A Guide to the Different East Coast National Parks

February 4, 2026

The East Coast is filled with many different national parks, forest, preserves and more to help maintain and protect nature. In this article, we will take about all the East Coast national parks from Maine all the way down to Florida and everything in-between. This will be focused on states that are on the coast, with a couple exceptions (Tennessee and West Virginia).

I am from Upstate New York and have spent most of my life on the east coast and different parts along it. I am a mountain person, but I do love a good beach as well. A lot of people prefer beaches over mountains, which is why, I will be discussing different beaches and national beaches in this article as well.

In this article, you will read about east coast national parks list, east coast national parks road trip, east coast national parks USA, east coast national parks ranked, east coast national parks trip, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, New River Gorge National Park, Everglades National Park and more.

This article is all about East Coast National Parks.

East Coast National Parks:

Maine National Parks

Okay, starting with the furthest northern state along the east coast, Maine. Maine is known for its dense forests, wild coast lines, and green mountains. Even though Maine is filled with diverse terrain, the only National Park in the state is Acadia National Park. Acadia is beautiful, filled with beautiful coast lines and different hikes. Another park, even though it’s not a national park, is Baxter State Park. This park is breathtaking and has gnarly hikes for major hikers. In addition, Grafton Notch State Park has beautiful waterfalls and caves.

Since Maine has a significant coast line, they have some beautiful state park beaches. Here are the state park beaches that I think are worth visiting; Crescent Beach State Park, Two Lights State Park (famous light house), Popham Beach State Park, and Reid State Park.

New Hampshire National Parks

Although New Hampshire doesn’t have any notable national parks, they do have a ton of state parks and the EPIC White Mountains National Forest. A major part of the Appalachian Trail runs through New Hampshire and Maine. Maine actually ends the Appalachian Trail at Baxter State Park at Mount Katahdin. The White Mountains have the outstanding 48 4,000 footers, that every experienced hiker should add to their bucket list. Within the White Mountain National Forest, other note worthy state parks to hike at are Franconia Notch State Park, Crawford Notch State Park, Mount Washington State Park, and Echo Lake State Park.

Vermont National Parks

Vermont is just like its neighboring states, it doesn’t have any national parks but it does have national forests. The Green Mountain National Forest is the biggest park in Vermont and the most famous. It also has a part of the Appalachian Trail that runs through it. They also have a bunch of state parks, just like New Hampshire. Some notable ones are Quechee State Park, Emerald Lake State Park, Grand Isle State Park, Camel Hump’s State Park, Smuggler’s Notch State Park, and Underhill State Park (Mount Mansfield).

New York National Parks

Again, New York does not have any national parks, but they do have incredible mountain ranges. The amazing Adirondack Mountains, and Catskill Mountains. The Catskills are great for an introduction to hiking, while the Adirondacks truly have the gnarliest and some of the prettiest peaks on the east coast.

Some other significant state parks and wilderness areas within the state are the High Peaks Wilderness (Adk 46ers), Giant Mountain Wilderness, Dix Mountain Wilderness, Saranac Lake, Long Lake, and more that you can find here. Some great state lands in lower New York (Catskill Mountains) are Hudson Highlands State Park, Slide Mountain Wilderness, and Kaaterskill Wild Forest.

Massachusetts National Parks

Okay, this is one of the states where I will probably take more about beaches than mountains. The most noteworthy state park in Massachusetts for mountains is Mount Greylock State Reservation. This is apart of the Taconic Mountains and next to the Berkshires. But some other state parks with nice lakes and waterfalls are Bash Bish Falls State Park, Halibut Point State Park, and Mount Holyoke Range State Park.

All the other parks that I know of in Massachusetts are beaches, a good amount of them being apart of the National Seashore of Massachusetts. I absolutely love Cape Cod, but only the way out east parts. Once you make it to Wellfleet, the true beauty of the Cape starts to show. Some of the best National Park beaches worth the trip are Nauset Beach, Marconi Beach, Race Point Beach, Herring Cove Beach, and the Cape Cod Rail Trail (bike trail). Also, White Crest and Cahoon Hollow are beautiful beaches.

Virginia & West Virginia National Parks

Okay, onto more mountains! Virginia and West Virginia are filled with many different mountain ranges, state and national parks/forests. Let’s start with the best national and state parks/forests in Virginia, that are worth the trip.

