The Best National Parks In The United States For Wildlife Spotting

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The sky is wide, the land is rugged, and the air fills your lungs with happiness. But for many adventurers, the genuine appeal of a trek through a national park is the fine detail: the living flora and fauna, often rare and amazing, that quietly inhabit the landscape.

American national parks are each motherland to an average of 415 species of wildlife. Each species plays a crucial role in the park’s ecosystem, and every national park has its own distinctive characters, sights, and sounds. From miniature but tough pikas to trumpeter swans and Dutchman’s breeches, these wild stretches are full of wonders.

So, if you were going down to the national park today, which parks would you be most likely to run into amazement?

Casago examined National Park Service data to find out which national parks have the most wildlife and plants per 100 square kilometers (39 sq mi) and which have the most remarkable biodiversity overall.

Key Findings

• Congaree in South Carolina has the remarkable density of wildlife species, with 362 per 100 sq km.
• However, Biscayne in Florida has more overall: a total of 1,002.
• Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico boast 194 bird species per 100 sq km, the highest density.
• Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio has the densest plant biodiversity of all, at 935 species per 100 sq km.
• The Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee have the tremendous number of plant species overall: 2,278

All American National Parks Ranked by Plant Biodiversity

When it comes to plant life, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has it covered: straddling the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, this park is home to 2,278 plant species (more than any other park), among them the tulip poplar and red maple trees and the colorful witch-hazel flower. New River Gorge in West Virginia ranks second with 2,005 plant species, including the great rhododendron (West Virginia’s state flower) that blooms pretty white flowers in June and July.

All American National Parks Ranked by Animal Biodiversity

From bears to bald eagles, national parks across America are safe havens for many animals. But which national park, in particular, counts the most animal species? Biscayne in Florida takes the crown with 1,002 animal species. 95% made up of water, Biscayne counts 698 types of fish (including the endangered small-tooth sawfish) and 230 species of bird. Next up is the National Park of American Samoa (908 animal species), home to more fish species (818) than any other park.

The Top 20 American National Parks for Wildlife Spotting

The U.S. National Park System is a source of countrywide pride, preserving over 84 million acres of land and a rich variety of flora and fauna. But which of America’s 64 national parks offers visitors the best chance of spotting different animals in the wild?

The Casago team mapped the 20 national parks with the highest number of animal species per 100 square kilometers. Congaree National Park in South Carolina comes out on top (362 species per 100 square kolometers), home to animals including bobcats, wild pigs and endangered species, like the red-cockaded woodpecker. Three parks in California (more than any other state) also make the top 20.

The Top 10 American National Parks for Plant Lovers

There’s nothing more soothing to the soul than a stroll through lush, green nature, and national parks up and down America are perfect places to get your fix of flora. But which park, in particular, is home to the biggest variety of plants? The research reveals it’s Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio, where you can find 935 species of plants every 100 square kilomters – 21 of which are listed by the state as rare. They range from pretty daisy-like bloodroot flowers in the spring to the buckeye, Ohio’s official state tree.

The Top 10 American National Parks for Bird Watching

You don’t have to be a bird expert to find joy in watching birds of every size, song and color go about their daily lives. But if you’re on the lookout for the biggest array of birds to spot, head to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico – there are more bird species (194) here per 100 square kilometers than in any other national park in the country. Visitors to the park’s popular cave system may spot what’s considered the world’s largest colony of cave swallows nesting, swooping and diving at its entrance.

Methodology

To provide accurate information, Casago obtained the coordinates of all national parks in America from Wikipedia. They went a step further by downloading detailed records of all species present in each park from irma.nps.gov and park area sizes from Parks Expert.

For each national park, the Casago team got the number of amphibians, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and vascular plants by counting records of approved species that fell under any of the six categories. To determine the total number of animals, the amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles were counted. Similarly, the total number of plant species was calculated by combining the vascular plants.

The Casago tean calculated the density of species in each park by determining the number of wildlife species (including all five categories of animals), bird species, and vascular plant species per 100 km².In addition, national parks with an area less than 100 square kilometers were excluded from the analysis.

The data was gathered in February 2023.