapes how they view conservation and stewardship for years to come.

How National Park Trust Supports Parks in California        

National Park Trust is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has protected national park land since 1983. In California, National Park Trust has completed park-preservation projects since the late 1990s, working with partners such as the National Park Service, Trust for Public Land, Yosemite Conservancy, and private companies to secure critical land within park boundaries before it’s lost to development. 

  • Partnered with the Trust for Public Land and Yosemite Conservancy to acquire and donate an adjacent 400-acre meadow to Yosemite National Park, protecting it from development and keeping it part of the park’s landscape. 
  • Supported the acquisition of 80 acres within Joshua Tree National Park, protecting backcountry trails in the Coachella Valley. 
  • Assisted in securing property for Lassen Volcanic National Park in 2020, adding it to permanent park protection. 
  • Accepted the donation of the former Bear Valley School property and donated it to Pinnacles National Park. 
  • Helped acquire Chief Mine property within Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. 
  • Funded administrative costs to donate the 6.2-acre Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery to Redwood National and State Parks. 
  • Supported restoration of the Balclutha, one of the last surviving 1800s grain ships and a centerpiece of the historic fleet at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
  • Supported acquiring a historic school building in the settlement of Kelso within Mojave National Preserve. 
  • Partnered with Chevron and the National Park Service to build the Ivanpah Desert Tortoise Research Facility inside Mojave National Preserve. 

Beyond land protection, National Park Trust connects students, families, and first-time visitors to these parks through programs including the Buddy Bison School Program, the College Ambassador Program, and Military Family Programs — turning a first experience in a California park into a lifelong connection to protecting it.

Together, these projects protect landscapes within California’s 28 National Park Service sites from fragmentation and development, keeping them intact for future visitors.

FAQ — California’s National Parks

How many national parks are in California? California has eight national parks: Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Death Valley, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Redwood National & State Parks, and Channel Islands.

What is the largest national park in California? Death Valley National Park is the largest national park in California — and the largest in the contiguous United States — spanning more than 3.4 million acres across California and Nevada.

How many National Park Service sites are in California in total? California has 28 National Park Service sites in total, more than any other state: eight national parks plus 20 additional monuments, historic sites, seashores, and recreation areas.

When is the best time to visit California’s national parks? It depends on the park: spring and fall bring milder weather to desert parks like Joshua Tree and Death Valley, while summer is typically best for high-elevation parks like Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon, where snow can close roads well into early summer.

Stay Connected to Conservation Efforts in California and Beyond

Protecting California’s national parks and historic sites requires ongoing care and community support. If you care about the future of public lands in California — spread from the Mojave Desert and Death Valley to the Sierra Nevada’s giant sequoias and the redwood coast, all the way to San Francisco Bay — we invite you to stay connected.

Learn about ways to support our mission and help protect these landscapes in California and across the country. 

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