Ranked: best American national parks for wildlife watching

From Katmai for brown bears to Dry Tortugas for nurse sharks, these are the best American national parks for wildlife watching

A canyon large enough to influence the weather, a hotbed of volcanic activity and an eerie desert landscape home to one of the hottest places on Earth. Yes, American national parks boast some of the most astounding natural wonders on the planet.

For many, however, the real appeal of America’s national parks is the living flora and fauna, often rare and unusual, that quietly inhabit the landscape. Moose, bears, bison, elk, wolves and mountain lions often steal the show, but there are hundreds of other species roaming the American plains.

Caribou in Kobuk Valley – one of the best American national parks for wildlife spotting — picryl/Public Domain Caribou near Onion Portage in Kobuk Valley National Park

On average, each US national park is home to 415 species of wildlife with each playing an essential role in the ecosystem. From the tiny but tough pika to America’s largest waterfowl, the trumpeter swan, these reserves are full of wild surprises. But where are you most likely to run into them?

Vacation specialists Casago recently commissioned an analysis of National Park Service (NPS) data to find out which parks have the most wildlife and plants per 100km² and which are the most biodiverse overall.

A Nurse shark on the seabed — Richard Whitcombe/Shutterstock Nurse sharks can be seen in Dry Tortugas National Park

Parks by numbers

The number of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and vascular plants was compiled using NPS-approved records of species that fell under any of those six categories for each park. The counts were then combined to find the total number of animals and vascular plants per national park.

To find flora and fauna density, wildlife species (all five categories of animal species) and vascular plant species were calculated per 100km² for each park.

Congaree in South Carolina has the highest density of wildlife species at 362 per 100km²
Biscayne in Florida has the highest number overall with a total of 1,002
New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns has the highest density of bird species at 194 per 100km²
Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio has the most biodiverse plant life at 935 species per 100km²
The Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee has the highest number of plant species overall at 2,278
American Samoa has the highest number of fish species at 818, followed by Biscayne with 698

Bison in front of geysers in Yellowstone National Park — CherylRamalho/Shutterstock Bison in Yellowstone National Park

America’s top wildlife experiences

From up-close encounters with alligators to unique experiences with iconic North American mammals, the US is brimming with unforgettable wildlife.

Watch brown bears fish for salmon at Brooks Camp, Katmai
Track wild wolves at Yellowstone
See elephant seals in California
Witness the bison rut in Grand Teton or Yellowstone
See bats fill the skies from the Bat Flight Amphitheater at Carlsbad Cavern
Observe the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska
Go on an Alaskan safari in Denali or Katmai
Watch humpback whales in Hawaii
Get up close with alligators in the Everglades

A gray wolf Yellowstone National Park — Agnieszka Bacal/Shutterstock A gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park

10 best American national parks for wildlife watching

Ranked by number of animal species per 100km².

Congaree, South Carolina: 362
Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio: 317
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico: 286
Pinnacles, California: 255
Acadia, Maine: 242
Wind Cave, South Dakota: 235
Dry Tortugas, Florida: 223
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado: 219
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky: 217
Bryce Canyon, Utah: 215

A humpback breaches in Glacier Bay – one of the least-visited US national parks — Maridav/Shutterstock A humpback breaches in Glacier Bay

10 best American national parks for birdwatching

Ranked by number of bird species per 100km².

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico: 194
Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio: 187
Congaree, South Carolina: 186
Acadia, Maine: 183
Wind Cave, South Dakota: 167
Pinnacles, California: 157
Bryce Canyon, Utah: 150
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado: 141
Dry Tortugas, Florida: 112
Mesa Verde, Colorado: 109

A Barred owl in Congaree National Park – one of the best American national parks for wildlife spotting — Thomas Morris/Shutterstock A barred owl in Congaree National Park

10 best American national parks for plant lovers

Ranked by number of plant species per 100km².

Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio: 935
Congaree, South Carolina: 804
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky: 749
Haleakalā, Hawaii: 712
New River Gorge, West Virginia: 686
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado: 673
Bryce Canyon, Utah: 672
Wind Cave, South Dakota: 626
Pinnacles, California: 619
Acadia, Maine: 613

Silversword plant in Haleakalā — yggdrasill/Shutterstock A silversword plant in Haleakalā

Complete rankings

Below is the complete data index of the best American national parks for wildlife spotting. The data was collected in February 2023.

