Rocky Mountain National Park Is Smaller Than You May Think

I have been off the past few days on an epic road trip adventure into the big sky state of Montana. On a whim a couple of weeks ago, I decided that my wife and I needed to explore a new national park.

I booked a glamping hotel in Northwest Montana, right outside of the entrance to Glacier National Park. First things first, if you have never been to Glacier, it is totally worth the road trip to see the landscape. It is epic.

Matt Sparx

How Big Is Rocky Mountain National Park?

Living in Northern Colorado has its perks, like being a short drive away from the iconic Rocky Mountain National Park. While we all may think that Rocky Mountain National Park is huge, which it is, it is no comparison to many of the other national parks in the nation.

READ MORE: The Ultimate Colorado National Parks and Monuments Road Trip

Being the numbers-and-list nerd that I am, I had to see just how big Rocky Mountain National Park was and how it ranked among other highly visited national parks across the United States. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I saw the numbers.

Out of the 63 national parks in the United States, Rocky Mountain National Park doesn't even make it into the top 10. You have to scroll all the way down to number 26 to even find Rocky Mountain National Park on the list.

Rocky Mountain National Park Ranks 26th by Size

At 265,807 acres, Rocky Mountain National Park is large, but nothing in comparison to the top five largest national parks. Death Valley National Park comes in as the fifth largest national park and can fit Rocky Mountain National Park inside of its borders more than 12 times.

READ MORE: Rocky Mountain National Park Reservations Return for 2026

The largest national park in the United States is in Alaska. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is massive, at 8.3 million acres, and can fit Rocky Mountain National Park within its borders over 31 times. That's a huge national park, to say the least.

According to nationalparkobsessed.com, Alaska is home to four of the top five largest national parks. Those national parks include Katmai, Denali, and Gates of the Arctic. The smallest national park is in Missouri. With only 90.9 acres, the Gateway Arch National Park is approximately the size of the Vatican City, which is still a pretty big park.