How Many US National Parks Can You Identify From a Single Photo? (Quiz)
The United States has 63 national parks, from Alaska's glaciers to the Florida Everglades, and most of us have only been to a handful. Could you recognise the famous ones from a single photo, with no name attached?
Below are 15 of the country's most photographed national parks. Some jump out instantly. Others look surprisingly alike: desert canyons, glacier-carved peaks and red-rock arches blur together fast if you haven't stood in front of them. Take the quiz and see how many you get right. A perfect 15 is harder than it looks.
National Parks Photo Challenge
How Many US National Parks Can You Identify From a Single Photo?
Photo credits
- Photo 1: Tobias Alt, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 2: Unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 3: HylgeriaK, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 4: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 5: “Jon Zander(digon3)”, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 6: Palacemusic, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 7: Mountain walrus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 8: NPS, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 9: USchick, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 10: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 11: Michael Gäbler, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 12: Moni3, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 13: Paxson Woelber, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 14: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Photo 15: PotassiumK, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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How did you do?
- 13-15: park ranger material. You've either visited a lot of parks or spent a lot of time planning trips to them.
- 8-12: a solid score. The Utah parks and the big mountain parks are where most people slip up.
- 0-7: plenty of new places for your bucket list. Read on for an easy way to tell them apart.
How to tell the look-alike parks apart
| If you see… | It's probably… | Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Freestanding red-rock arches | Arches (Utah) | More than 2,000 natural stone arches, including Delicate Arch |
| Forests of orange rock spires | Bryce Canyon (Utah) | The spires are called hoodoos and fill natural amphitheatres |
| Towering canyon walls with a river at the bottom | Zion (Utah) | You look up at the cliffs, often from the canyon floor |
| A vast canyon seen from the rim | Grand Canyon (Arizona) | You look down into layers of red and orange rock |
| Mesas and deep canyons seen from above, with no river visible | Canyonlands (Utah) | Island in the Sky viewpoints, often with a lone mesa arch |
| Jagged granite peaks over a flat valley and a lake | Grand Teton (Wyoming) | Peaks rise abruptly with no foothills |
| A granite dome and waterfalls in a valley | Yosemite (California) | Half Dome and El Capitan |
| Steaming, rainbow-coloured hot springs | Yellowstone (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho) | Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful |
| Turquoise lakes under sharp peaks and a winding mountain road | Glacier (Montana) | Going-to-the-Sun Road |
| Striped, eroded buttes on open grassland | Badlands (South Dakota) | Pastel bands of rock, often with bison or bighorn sheep |
| Rocky Atlantic coast with a lighthouse | Acadia (Maine) | Pink granite and Bass Harbor Head Light |
| Sawgrass "river of grass" and alligators | Everglades (Florida) | Flat wetlands to the horizon |
| Spiky trees in a boulder-strewn desert | Joshua Tree (California) | The Joshua tree is a yucca, not a true tree |
| Snow-covered giant mountain above tundra | Denali (Alaska) | North America's highest peak at 20,310 ft |
| Moss-draped rainforest or wild beaches with sea stacks | Olympic (Washington) | Three ecosystems in one park: mountains, rainforest and coast |
Planning a national park trip
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- Check reservations before you go. Several popular parks use timed-entry or vehicle reservation systems in peak season, and they change from year to year. Each park's page on the National Park Service website lists current requirements, road closures and alerts.
- Consider an annual pass. The America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees at every national park for a year and pays for itself on a trip to three or four parks.
- Book lodging early. In-park lodges and campsites at Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and the Grand Canyon often sell out many months ahead.
- Go early or late in the day. Parking fills by mid-morning at the famous viewpoints in summer, and the light is better for photos.
- Respect wildlife and heat. Keep your distance from bison, elk and bears, and carry plenty of water in desert parks.
Planning a summer trip with kids? Our family vacation ideas for July include Yellowstone and the Great Smoky Mountains, and our guide to where to travel in July covers more budget options. Prefer autumn? The desert parks of Arizona and Utah are at their best in November: see our warm November getaways.
Share your score with friends and see if they can beat you. More quizzes are in our Quiz section.
Frequently asked questions
How many national parks are there in the US?
There are 63 national parks in the United States, managed by the National Park Service.
How can I tell Zion and Bryce Canyon apart in photos?
At Zion you usually look up at towering canyon walls from the canyon floor. At Bryce Canyon you look down into amphitheatres filled with orange rock spires called hoodoos.
Is there one pass for all US national parks?
Yes. The America the Beautiful annual pass covers entrance fees at all national parks and many other federal recreation sites for a year.