The 10 State Parks People Were Most Interested in This Year Should All Be on Your Travel List

According to Google’s annual “Year in Search” report, the 10 state parks below are likely to grow the most in popularity in 2026. That’s not to say they’ll be the most popular or most crowded, but that the rate at which users at searching for information about them has grown the most over the course of 2025. The notable growth in search volume could suggest that they’re becoming more popular tourist destinations.

There are the top five trending state parks in the US where all the cool kids may be headed in 2026 and beyond, plus another five to keep an eye on. Interestingly, many also appear on Google’s list of the best state parks for hiking.

Watkins Glen State Park, New York

Interest in Watkins Glen State Park spiked between July 13 and 19, 2025, jumping from an interest rating of 16 at the beginning of the year to an interest rating of 100 in July. Effectively, that means it was searched more than five times as much in July as it was in January.

That could be because July is peak summer, with warm weather, long days, and ideal conditions for hiking and outdoor activity. And Upstate New York’s Watkins Glen delivers, with a 400-foot gorge and 19 separate waterfalls. Towns in the surrounding region are also at their busiest in July, as the broader Finger Lakes Region attracts vacationers for lake trips, winery outings, and camping and cabin stays. In 2024, Watkins Glen State Park attracted 1,398,473 visitors, breaking the record of 1,234,805 visitors set the year before. No word yet on 2025 visitation numbers, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it set yet another record.

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Interest in Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park, a sprawling desert park with layers of rock in vivid shades of pink and red, spiked exactly when you’d expect them to in the last year. Interest jumped to 100 in late December 2024, when the desert temperatures have subsided and the conditions are their best for hiking, photography, and camping. Its close proximity (about an hour’s drive) to Las Vegas makes it an easy day-trip or overnight escape for residents and tourists alike. Valley of Fire also recently received significant investments, including the development of a new visitor center to accommodate the visiting demand in visitation. According to a 2024 news article, visits to the park in 2024 had doubled since the mid-2000s.

Liberty State Park, New Jersey

Interest in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park peaked in June 2025. While it’s easy to think it’s due to the iconic skyline or the park-wide overhaul happening as part of the Liberty State Park Revitalization Program, a further dive into search results suggests it may be for a quirkier reason. In June, the park hosted a Pokémon Go festival, attracting more than 50,000 visitors who wanted to play the trendy mobile phone game. The park hosted everything from special in-park gameplay to recreated Pokémon habitats, photo ops with mascots, and other immersive Pokémon experiences.

For “trainers” who missed it, the event plans to return to Liberty State Park in June of 2026.

Starved Rock State Park, Illinois

Starved Rock State Park sits along the Illinois River and is a go-to place for Chicagoans to beat the summer heat. It has multiple waterfalls that are strongest in late spring, which is probably why searches for the park reached their peak in early June 2025. It’s more than a sixfold jump in interest over when searches were at the lowest in November — a season that normally can be pretty muddy and wet.
.
However, the popularity in searches may have to do with another term that also increased in volume: Postcard Cabins Starved Rock. It’s the new name for the park’s glamping cabins, which were part of the “Getaway” cabins brand. It was bought by Marriott International and launched its rebranding in early 2025. Marketing for that new property could explain some of the increased interest, as search volume for Postcard Cabins also increased between May and October 2025.

Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

Search interest in Silver Falls State Park in Oregon also peaked in mid-June 2025. The month offers great weather for visiting the park, making it ideal for picnicking, camping, and hiking the park’s famous “Trail of Ten Falls:” a 7.2-mile loop passing 10 waterfalls. It also sits near the Columbia River Gorge, a gorgeous stretch of the PNW on the border between Oregon and Washington that’s growing in popularity for travelers keen to escape more touristed West Coast destinations like Lake Tahoe, Portland, or region’s many top national parks.

While it’s easy to say search interest was up in summer 2025 simply because it’s the best season to visit, it’s also up because it’s growing in popularity. 53,850,000 people visited Oregon state parks in 2024, beating the previous record set the year before by about 200,000. At Silver Falls State Park, 2024 visitation grew by about nine percent, jumping from 1,450,560 visits in 2023 to 1,579,700 visits in 2024.

The other top trending state parks according to Google data include:

• Letchworth State Park, New York: the “Grand Canyon of the East” known for its waterfalls and gorges
• Blue Spring State Park, Florida: Known for crystal-clear natural springs and the chance to see wild manatees in the winter
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas: A state park in the country’s second-biggest canyon that hosts summer events in an outdoor amphitheater
• Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, California: A jaw-dropping swath of coast that shows off the beauty of the Northern California and Big Sur landscapes
• Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas: The world’s only public diamond mine where anyone can search for diamonds (and keep whatever they find)