National Park System units within a drive of Seattle
Four National Park System units sit within an estimated two hours of Seattle, seven between two and four hours, and four between four and eight. The closest is Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park, about 35 minutes by road from the metro's Census centroid. Mount Rainier National Park is the nearest unit carrying the National Park designation within four hours. The metro is the Seattle area as the Census Bureau defines it, home to 4,145,494 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park National Historical Park · WA | 0.6 h | Free | 79,564 | 0 |
| Wing Luke Museum Affiliated Area Affiliated Area · WA | 0.6 h | Free | no count | 0 |
| Mount Rainier National Park National Park · WA | 1 h | Fee | 1,635,342 | 3 |
| Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve National Historical Reserve · WA | 1.5 h | Free | no count | 2 |
2 to 4 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Cascades National Park National Park · WA | 2 h | Free | 46,925 | 10 |
| Olympic National Park National Park · WA | 2 h | Fee | 3,584,187 | 12 |
| San Juan Island National Historical Park National Historical Park · WA | 2.1 h | Free | 420,922 | 0 |
| Lewis and Clark National Historical Park National Historical Park · OR, WA | 3 h | Fee | 244,195 | 0 |
| Fort Vancouver National Historic Site National Historic Site · OR, WA | 3.1 h | Fee | 1,071,161 | 0 |
| Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail National Geologic Trail · WA, OR, ID, MT | 3.3 h | Free | no count | 0 |
| Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area National Recreation Area · WA | 3.8 h | Free | 1,183,757 | 24 |
4 to 8 hours
| Unit | Est. drive | Entry | 2025 visits | Campgrounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitman Mission National Historic Site National Historic Site · WA | 4.2 h | Free | 54,089 | 0 |
| John Day Fossil Beds National Monument National Monument · OR | 4.9 h | Free | 131,119 | 0 |
| Nez Perce National Historical Park National Historical Park · ID, MT, OR, WA | 6.8 h | Free | 343,910 | 0 |
| Crater Lake National Park National Park · OR | 7.1 h | Fee | 632,242 | 2 |
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.