This Texas National Park Cracks Top 10 in U.S. Ranking

It should come as no surprise that in a state as large as Texas - it could boast one of the best national parks in the country... and turns out, it does!

Any guesses on which one cracked the top ten?

It’s Big Bend National Park. With over 800,000 acres to discover, Big Bend National Park offers endless opportunities for outdoor adventure and natural wonder.

The online travel guide Travel Lemming just came out with a ranking for National Parks Week. Big Bend National Park made the top ten and came in at a respectable #7.

It’s actually not all good news for Texas national parks, though. The one closest to El Paso that made the list, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, came in the bottom dozen at #53 overall out of 63 total national parks.

Travel Lemming came up with these rankings “based on an analysis of data scoring each park across six factors: affordability, accessibility, biodiversity, crowds, reviews, and weather.”

Guadalupe Mountains National Park was so low on the list because of a lack of affordability and accessibility, according to the report.

Big Bend National Park received the top ten ranking thanks to high marks in affordability, weather, crowds, and biodiversity. No surprise here, it ranked near the bottom (#55) on the accessibility scale - but that’s also kinda what makes it incredible.

Here is the full write-up on Big Bend National Park from Travel Lemming:

Enjoy "splendid isolation" at Texas's southernmost national park, right on the border with Chihuahua, Mexico. The shared interational beauty extends beyond borders, with dramatic stretches of the Rio Grande and spiky desert flora. The remote charisma of Big Bend National Park adds a layer of mystique to any visit. The park's apocalyptic quality of isolation has preserved its primitive natural features, thankfully devoid of human destruction and manipulation.

Without further adieu... here are the top 10.

1. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
2. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
3. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
T4. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
T4. Sequoia National Park (California)
6. Everglades National Park (Florida)
7. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
8. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
9. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
10. Channel Islands National Park (California)

Noticeably absent from the top ten are some of the most popular ones like Grand Canyon National Park (#15), Yellowstone National Park (#23), and Yosemite National Park (#34).

For a full breakdown of the methodology of the rankings, click here.