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Channel Islands
Photograph: Courtesy Unsplash/Priya Karkare

14 incredible national parks within driving distance of L.A. to check out

All of these national parks near Los Angeles are within a day’s drive.

Michael Juliano
Edited by
Michael Juliano
Written by
Kate Wertheimer
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There’s never a bad time—well, heavy snow, rain and fire seasons aside—to take advantage of this country’s incredible National Park system. We’re lucky to live in a nation that protects and preserves 63 separate parks (nine of which are in California, the most in any state) totaling 52.2 million acres of land. We highly suggest making the trip to as many of these parks as possible, but have chosen to highlight those within a day’s drive (eight hours or less) from Los Angeles—some are perfect for a day trip; others are better reserved for a road trip or weekend of camping. So get out there and enjoy (just make sure to check the road and weather conditions at each park first).

Psst: Look out for free entrance days at all of these parks in 2023, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan 16), the first day of National Park Week (Apr 22), the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act (Aug 4), National Public Lands Day (Sept 23) and Veterans Day (Nov 11).

14 National Parks near L.A. that are within a day’s drive

2hr 30min from L.A.

This exotic desert landscape is populated by thousands of specimens of the famous Joshua tree—along with boulders and rock formations that make the views so iconic. Changes in elevation make for starkly contrasting environments including bleached sand dunes, dry lakes, rugged mountains, valleys full of wildflowers and giant clusters of granite monoliths. (If you go, check out our guide to the park!)

2hr drive, plus a 1–4hr boat ride, from L.A.

Five of the eight Channel Islands are protected, and half of the park’s area is underwater. The Islands are home to more than 2,000 species of land plants and animals, and 145 are unique to the Islands, including the Island Fox. Most visitors will likely want to plan a boat ride around or a hiking trip on Ancapa or Santa Cruz Islands, which are both about an hour boat ride from Ventura.

Just a heads up: Santa Barbara Island is temporarily closed due to storm damage—but that shouldn’t impact your visit, as this Catalina-adjacent island wasn’t likely part of your itinerary to begin with.

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3hr 45min from L.A.

As of late April, Generals Highway is closed at Hospital Rock due to damage from winter storms—meaning most of the park’s main attractions are inaccessible. To see sequoias, you’ll need to head to Grant Grove in neighboring Kings Canyon.

This park protects the Giant Forest, which boasts some of the world’s largest trees, General Sherman being the largest in the park. It also has more than 240 caves, a scenic segment of the Sierra Nevada (including the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States) and a staircase climb to the top of Moro Rock.

4hr 15min from L.A.

As of late April, Highway 180 into Kings Canyon is open, but you’ll have to reach it from the west as most of Generals Highway in Sequoia to the south is closed due to winter storm damage.

It’s technically part of the same two-park system as Sequoia, but Kings Canyon has an identity all of its own. Yes, it’s home to several giant sequoia groves and the General Grant Tree (the world’s second largest). But it also features dramatic, rugged stretches of wilderness along the Kings River, which flows through Kings Canyon, and the San Joaquin River, as well as Boyden Cave.

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4hr 30min from L.A.

Death Valley is the hottest, lowest and driest place in the United States, with temperatures topping an insane 130 degrees. It’s home to Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation in North America. That being said, the park is home to a diversity of colorful canyons, desolate badlands, shifting sand dunes and sprawling mountains, as well as more than 1,000 species of plants, plus salt flats, historic mines and hot and cold spring oases.

4hr 30min from L.A.

Pinnacles is famous for its massive black and gold monoliths of andesite and rhyolite, which are popular with rock climbers, and it’s many quiet trails crossing scenic Coast Range wilderness. The park is home to the endangered California condor as well as a large population of prairie falcons, and more than 13 species of bats living in the park’s caves.

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4hr 45min from L.A.

Yosemite features towering granite cliffs, dramatic waterfalls and old-growth forests, as well as the rock faces Half Dome and El Capitan, the Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Falls, one of the country’s tallest waterfalls. Three giant sequoia groves, along with a pristine wilderness in the heart of the Sierra Nevada, are home to an abundance of rare plant and animal species.

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7hr 15min from L.A.

The Grand Canyon is carved by the mighty Colorado River; millions of years of erosion and carving by the Colorado River have exposed 277 miles of colorful layers of the Colorado Plateau. The Canyon itself is a mile deep and at it’s widest expanse, 15 miles wide. Grand Canyon National Park is the second-most visited park at over 6 million visitors per year. 

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