FOREST TOPPLES MOUNTAIN! No. 7 Redwood axed No. 2 Denali in one of the tightest results of the competition so far. See full results below. Sweet 16 voting begins now and will run through midnight ET on April 6, so be sure to make your picks. All entries eligible for a raffle of prizes. Follow @theparkschannel for stories and reels, and use #parksmadness to share photos and let us know what you think!
If a tree falls on a mountain and everyone sees it, who wins?
Your votes settled that question with Redwood National Park axing Alaska’s Denali National Park & Preserve by a leaf-thin 51-49% online margin, setting up a tantalizing Sweet 16. Top seeds Yellowstone, Yosemite, Acadia and Zion all moved on, although Zion faced a bitter battle with its Mighty 5 teammate Bryce Canyon. As one anguished voter put it: “My most controversial choice – Bryce is better than Zion 😳.”
The latest round to produce a 2024 National Park Champion produced few upsets, but a couple of real trail-biters, with No. 6 seed Shenandoah just barely elbowing out No. 3 Canyonlands by 51-49% of the votes. No. 5 Mesa Verde called out the spirits to score a comeback win over No. 4 Big Bend. After a tight early vote, No. 5 Badlands built a sturdy lead on the Everglades and never looked back.
No. 3 Glacier had no trouble putting No. 6 Olympic on ice – although that matchup too proved hard for many of you voters, with one commenting: “I hate having to pick between Olympic and Glacier, as both are in my top 5 faves, but that winner should be the champion!”
A battle of volcanoes proved less fiery than expected, with No. 2 Mount Rainier easily flowing past Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The other Hawaii competitor, No. 5 Haleakala, fared no better, as No. 4 seeded Sequoia made sure “aloha” meant “goodbye.” Alaska, too, is now out of the competition after Gates of the Arctic crashed against Yellowstone. Only two of Utah’s mighty national parks remain – Zion and No. 3 Arches, which blasted No. 6 Great Sand Dunes, while No. 7 Capitol Reef capitulated to the No. 2. Great Smokies.
Headline Matchups for Next Round
As the Sweet 16 of Parks Madness opens today, there are several marquee matchups to look out for:
• Yellowstone bracket – No. 1 Yellowstone faces off against its next-door neighbor, No. 5 Grand Teton, while No. 3 Glacier bumps up against upstart No. 7 Redwood.
• Yosemite bracket – Two immovable objects clash with No 3 Grand Canyon taking on No. 2 Mount Rainier, while No. 1 Yosemite confronts California cousin No. 4 Sequoia.
• Acadia bracket – To-the-bone Badlands at No. 5 has an uphill battle against No. 1 Acadia, and No. 3 Arches tries to ascend past No. 2 Rocky Mountain.
• Zion bracket – Eastern oases Shenandoah and Great Smoky face off while No. 1 Zion grapples with No. 5 Mesa Verde.
The battles get tighter and the votes get even more important as we move into the Sweet 16! Don’t forget to submit your ballot by midnight ET on April 6 to be eligible for our next round of prizes.
Your Round Two winners are…
Montage photos by Logan B – Badlands, Colin Donahue – Glacier, Jennifer Cinquemani – Arches and Kristen Repchick – Shenandoah; Parks Madness brackets by Darius Nabors.
Your Comments from Round 2
Fabulous idea! Love all the parks
Zion vs Bryce is a tough one! Haven’t been to Carlsbad or Big Bend but going this week before the eclipse!!!
Love this madness bracket.
Acadia is not a 1 seed
This is fun!
USA National Parks are all winners! Best parks ever!! America Park visitors are the winners
How did I miss Round 1!!
It really hurt me to pick between Zion and Bryce Canyon because I just went to both for the first time. It’s also soooo difficult to pick because they’re all so beautiful and unique!! But I’m very curious to see who wins. 🙂
Glacier vs Olympic was tough!!
I hate having to pick between Olympic and Glacier, as both are in my top 5 faves, but that winner should be the champion!
This needs to be a thing every year! Love it!
I love the national parks, they are all great!!!
New River Gorge deserves more love
Missed Mammoth cave-one of my favorites!!!
Death Valley with water is spectacular!!
My most controversial choice—Bryce is better than Zion 😳
Been to many that are still in the hunt for the championship. I still remember going to Yosemite and thought Tunnel view was the most epic sight I would ever see. That all changed once I made it to Glacier.
Great rankings!
Hawaii volcano park is the best. I live in Hawaii and it is the most unique park I have ever been too. Amazing hikes and beautiful native Hawaiian birds. The contrast of the lava and the beautiful blue ocean. I just love it there. It should win the whole competition.
Honestly this is one of the hardest challenges because each park is so unique that they each deserve to win. I have so many specific and wonderful memories at each. From snowmobiling in Yellowstone, first internship ever at Badlands and making lifelong friends, to hiking half dome in Yosemite with my brother, to being 10 years old on a road trip with my entire family seeing multiple parks for the first time. Our National Parks are a thing of beauty hopefully we can continue to add more parks in the years to come!
Really Zion vs. Bryce Canyon. They like besties.
Great job 👍🏻
This is such fun. I’m so glad my family has spent parts of the past five summers visiting as many parks as possible.
Yosemite/Kings Canyon was wild- they are so close geographically! Will be mourning the loss of Channel Islands in the first round forever.
Acadia vs Carlsbad Caverns is an unfair advantage on Acadia’s side!
Some of the matchups are hard to choose from because they are so different but both great in their own way!
Tough choices here…Olympic vs Glacier especially. And the Utah vs Utah parks is tough too!
Redwood tree beats Alaska any day
After cruising through the first round like a puffin on the breeze, Acadia is going to pound Carlsbad like the waves of a nor’easter pound the shore. See you in the Sweet 16.
Tough round!
I’m just sad North Cascades matched up against Tetons.