Gateway Arch National Park was excluded from the analysis due to its small size (0.8km²) as it was previously a national memorial. Additionally, the contiguous Californian parks of Sequoia and Kings Canyon were combined as they are jointly administered.

A beaver swims through Cuyahoga one of the best American national parks for wildlife spotting — VIKVAD/Shutterstock A North American beaver in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

A = amphibians; B = birds; F = fish; M = mammals; R = reptiles.

Rank	Park	Total	A	B	F	M	R
1	Biscayne, FL	1,002	8	230	698	27	39
2	American Samoa, AS	908	1	61	818	12	16
3	Everglades, FL	729	17	370	241	43	58
4	Redwood, CA	706	23	326	211	115	31
5	Channel Islands, CA	675	4	357	259	44	11
6	Grand Canyon, AZ	651	15	456	29	98	53
7	Glacier Bay, AK	649	5	252	332	57	3
8	Big Bend, TX	624	13	410	51	88	62
9	Great Smoky Mountains, NC, TN	620	73	267	117	107	56
10	Hot Springs, AR	596	22	387	87	52	48
11	Dry Tortugas, FL	583	0	292	281	6	4
12	Carlsbad Caverns, NM	541	15	367	5	92	62
13	Death Valley, CA, NV	535	9	421	7	62	36
14	IN Dunes, IN	531	20	352	76	60	23
15	Olympic, WA	500	16	309	96	73	6
16	Acadia, ME	480	15	363	38	53	11
17	Mammoth Cave, KY	465	32	210	124	57	42
18	Shenandoah, VA	443	40	261	41	63	38
19	Yellowstone, WY, MT, ID	441	8	330	19	75	9
20	Zion, UT	433	7	301	15	80	30
21	Joshua Tree, CA	421	5	300	1	63	52
22	Guadalupe Mountains, TX	419	12	272	3	76	56
23	Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio	418	24	246	77	47	24
24	Yosemite, CA	399	13	270	10	85	21
25	Congaree, SC	385	38	198	63	39	47
26	Glacier, MT	379	6	277	27	65	4
27	Saguaro, AZ	378	9	231	0	82	56
28	Lassen Volcanic, CA	377	12	249	16	80	20
29	Voyageurs, MN	377	14	236	58	63	6
30	Grand Teton, WY	369	6	266	22	70	5
31	North Cascades, WA	367	13	231	33	81	9
32	Isle Royale, MI	366	13	260	62	26	5
33	Sequoia & Kings Canyon, CA	365	13	220	19	89	24
34	Capitol Reef, UT	364	6	249	15	73	21
35	Wrangell–St. Elias, AK	364	2	208	92	61	1
36	Crater Lake, OR	363	11	247	8	83	14
37	New River Gorge, WV	363	34	195	57	54	23
38	Rocky Mountain, CO	361	5	270	12	71	3
39	Canyonlands, UT	359	7	221	33	76	22
40	Badlands, SD	348	9	239	24	63	13
41	Mesa Verde, CO	343	7	232	0	84	20
42	Great Basin, NV	336	4	240	11	65	16
43	Theodore Roosevelt, ND	336	8	219	32	64	13
44	Kenai Fjords, AK	327	1	233	40	53	0
45	Petrified Forest, AZ	327	7	239	0	60	21
46	Great Sand Dunes, CO	323	6	240	6	63	8
47	Wind Cave, SD	323	6	229	9	67	12
48	Bryce Canyon, UT	312	4	218	1	76	13
49	Arches, UT	307	8	209	11	59	20
50	Mount Rainier, WA	296	16	185	22	68	5
51	Katmai, AK	292	1	203	41	47	0
52	Lake Clark, AK	285	1	181	55	48	0
53	Pinnacles, CA	275	10	170	6	60	29
54	Black Canyon Gunn., CO	272	2	176	16	67	11
55	White Sands, NM	247	7	153	1	53	33
56	Denali, AK	240	1	179	19	41	0
57	Virgin Islands, VI	218	8	174	0	20	16
58	Gates of the Arctic, AK	190	0	134	17	39	0
59	Kobuk Valley, AK	188	0	125	26	37	0
60	Hawaii Volcanoes, HI	114	4	78	4	15	13
61	Haleakalā, HI	80	3	45	7	15	10