National Park System units within a drive of Austin
Three National Park System units sit within an estimated two hours of Austin, one between two and four hours, and nine between four and eight. The closest is El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, about 30 minutes by road from the metro's Census centroid. The metro is the Austin area as the Census Bureau defines it, home to 2,550,637 people in the 2024 estimates.
Each drive time is an estimate made from the straight-line distance between the metro's Census centroid and the unit's listed coordinates, multiplied by 1.25 for roads and divided by 55 mph, so a real trip will often take longer.
Metro centroid Free to enter Charges an entrance fee
Under 2 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail National Historic Trail · TX, LA | 0.5 h | Free | no count | 0 |
| Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park National Historical Park · TX | 1.3 h | Free | 38,456 | 0 |
| San Antonio Missions National Historical Park National Historical Park · TX | 1.8 h | Free | 1,552,510 | 0 |
2 to 4 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waco Mammoth National Monument National Monument · TX | 2.2 h | Free | 91,678 | 0 |
4 to 8 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Thicket National Preserve National Preserve · TX | 4.4 h | Free | 228,310 | 0 |
| Amistad National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · TX | 4.8 h | Free | 734,293 | 6 |
| Padre Island National Seashore National Seashore · TX | 5 h | Fee | 573,255 | 2 |
| Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River Wild & Scenic River · TX | 6.4 h | Fee | 120 | 0 |
| Cane River Creole National Historical Park National Historical Park · LA | 6.6 h | Free | 11,203 | 0 |
| Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park National Historical Park · TX | 6.6 h | Free | 168,550 | 0 |
| Chickasaw National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · OK | 6.7 h | Free | 1,877,797 | 9 |
| President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site National Historic Site · AR | 7.6 h | Free | 6,821 | 0 |
| Big Bend National Park National Park · TX | 7.8 h | Fee | 568,104 | 4 |
Metro boundaries and population from the Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; centroids from the Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer, CBSA internal points. Unit coordinates, fees, campgrounds and 2025 recreation visits from the NPS API and Visitor Use Statistics. Data refreshed October 14, 2026. Other metros.