Top 5 differences between National Parks in the US and UK

Although it is great to think of the altruistic influences that set national parks aside for nature conservation and public access to the outdoors, this was more evident in the UK rather than the US.

The UK national parks were finally created following the second world war to get people into nature and were led by a grassroots movement that was dedicated to access.

In the US, although the desire for conservation was there, the main driver behind the creation of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, was the desire from the railway companies to open up holiday destinations and get people to them via rail. The national park designation was partly to stop others developing it.

Land ownership is very different in the UK and the US, where national parks were designated by the government and remain government property, managed by the national park bodies.

In the UK on the other hand the parks were created in areas where thousands of people had homes and livelihoods where the land was in private ownership.

National park authorities only own tiny amounts of land within the parks, and act more as planning authorities able to veto new development. Having said that, charities like the National Trust do own a lot of land within national parks, and mostly have similar objectives to the park authorities.

The Wilderness Scotland office is located within the Cairngorms National Park, making it a very inspiring place to work!

The view from the Wilderness Office inside the Cairngorms National Park.

• Visit our multi-location page to find out about all our trips that explore different regions of Scotland.

The freedom to roam where we want in the hills was the result of years of fighting in the UK. England and Wales have open access lands in most mountainous areas, meaning people can walk where they like.

In Scotland this freedom is more widespread, and the assumption is that an area has public access. Because of the restrictions south of the border before open access rules came along, a vast rights of way network grew up, which frequently crosses moors, goes through fields and leads up mountains.

In the mountains of Scotland this type of network was never needed, so people have become far more used to heading up a mountain with no sign of a path. This attitude has been remarked on by American visitors, who are used to the set trails through US national parks and trekking outside of these paths is less common.

Despite the many differences between the UK and the US national parks, especially in size and amount of development, the opportunities for adventure are pretty equal!

It’s incredible to think we live on an island which at one end has vineyards and at the other, the arctic plateau of the Cairngorms. So wherever you live, get out there and see the national parks when you can; they were hard won, and each have a lifetime of adventure to offer.

Why not come hiking in the UK’s National Park with us?

Explore one or both of Scotland’s National Parks or join us for a journey around four National Parks in Scotland and Northern England.

Below are a list of our holidays that visit National Parks:

• Hike some of the greatest parks in Scotland and England on our National parks of the UK  holiday
• Our Cairngorms National Park and Royal Deeside holiday will allow you to enjoy the huge variety of wildlife
• On our High Points of the Cairngorms National Park hike among the stunning scenery of hills, lochs and forests