5 State Parks That Feel Like National Parks

If your summer vacation plans include exploring sandstone canyons, watching wildlife or gawking at geothermal wonders, this may not be the year to do so at a national park.

National Park Service staffing cuts have created uncertainty at many of the most popular destinations, including Zion, Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone. That is likely to mean long waits, big crowds and unexpected closures.

But state parks, which are run and funded separately from national parks, offer comparable landscapes, wildlife and experiences — often with fewer crowds and lower fees.

There are more than 9,800 state parks, forests, preserves and other sites, said Paul McCormack, the president of the National Association of State Park Directors. In 2022, state-run parks collectively welcomed 877 million visitors, Mr. McCormack said, compared with 332 million at the 433 N.P.S. sites.

State properties offer access to “everything from cave tours in Alabama to Wyoming state parks with petroglyphs to white-water rafting in Pennsylvania,” Mr. McCormack said.

And many of them, it turns out, are not far from national parks, making them alternative destinations for an outdoorsy summer vacation. Here are five state parks within a three-hour drive of their national park doppelgängers.