National Park System units within a drive of San Francisco
Eleven National Park System units sit within an estimated two hours of San Francisco, three between two and four hours, and twelve between four and eight. The closest is Alcatraz Island, about 10 minutes by road from the metro's Census centroid. Pinnacles National Park is the nearest unit carrying the National Park designation within four hours. The metro is the San Francisco area as the Census Bureau defines it, home to 4,648,486 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcatraz Island Part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area · CA | 0.2 h | Free | no count | 0 |
| Presidio of San Francisco Part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area · CA | 0.2 h | Free | no count | 0 |
| Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park National Historical Park · CA | 0.2 h | Free | 33,689 | 0 |
| San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park National Historical Park · CA | 0.2 h | Free | 2,944,483 | 0 |
| Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site National Historic Site · CA | 0.3 h | Free | 14,881 | 0 |
| Fort Point National Historic Site National Historic Site · CA | 0.3 h | Free | 1,010,870 | 0 |
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · CA | 0.4 h | Free | 15,748,676 | 5 |
| John Muir National Historic Site National Historic Site · CA | 0.4 h | Free | 38,384 | 0 |
| Muir Woods National Monument National Monument · CA | 0.4 h | Fee | 756,573 | 0 |
| Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial National Memorial · CA | 0.5 h | Free | 782 | 0 |
| Point Reyes National Seashore National Seashore · CA | 0.9 h | Free | 2,429,601 | 5 |
2 to 4 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacles National Park National Park · CA | 2.4 h | Fee | 343,208 | 1 |
| Yosemite National Park National Park · CA | 3.4 h | Fee | 4,278,413 | 16 |
| Devils Postpile National Monument National Monument · CA | 4 h | Free | 99,652 | 0 |
4 to 8 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lassen Volcanic National Park National Park · CA | 4.4 h | Fee | 504,777 | 10 |
| Whiskeytown National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · CA | 4.5 h | Fee | 763,798 | 7 |
| Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks National Parks · CA | 4.9 h | Fee | no count | 15 |
| Manzanar National Historic Site National Historic Site · CA | 5.4 h | Free | 95,764 | 0 |
| Redwood National and State Parks National and State Parks · CA | 6 h | Free | 1,202,480 | 4 |
| César E. Chávez National Monument National Monument · CA | 6.2 h | Free | 31,497 | 0 |
| Lava Beds National Monument National Monument · CA | 6.3 h | Fee | 143,659 | 2 |
| Tule Lake National Monument National Monument · CA | 6.6 h | Free | 4,868 | 0 |
| Channel Islands National Park National Park · CA | 6.7 h | Free | 227,186 | 7 |
| Death Valley National Park National Park · CA, NV | 6.7 h | Fee | 1,320,134 | 12 |
| Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve National Monument & Preserve · OR | 6.9 h | Free | 64,354 | 1 |
| Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · CA | 7.3 h | Free | 722,626 | 1 |
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.