You are here

Top 10 Most Visited National Parks

Share
Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance sign; Jimmy Wayne photo.
The most visited park in the land; Jimmy Wayne photo.
I like data, I'm a bit of a nerd in that regard. One side of my brain likes the organic, unordered world of our natural national parks, but then the other side of my brain likes order and numbers and rankings. And so today, I present ranked visitation data for similar minded left-brained folks out there.

 

The National Park Service count people visiting the parks. Each park in the system has a method for figuring this out, which is actually a little more complex than clicking a counter every time a car drives past the entrance station. How do you separate recreation visits from, say, commuters which drive along a road that is managed by the park? Tough to answer, and that's why the NPS has statisticians on staff to figure it out. These statisticians once a year release a document that ranks all park units in the system based on visitation. Here is what they found for visits in 2006.

 

Top 10 Most Visited NPS Units RankPark NameVisitation 1Blue Ridge PKWY 18,953,4782Golden Gate NRA 13,486,8243Great Smoky Mountains NP 9,289,2154Gateway NRA 8,456,4565Lake Mead NRA 7,777,7536George Washington MEM PKWY 6,872,2137Natchez Trace PKWY 5,713,5838Delaware Water Gap NRA 5,254,2169Cape Cod NS 4,487,71610Grand Canyon NP 4,279,439

 

With 3 parkways and 4 recreation areas, that list doesn't necessarily represent the big, out-of-the-way destination parks that we typically picture when we think of a 'National Park'. And so, let me apply a filter to the data to isolate just the top ten National Parks.

 

Top 10 Most Visited National Parks RankPark NameVisitation1Great Smoky Mountains NP 9,289,2152Grand Canyon NP 4,279,4393Yosemite NP 3,242,6444Yellowstone NP 2,870,2955Olympic NP 2,749,1976Rocky Mountain NP 2,743,6767Zion NP 2,567,3508Cuyahoga Valley NP 2,468,8169Grand Teton NP 2,406,47610Acadia NP 2,083,588

 

These two 'top ten' lists look pretty similar to last year's numbers, but there has been some movement in the bottom ten parks. Want to avoid the crowds? Check out these least visited park units. Aniakchak had only 60 visitors last year! It has been noted though, counting must be tough at Aniakchak considering there are no permanent buildings (NPS or otherwise) at the monument. The only real way to get there is by float plane, and even that can be tricky I've been told. Counting down from 10 ...

 

 

KEY:
  • NHS - National Historic Site
  • NM - National Monument
  • NMEM - National Memorial
  • NP - National Park
  • NPRES - National Preserve
  • NRA - National Recreation Area
  • PKWY - Parkway
  • W&SR - Wild Scenic & Recreational River

Comments

I think Zion is a side trip from Las Vegas for some people. Something to do once you've lost all your money...


As someone who has spent a lot of time in our wonderful NP system, the most visited Parks are crowded if You stay in Your car. Get out and WALK, and You will find peace and quiet even in GSMNP. The best way to see Cades Cove is to park and walk the loop. It takes a while, 3 to 4 hours, if You stop and observe and take pictures, etc. But if You drive in the crowds, it will take You almost as long, and You won't get the exercise or the piece of mind. I realize everyone can't do it, but I am 67yo, and it is still an easy walk. Zion IS crowded, but if You go to Colob Canyon, You will have a hard time finding a neighbor. Same with Yellowstone, get away from Old Faithful and a few other spots, and the crowds get sparce. Remember, there are 2.25 million acres in Yellowstone. So,if there are 2.25 million people there, each one has an acre or about 45,000 sq ft of space. Thanks GOD for our NPS, and be thankful for the Rangers that are as a whole, one of the greatest groups of people in the USofA.


Glad to say my wife and I were 2 out of 2526 who visited Salt River Bay in 2006! A beautiful place to visit...

Rap


Great Basin National Park is awesome!  Hardly anyone goes there so it is a great place to get away from it all.  There arent to many places to stay there but if you call ahead you can usually get one of the few motel rooms there.  The Lehman Cave system is at Great Basin and is a great cave tour.  The hike to the top of Wheeler Peak is an awesome hike with awesome views as well!  It is definitely worth a trip for a few days!


I have been going to the Smoky Mtns. for over 50 years.  Never get tired of them.  Going to Cades Cove takes you back in time.  It also gets you close to nature & the wildlife the Mountains have to offer.  If you get frustrated with traffice being backed-up due to the wildlife & have to honk to possibly make people move, I suggest you don't go.  The all the others that don't want the traffic try going earlier in the morning or later in the day when people are having dinner.  On my last trip, I went out to the Cove four times & never was disappointed - even with all the traffic.  The Smokies have a healing power & you feel so much better after being there.  Can't wait for my next visit.


Yosemite's numbers would be far higher if they didn't have the restrictions put upon it. These numbers are skewed in terms of true love for a park, at least for that park.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.