National Park System units in California
California has 28 National Park System units. The list below also includes 7 places the Park Service does not count as units of their own. Each one has its own page here with hours, current alerts, campgrounds and what there is to do.
California in figures
- National Park System units
- 28
- Free to enter
- 17
- Recreation visits in 2025
- 36,987,825
- Busiest unit, 15,748,676 visits
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Campgrounds
- 97
A unit that reaches into another state counts in full here and in each other state it touches.
Castle Mountains National Monument and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks report no 2025 count, so the visit total leaves them out.
Free to enter Charges an entrance feePoints are the Park Service reference point for each unit, not a boundary.
Parks near a city
Visits by year
Golden Gate National Recreation AreaYosemite National ParkSan Francisco Maritime National Historical ParkJoshua Tree National ParkPoint Reyes National SeashoreDeath Valley National ParkRedwood National and State ParksFort Point National Historic SiteCabrillo National MonumentWhiskeytown National Recreation AreaMuir Woods National MonumentSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaMojave National PreserveLassen Volcanic National ParkPinnacles National ParkChannel Islands National ParkLava Beds National MonumentDevils Postpile National MonumentManzanar National Historic SiteJohn Muir National Historic SiteRosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical ParkCésar E. Chávez National MonumentEugene O'Neill National Historic SiteTule Lake National MonumentPort Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
Fees, hours, alerts, campgrounds and activities are from the NPS API. Data refreshed October 14, 2026.