Weather

Snowiest National Parks

By Highlight · February 2026

Measured in feet, not inches. These parks receive extraordinary snowfall, burying roads under 20+ feet and creating landscapes defined by glaciers, avalanche chutes, and winter recreation. Plan visits carefully, as many roads and facilities close under the weight of accumulation.

How We Ranked These

Annual Snowfall

We estimated total snow accumulation for each park by analyzing precipitation that falls during freezing conditions. Parks where snowfall is measured in tens of feet, not inches, score highest.

Snow Days Per Year

We counted the number of days each year when snow falls, separating parks with long, reliable snow seasons from those with occasional dustings. More snow days means a longer, more consistent winter landscape.

Snow Season Length

Parks where snow arrives in September and lingers into July score differently from those with a brief December-to-February window. We factored in how much of the year winter conditions persist.

Cold-Weather Precipitation

Not all precipitation in cold parks falls as snow. We specifically identified precipitation events during below-freezing temperatures to separate genuine snowfall from cold rain, giving a more accurate picture of winter conditions.

10.
100
Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park and Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile
9.
100
Rocky Mountain
National Park · Colorado
Explore:Park Profile Gateway Towns Plan B Scenic Drives
8.
100
Yukon-Charley Rivers
National Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile
7.
100
Lake Clark
National Park and Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile
6.
100
Denali
National Park and Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile Plan B Gateway Towns
5.
100
Highlight’s Favorite: Devils Postpile
National Monument · California
Devils Postpile scores first on this list with a perfect 100, and it’s our favorite for snowfall.
A formation of columnar basalt up to 60 feet tall, some of the most symmetrical in the world. A geological survey of 400 columns found 44.5% were six-sided, 37.5% five-sided. The formation is roughly 100,000 years old, the columns created as a thick lava pool cooled slowly and evenly. A glacier polished the top flat about 10,000 years ago.
None of which you can see for most of the year. The monument sits at 7,560 feet near Mammoth Mountain in the eastern Sierra, and the road closes from mid-October to mid-June under heavy snowfall. The access window is barely five months. For the other seven, Devils Postpile is buried. That’s how you earn a perfect snowiest score: be remarkable enough to be a national monument, then spend most of the year under snow that keeps everyone out. Nobody talks about Devils Postpile because nobody can get there.
Explore:Park Profile
4.
100
Aniakchak
National Monument and Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile
3.
100
Noatak
National Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile
2.
100
Isle Royale
National Park · Michigan
Explore:Park Profile
1.
100
Katmai
National Park and Preserve · Alaska
Explore:Park Profile