  1. Shenandoah National Park
  2. Grayson Highlands
  3. Dolly Sods
  4. Appalachian Trail
  5. Blue Ridge Mountains
  6. Pocahontas State Park
  7. Cumberland Gap National Park
  8. Great Falls Park
  9. Cacapon State Park
  10. Sky Meadows State Park
  11. George Washington & Jefferson National Forest

West Virginia also has some great national and state parks/forests for people to enjoy. Here are the best West Virginia parks that are worth the visit.

  1. Appalachian Trail
  2. Gauley River
  3. New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
  4. Babcock State Park
  5. Lost River State Park
  6. Monongahela National Forest

Tennessee & North Carolina National Parks

Alright onto more mountains. Of course for these two states I have to talk about the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This is a beautiful National Park that is filled with hiking, cycling, fishing, waterfalls, horseback riding, and camping. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Townsend are all great towns to stay in Tennessee if you are interested in visiting the Smokies. Here are some other great parks within Tennessee.

  1. Great Smoky Mountain National Park
  2. Appalachian Mountains
  3. Big South Fork National River
  4. Rock Island State Park
  5. Cherokee National Forest

The Smoky Mountains do run through North Carolina as well as Tennessee. Some great towns within North Carolina to stay if interested in visiting the Smokies are Asheville and Boone. Okay, below are the best national and state parks to visit in North Carolina. Now, if you are more of a beach person, then you are in luck, as North Carolina has beautiful coastlines. Thus, some of the parks in this list will be beaches.

  1. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  2. Blue Ridge National Park
  3. Appalachian Mountains
  4. Pisgah National Forest
  5. Nantahala National Forest
  6. Hanging Rock State Park
  7. Grandfather Mountains State Park
  8. Mount Mitchell State Park (highest peak in NC)
  9. Cape Hatteras (beach)
  10. Jockey’s Ridge State Park (beach)
  11. Fort Macon State Park (beach)
  12. Hammocks Beach State Park (beach)
  13. Carolina Beach State Park (beach)

South Carolina & Georgia National Parks

Okay, almost there, we’ve got three more states to talk about. Similar, to its neighbor, South Carolina, has beautiful beaches to visit. I am only going to talk about national and state beaches in South Carolina, then I will list the national parks throughout Georgia.

  1. Edisto Beach State Park
  2. Huntington Beach State Park
  3. Hunting Island State Park

Okay, now onto the mountains in Georgia. Here are the best and worthwhile parks to visit throughout Georgia.

  1. Blue Ridge Mountains
  2. Appalachian Mountains
  3. Chattahoochee National Forest
  4. Cumberland Island (beach)

Florida National Parks

Okay, finally onto our last state, Florida. Florida again is filled with beautiful beaches and the Everglades National Park. This list will be filled again, with no surprise, mostly beaches.

  1. Everglades National Park
  2. Big Cypress National Park
  3. Dry Tortugas National Park
  4. Canaveral National Park
  5. Gulf Islands National Park
  6. Grayton Beach State Park
  7. Sebastian Inlet State Park
  8. Lovers Key State Park
  9. Honeymoon Island State Park
  10. Stump Pass Beach State Park
  11. Caladesi Island State Park
  12. Henderson Beach State Park

East Coast National Parks Ranked & Trips to Take

Okay, now I hate to rank the parks because it is all personal preference. If you are more of a mountain person, then I highly suggest taking a trip to Baxter State Park in Maine and the White Mountains in New Hampshire for hiking. However, if you are a skier/snowboarder, then I recommend visiting the Green Mountains in Vermont and their many ski mountains. If you enjoy hiking and live more southernly, then I recommend going to the Smoky, Appalachian, Blue Ridge Mountains, along with visiting the Grayson Highlands and Dolly Sods.

Now, if you are more of a beach person, then I recommend visiting one of the beaches in Massachusetts, North Carolina and or Florida. With all that being said, depending on how far you live from each of these states/places, I would book either a long weekend or a week. If you live 3-4 hours away from one of the destinations listed above, then I recommend booking a long weekend.

If you live more than 4.5 hours away, I recommend booking a week’s stay and maybe flying down if over 9 hours away. These are just my recommendations, but totally up to you how you want to book your trips. I hope all this information was helpful and you found some great new places to travel to. Thank you so much for reading and get traveling!

error: Content is protected !!