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Home » National Parks Set Record for Visitors

National Parks Set Record for Visitors

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national parksVisits to America’s national parks set another record in 2018, topping 300 million recreation visits for the fourth consecutive year.

The 318.2 million recreation visits total is the third highest since record keeping began in 1904.

It adds up to more than one Billion hours we spent in some of the most beautiful spots on earth, and visiting national monuments and historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, also managed by the National Park System.

The 418 national parks throughout the country provide a vast array of opportunities for recreation and inspiration for visitors of all ages.

With at least one located in every state, national parks are easily accessible and affordable destinations. In the past five years there have been about 1.6 billion recreational visits to national parks.

“America’s national parks are national treasures that tell the story of our nation and celebrate its beauty, history and culture,” said Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. “I am pleased that so many Americans and visitors from around the world continue to take advantage of the affordable and accessible recreational opportunities provided by these sites.”

“The visitation to our national parks continues to affirm that Americans are in love with their public lands and hold dear the stories of our nation embodied in the natural, cultural and historic landscapes we protect in the National Park System,” National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said.

ecoXplorer.comMost visited national parks

In 2018, Golden Gate National Recreation Area reclaimed the top spot for highest visitation in the National Park System from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

These two parks have been trading places at one and two since 1979. In the national parks category, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (11.4 million) and Grand Canyon National Park (6.4 million) continue to hold the top two spots, as they have since 1990.


For an in-depth look at 2018 visitation,

including individual park figures,

visit the NPS Social Science web site.


By The Numbers around the National Park System

318,211,833 recreation visits (385 of 418 parks report visitation figures)

1,401,420,191 recreation visitor hours

13,950,759 overnight stays

28 parks set a new record for visitation (about 7% of reporting parks)

17 parks broke a record they set in 2017

Three parks had over 10 million recreation visits – Blue Ridge Parkway, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Nine parks had over 5 million recreation visits

77 parks had over 1 million recreation visits (about 20% of reporting parks)

Top 10

Golden Gate National Recreation Area – 15,223,697

Blue Ridge Parkway – 14,690,418

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 11,421,200

Gateway National Recreation Area – 9,243,305

Lincoln Memorial – 7,804,683

Lake Mead National Recreation Area – 7,578,958

George Washington Memorial Parkway – 7,288,623

Grand Canyon National Park – 6,380,495

Natchez Trace Parkway – 6,362,439

Vietnam Veterans Memorial – 4,719,148

Yosemite National Park

Top 10 National Parks

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 11,421,200

Grand Canyon National Park – 6,380,495

Rocky Mountain National Park – 4,590,493

Zion National Park – 4,320,033

Yellowstone National Park – 4,115,000

Yosemite National Park – 4,009,436

Acadia National Park – 3,537,575

Grand Teton National Park – 3,491,151

Olympic National Park – 3,104,455

Glacier National Park – 2,965,309

Parks that passed notable visit milestones:

Keweenaw National Historical Park – 20,000

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument – 30,000

Big Thicket National Preserve – 200,000

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park –  200,000

Petroglyph National Monument – 250,000

Nez Perce National Historical Park – 300,000

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – 800,000

Death Valley National Park – 1.5 million

 

More statistics about our favorite national parks

on the next page

Pages: 1 2
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Filed Under: Green Travel, Historic Travel, National Parks

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ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Evelyn currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), and is a past Board Member of a prestigious professional group for travel journalists.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

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