National Parks Near Columbia, Maryland
182 national parks within 8 hours · 73 within 2 hours
73
Within 2 Hours
41
Within 4 Hours
60
Within 8 Hours
182
Total Parks
Columbia, Maryland is an ideal base for exploring America's national parks, offering visitors exceptional access to some of the most historically significant and naturally beautiful protected lands in the country. With 73 national parks and historic sites within just two hours of the city, and a remarkable 182 parks accessible within an eight-hour drive, Columbia places you at the heart of East Coast park exploration. If you're looking to start nearby, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway is just 12 miles away, offering scenic drives and outdoor recreation right in your backyard. History enthusiasts will appreciate the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail at 15 miles and the iconic Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, also at 16 miles, where you can walk the grounds that inspired America's national anthem. Whether you're a casual day-tripper or a devoted park explorer, Columbia's central location makes it surprisingly easy to experience diverse landscapes, from Civil War battlefields to preserved natural habitats.
Planning a national park adventure from Columbia is wonderfully straightforward, whether you have just a few hours or an entire weekend. For a quick afternoon getaway, choose one of the parks within 20 miles—perfect for lunch and a few hours of exploration without excessive driving. If you have a full day or weekend, consider combining two parks in different directions: perhaps visiting Fort McHenry in Baltimore in the morning, then heading south to explore the Civil War Defenses of Washington in the afternoon. We recommend checking park websites for current hours, entrance requirements, and seasonal closures before you go, and always plan your route using the distance guide to maximize your time enjoying nature and history rather than sitting in traffic.
Browse Parks by Drive Time from Columbia
Baltimore-Washington Parkway
Parkway 12 mi away
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail 15 mi away
Greenbelt Park
Park 15 mi away
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
National Monument and Historic Shrine 16 mi away
Civil War Defenses of Washington
19 mi away
Rock Creek Park
Park 20 mi away
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
20 mi away
Hampton National Historic Site
National Historic Site 21 mi away
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
National Historic Site 22 mi away
Glen Echo Park
Park 22 mi away
Clara Barton National Historic Site
National Historic Site 22 mi away
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
National Historic Site 22 mi away
African American Civil War Memorial
22 mi away
World War I Memorial
23 mi away
Washington Monument
23 mi away
The White House and President’s Park
23 mi away
Pennsylvania Avenue
23 mi away
National Mall and Memorial Parks
23 mi away
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Memorial Parkway 23 mi away
Fort Dupont Park
23 mi away
Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site
National Historic Site 23 mi away
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
Memorial 23 mi away
Capitol Hill Parks
23 mi away
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
National Monument 23 mi away
Anacostia Park
Park 23 mi away
World War II Memorial
24 mi away
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
24 mi away
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
24 mi away
Theodore Roosevelt Island
24 mi away
National Capital Parks-East
24 mi away
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
24 mi away
Lincoln Memorial
24 mi away
Korean War Veterans Memorial
24 mi away
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
National Historic Site 24 mi away
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
24 mi away
Constitution Gardens
24 mi away
LBJ Memorial Grove on the Potomac
25 mi away
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
National Historical Park 25 mi away
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
25 mi away
Great Falls Park
Park 26 mi away
Chesapeake Bay
26 mi away
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail 26 mi away
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
28 mi away
Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm
28 mi away
Monocacy National Battlefield
National Battlefield 31 mi away
Fort Foote Park
Park 31 mi away
Harmony Hall
32 mi away
Fort Washington Park
Park 35 mi away
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
National Scenic Trail 36 mi away
Piscataway Park
Park 37 mi away
Manassas National Battlefield Park
National Battlefield Park 45 mi away
Catoctin Mountain Park
Park 45 mi away
Eisenhower National Historic Site
National Historic Site 46 mi away
Thomas Stone National Historic Site
National Historic Site 47 mi away
Gettysburg National Military Park
National Military Park 47 mi away
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
National Historical Park 48 mi away
Antietam National Battlefield
National Battlefield 50 mi away
Prince William Forest Park
Park 51 mi away
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
National Historical Park 65 mi away
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
National Monument 70 mi away
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park
National Military Park 71 mi away
Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
National Monument 72 mi away
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
National Historical Park 79 mi away
First State National Historical Park
National Historical Park 82 mi away
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
National Scenic Trail 87 mi away
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
National Historic Site 91 mi away
Valley Forge National Historical Park
National Historical Park 98 mi away
Shenandoah National Park
National Park 100 mi away
Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site
National Historic Site 104 mi away
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
National Memorial 105 mi away
Independence National Historical Park
National Historical Park 105 mi away
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
National Historic Site 105 mi away
Green Springs
108 mi away
Maggie L Walker National Historic Site
National Historic Site 118 mi away
Great Egg Harbor River
118 mi away
Assateague Island National Seashore
National Seashore 118 mi away
Richmond National Battlefield Park
National Battlefield Park 121 mi away
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail 123 mi away
Flight 93 National Memorial
National Memorial 124 mi away
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
National Historic Site 125 mi away
New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve
National Reserve 129 mi away
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
National Memorial 129 mi away
Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
National Wild and Scenic River 130 mi away
Colonial National Historical Park
