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Casting aside politics, which set of national parks wins out in terms of beauty, awe, mystique, isolation, etc: those in Blue States or those in Red States?
In 2020, Joe Biden won in states with 29 national parks while Donald Trump won in states with 32 national parks.
NOTE: 2 national parks (American Samoa and Virgin Islands) are in territories that cannot vote for President but who nonetheless have Democratic legislative and gubernatorial majorities. They've been included in the Blue State count as a result.
Blue State National Parks:
Acadia
American Samoa
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Carlsbad Caverns
Channel Islands
Crater Lake
Death Valley
Grand Canyon
Great Basin
Great Sand Dunes
Haleakala
Hawaii Volcanoes
Isle Royale
Joshua Tree
Kings Canyon
Lassen Volcanic
Mesa Verde
Mount Rainier
North Cascades
Olympic
Petrified Forest
Pinnacles
Redwood
Rocky Mountain
Saguaro
Sequoia
Shenandoah
Virgin Islands
Voyageurs
White Sands
Yosemite
Red State National Parks:
Arches
Badlands
Big Bend
Biscayne
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Congaree
Cuyahoga Valley
Denali
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Gates of the Arctic
Gateway Arch
Glacier
Glacier Bay
Grand Teton
Great Smoky Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Hot Springs
Indiana Dunes
Katmai
Kenai Fjords
Kobuk Valley
Lake Clark
Mammoth Cave
New River Gorge
Theodore Roosevelt
Wind Cave
Wrangell-Saint Elias
Yellowstone
Zion
Of the 4 crown jewels of the NPS, two are in Blue States (Grand Canyon, Yosemite) and two are in Red States (Yellowstone, Zion). So which cohort wins out?
Regardless of the state-level politics, national parks are in more rural, remote parts of their states, so the residents around there will generally vote more Republican.
I've been to 5 national parks in Blue states and 10 in Red.
Blue: Acadia, Grand Canyon, Haleakala, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Yosemite.
Red: Arches, Badlands, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Denali, Gateway Arch, Glacier Bay, Great Smoky Mountains, New River Gorge (before it became a national park), and Theodore Roosevelt.
Bucket List: I'd like to see them all, but the ones at the top of my list are Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.
If you go just based on which ones I've visited, or want to visit, the Red state ones are the clear favorites. However, my all-time favorite one (at least so far) is Yosemite, so I'm willing to diversify my visits between Red and Blue states.
I've long thought that the Democrats got the more naturally beautiful states, leaving the duller, more bland ones for the Republicans. But now that I'm seeing this list, I'll have to rethink that notion.
I've long thought that the Democrats got the more naturally beautiful states, leaving the duller, more bland ones for the Republicans. But now that I'm seeing this list, I'll have to rethink that notion.
Regardless of the state-level politics, national parks are in more rural, remote parts of their states, so the residents around there will generally vote more Republican.
That used to be the case, but it has changed rapidly. Grand Teton National Park and the gems of Yellowstone - Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Lake - are in Teton County, WY, which was 67% Biden.
Glacier National Park is in Glacier County (64% Biden) and Flathead County (64% Trump), so an interesting split.
The most famous parts of the Grand Canyon are in 61% Biden Coconino County.
National Parks, particularly the most famous ones, tend to lure in upper middle class tourists and cost of living quickly increases as prices rise to tap into that revenue stream. Eventually, the only people who can afford it are wealthy environmentalists.
I went to Jackson, WY, last summer and was shocked that the cheapest decent hotels were $300 a night. A lot of the Colorado ones are equally expensive now.
Another case is Alaska, where the State is Republican (+10% Trump), but a lot of the nature is in Democratic areas. The Alaska Panhandle, for example, is strongly blue, as is the entire Western half, which has a large Alaska Native population.
I've been to 5 national parks in Blue states and 10 in Red.
Blue: Acadia, Grand Canyon, Haleakala, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Yosemite.
Red: Arches, Badlands, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Denali, Gateway Arch, Glacier Bay, Great Smoky Mountains, New River Gorge (before it became a national park), and Theodore Roosevelt.
Bucket List: I'd like to see them all, but the ones at the top of my list are Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.
If you go just based on which ones I've visited, or want to visit, the Red state ones are the clear favorites. However, my all-time favorite one (at least so far) is Yosemite, so I'm willing to diversify my visits between Red and Blue states.
I've long thought that the Democrats got the more naturally beautiful states, leaving the duller, more bland ones for the Republicans. But now that I'm seeing this list, I'll have to rethink that notion.
Red states have more variance. To me, the most beautiful and the least beautiful states are both Republican.
Looking at the Thrillist ranking of states by beauty, here are the bottom 10:
Connecticut (#45)
Illinois (#48)
Indiana (#49)
Kansas (#50)
Louisiana (#46)
Mississippi (#43)
Nebraska (#40)
New Jersey (#41)
Ohio (#42)
Oklahoma (#44)
7 of the 10 ugliest are GOP.
Looking at the prettiest 15 we get:
Alaska (#3)
Arizona (#12)
California (#1)
Colorado (#5)
Hawaii (#2)
Maine (#14)
Michigan (#10)
Montana (#9)
North Carolina (#13)
Oregon (#7)
South Dakota (#11)
Utah (#4)
Washington (#6)
West Virginia (#15)
Wyoming (#8)
7 of the prettiest are GOP, including two of the superstars (Alaska, Utah).
Democratic states have less variance, since Blue States are clustered on the coasts, so they tend to have more beaches and mountain access (Appalachians, Cascades). So they all have something to offer except maybe Illinois (no offense). So the median blue state will be prettier. GOP states include most of the interior, so while there's a good chunk of beautiful interior (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah), there's also a lot of dull prairie (Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota), hence the big chasm in perception.
I did a double take when seeing New River Gorge as a NP, but did a quick check, and yep. it got signed as a part of the CAA on Dec 27.
As far as the main topic goes, they all have their own beauty but more of my personal favorites are in blue states, with Olympic, Yosemite, and Rocky Mountains in CO. I guess with usually coasts being blue the ones I like the most are generally in blue states...
Since when is the Great Smoky Mountains NP no longer considered one of the "Crown Jewels?" It will always be in my book.
It's arguably Top 10, but never at the level of Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Zion. It gets a lot of traffic, however, due to being one of the few National Parks east of the Mississippi.
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