Spending time in the outdoors can lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, enhance your immune system and exercise helps to keep you fit and healthy.
And it is simply enjoyable.
But, for some people, the great outdoors is harder to access, especially for those living with conditions that affect their mobility or ability to communicate due to hearing loss.
Industry experts conducted a study which national parks provide the most amenities to people with mobility impairments, revealing the best and worst national parks in the US for accessible adventures and ranking them based on their wheelchair-friendly accessibility.
The Most Accessible National Parks In the US:
1. Badlands National Park, SD – Total number of trails – 17, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 3, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 17.6, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 92.3, Accessibility score – 9.31
2. Grand Canyon National Park, AZ – Total number of trails – 133, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 14, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 10.5, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 95.7, Accessibility score – 8.80
3. Yellowstone National Park, WY/MT/ID – Total number of trails – 270, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 16, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 5.9, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 96.3, Accessibility score – 8.11
4. Mesa Verde National Park, CO – Total number of trails – 21, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 2, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 9.5, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 81.4, Accessibility score – 7.76
5. Bryce Canyon National Park, UT – Total number of trails – 38, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 5, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 13.2, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 61.9, Accessibility score – 6.90
6. Hot Springs National Park, AR – Total number of trails – 22, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 3, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 13.6, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 54.1, Accessibility score – 6.55
7. Grand Teton National Park, WY – Total number of trails – 118, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 4, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 3.4, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 93.8, Accessibility score – 6.21
8. Joshua Tree National Park, CA – Total number of trails – 133, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 5, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 3.8, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 93.3, Accessibility score – 6.21
9. Death Valley National Park, CA/NV – Total number of trails – 100, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 7, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 7.0, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 70.0, Accessibility score – 6.21
10. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH – Total number of trails – 76, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 8, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 10.5, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 61.3, Accessibility score – 6.21
11. Indiana Dunes National Park, IN – Total number of trails – 18, Wheelchair-friendly trails – 3, % of wheelchair-friendly trails – 16.7, % of wheelchair-friendly restaurants – 52.0, Accessibility score – 6.21
Covering 244,000 acres, Badlands National Park ranks as the best for accessibility in our index. With a score of 9.31/10, 17.6% of Badlands’ trails are suitable for wheelchair users, while an additional 92.3% of restaurants in the area provide suitable assistance to wheelchair users, landing them the top spot!
Needing no introduction of its own, the Grand Canyon comes in as the second most accessible national park in the country with a score of 8.80/10! The park scores highly thanks to 95.7% of its restaurants being wheelchair-accessible, and 10.5% of its trails being suitable for wheelchair users.
The world’s first national park, Yellowstone is home to 2.2 million acres of geology and wildlife, scoring 8.11/10 in our index, with the highest proportion of wheelchair-friendly restaurants at a whopping 96.3%. Additionally, the park has a relatively high number of wheelchair-friendly trails!
The research also looked at the least accessible national parks:
