Hikers against reddish rock backdrop
Zion National Park in Utah was the second most visited national park in the country with 4,946,592 recreation visits in 2024.
America’s national parks protect a diverse array of landscapes, from the otherworldly sandstone arches and pillars of Utah to the chilly subterranean caves of Kentucky—and many ecosystems in between.
They’ve also never been more popular: In 2024, the National Park Service (NPS) notched a record-high 331.9 million recreation visits at more than 400 sites across the country, according to data released this month. That number beats the previous record of 330.9 million recreation visits in 2016.
NPS is responsible for 433 sites, including national parks, national monuments, national memorials, national battlefields and other types of protected areas. The 2024 statistics include visitation figures from 404 of those sites. NPS leaders use these annual visitor numbers and trends to determine how to manage the public lands under the agency’s purview.
Last year, visitors spent 1.4 billion hours at national park sites. Many traveled during the peak summer tourism season—June and July were the most popular months—but 55 percent of parks still recorded above-average visitation numbers during the slower periods of February through June and October through December.
Travelers spread out geographically, too, with 28 parks setting new visitation records in 2024.
As in years past, national parks remained the most popular type of NPS-managed sites, making up 28 percent of all recreation visits in 2024. National recreation areas were the next most popular sites, accounting for 16 percent of all visits, followed by national memorials at 12 percent.
Meanwhile, park staffers are gearing up for another busy summer season—though they’re also grappling with uncertainty. Last month, the Trump administration fired roughly 1,000 NPS employees in a bid to cut federal spending, per the Associated Press’ Matthew Daly. Additionally, more than 700 park employees resigned under the administration’s deferred resignation program, according to the New York Times’ Lisa Friedman.
Officials say the staffing reductions could affect visitors’ experiences in the parks this year.
“Fewer staff means shorter visitor center hours, delayed openings and closed campgrounds,″ Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, an independent nonprofit, tells the AP.
Experts also want to ensure that visitors are equipped with the information they need to stay safe.
“If they don’t understand the heat and water and things like that, it takes them no time to get into serious, serious difficulties,” Walt Dabney, who served as superintendent of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in the ’90s, tells the Salt Lake Tribune’s Anastasia Hufham. “And if the staff is not there to find them quickly, this can be and has been very tragic.”
Following the staffing cuts, the NPS restored about 50 jobs and announced that it would be “hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience.” The AP reports that the agency is planning to bring on up to 7,700 seasonal workers, which is higher than the three-year average of 6,350.
Back of people's heads looking at glacier and taking photos
Glacier National Park in Alaska made the top ten list in 2024, with 3,208,755 recreation visits.
The Most Visited National Parks
The United States has 63 national parks. These were the ten most visited in 2024:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12,191,834 visits)
Zion National Park (4,946,592 visits)
Grand Canyon National Park (4,919,163 visits)
Yellowstone National Park (4,744,353 visits)
Rocky Mountain National Park (4,154,349 visits)
Yosemite National Park (4,121,807 visits)
Acadia National Park (3,961,661 visits)
Olympic National Park (3,717,267 visits)
Grand Teton National Park (3,628,222 visits)
Glacier National Park (3,208,755 visits)
Kayakers paddling on water
Isle Royale National Park in Michigan was among the least visited national parks in 2024. NPS
The Least Visited National Parks
Though many national parks are grappling with long lines and other symptoms of overtourism, many remain blissfully uncrowded. These were the ten least-visited national parks in 2024:
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (11,907 visits)
North Cascades National Park (16,485 visits)
Kobuk Valley National Park (17,233 visits)
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (18,505 visits)
National Park of American Samoa (22,567 visits)
Isle Royale National Park (28,806 visits)
Katmai National Park and Preserve (36,230 visits)
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (81,670 visits)
Dry Tortugas National Park (84,873 visits)
Great Basin National Park (152,068 visits)
Golden Gate Bridge with big moon on the left side
Golden Gate National Recreation Area was the most visited of all NPS-managed sites in 2024, with 17,187,508 recreation visits. Chee Tung / NPS
The Most Visited NPS Sites
In addition to national parks, the NPS manages other kinds of sites like national parkways, national seashores and national historic sites. These were the ten most visited of all NPS sites in 2024:
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (17,187,508 visits)
Blue Ridge Parkway (16,733,639 visits)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12,191,834 visits)
Gateway National Recreation Area (8,929,035 visits)
The Lincoln Memorial (8,479,349 visits)
Gulf Islands National Seashore (7,801,176 visits)
Natchez Trace Parkway (7,364,833 visits)
George Washington Memorial Parkway (6,782,717 visits)
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (6,412,854 visits)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (5,295,711 visits)