National Historical Park 137 mi away
Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park
Part of Colonial National Historical Park 138 mi away
Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park
Part of Colonial National Historical Park 138 mi away
Petersburg National Battlefield
National Battlefield 143 mi away
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
National Battlefield 152 mi away
Fort Monroe National Monument
National Monument 154 mi away
Morristown National Historical Park
National Historical Park 164 mi away
Cape Henry Memorial Part of Colonial National Historical Park
Part of Colonial National Historical Park 164 mi away
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
National Historical Park 164 mi away
Steamtown National Historic Site
National Historic Site 165 mi away
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area 167 mi away
Friendship Hill National Historic Site
National Historic Site 168 mi away
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
National Historical Park 177 mi away
National Parks of New York Harbor
180 mi away
Statue Of Liberty National Monument
National Monument 181 mi away
Governors Island National Monument
National Monument 182 mi away
Gateway National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area 182 mi away
Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument
Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument 182 mi away
Federal Hall National Memorial
National Memorial 183 mi away
Castle Clinton National Monument
National Monument 183 mi away
African Burial Ground National Monument
National Monument 184 mi away
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
National Historic Site 185 mi away
Stonewall National Monument
National Monument 185 mi away
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
National Historical Park 185 mi away
Lower East Side Tenement Museum National Historic Site
National Historic Site 185 mi away
General Grant National Memorial
National Memorial 189 mi away
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
National Memorial 190 mi away
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
Scenic & Recreational River 195 mi away
Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site
National Historic Site 199 mi away
Booker T Washington National Monument
National Monument 212 mi away
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
National Historic Site 213 mi away
Wright Brothers National Memorial
National Memorial 229 mi away
Weir Farm National Historical Park
National Historical Park 229 mi away
Fire Island National Seashore
National Seashore 229 mi away
Gauley River National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area 234 mi away
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
National Historic Site 234 mi away
Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
National Historic Site 235 mi away
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
National Historic Site 236 mi away
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
National Historic Site 236 mi away
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
National Park & Preserve 242 mi away
Bluestone National Scenic River
National Scenic River 250 mi away
Women’s Rights National Historical Park
National Historical Park 256 mi away
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
National Historical Park 257 mi away
Thomas Cole National Historic Site
National Historic Site 261 mi away
First Ladies National Historic Site
National Historic Site 263 mi away
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
National Military Park 267 mi away
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
National Seashore 270 mi away
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
National Historic Site 274 mi away
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
National Historic Site 276 mi away
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
National Park 286 mi away
Fort Stanwix National Monument
National Monument 287 mi away
James A Garfield National Historic Site
National Historic Site 291 mi away
Coltsville National Historical Park
National Historical Park 296 mi away
Springfield Armory National Historic Site
National Historic Site 301 mi away
Cape Lookout National Seashore
National Seashore 304 mi away
Saratoga National Historical Park
National Historical Park 311 mi away
New England National Scenic Trail
National Scenic Trail 312 mi away
Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
National Historic Site 332 mi away
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
National Historical Park 333 mi away
Moores Creek National Battlefield
National Battlefield 335 mi away
Roger Williams National Memorial
National Memorial 339 mi away
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
National Historical Park 342 mi away
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
National Historical Park 355 mi away
Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial
Memorial 356 mi away
Minute Man National Historical Park
National Historical Park 367 mi away
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
National Historic Site 369 mi away
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
National Historic Site 370 mi away
Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
National Historic Site 372 mi away
Adams National Historical Park
National Historical Park 372 mi away
Boston African American National Historic Site
National Historic Site 373 mi away
Boston National Historical Park
National Historical Park 374 mi away
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail 375 mi away
Lowell National Historical Park
National Historical Park 375 mi away
Kings Mountain National Military Park
National Military Park 375 mi away
Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
National Historical Park 377 mi away
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
National Monument 377 mi away
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area 377 mi away
Marsh – Billings – Rockefeller National Historical Park
National Historical Park 379 mi away
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
National Historic Site 380 mi away
Salem Maritime National Historical Park
National Historical Park 387 mi away
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
National Historical Park 388 mi away
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
National Historic Site 389 mi away
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
National Battlefield Park 390 mi away
Cowpens National Battlefield
National Battlefield 391 mi away
Blue Ridge Parkway
Parkway 398 mi away
Cape Cod National Seashore
National Seashore 404 mi away
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
National Historical Park 409 mi away
William Howard Taft National Historic Site
National Historic Site 410 mi away
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
National Historic Site 410 mi away
Camp Nelson National Monument
National Monument 429 mi away
Congaree National Park
National Park 432 mi away
Guided Tours & Experiences Near Columbia
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.