National Park Score

So how does Kelley & Carl’s National Parks rankings work? There are 12 separate categories, and they are each judged on a scale of 1 through 10 - with “1” being the worst and “10” being the best, meaning the highest possible score is 120. The twelve categories are split into two separate groups: “Wow Factor” and “Experience”. The “Wow Factor” categories measures a parks visual appeal. The “Experience” categories measure how enjoyable, practical, and rewarding a park is to actually visit beyond its visual appeal.

Wow Factor

There are five “Wow Factor” categories that focus on how the National Parks appeal visually.

Wildlife

This one is easy: How diverse is the wildlife in the park and how likely are you to see it?