NPS Sites Near Los Angeles

Several National Park Service units lie within 150 miles of Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is the closest at 30.8 miles away and attracts 722,626 annual visits. Channel Islands National Park is located 91 miles away with 227,186 annual recreation visits, while Cabrillo National Monument sits 113.1 miles away and receives 769,336 annual visits. Joshua Tree National Park, the farthest site at 133.8 miles, is the most visited of the four, recording 2,932,644 annual visits.

These four sites offer varied landscapes and recreational opportunities across Southern California. The Santa Monica Mountains preserve coastal and foothill environments near the city, while Channel Islands provides access to marine ecosystems and island habitats. Cabrillo protects coastal history and viewpoints, and Joshua Tree encompasses high desert terrain with distinctive rock formations and vegetation. Visitation figures represent annual recreation visits recorded by the National Park Service.

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Nearby-NPS units and their annual recreation visits are from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics package (haversine match within 150 mi of the city centroid), verified June 2026. Null visitation renders as “n/a”, never 0. How we compile this.