Yesterday, the National Park Service released data on the number of people who visited sites throughout the park system in 2014. The whopping 292.8 million total visits broke the previous record of 287.2 million visits set in 1987 and was 7 percent higher than the 273.6 million visits throughout the park system in 2013.
In addition to the overall totals, the agency released data on the most popular tourist areas throughout the National Park System last year.
The first list below shows the most-visited places in all 400-plus sites in the park system. The second list shows the most popular sites out of the 59 places officially designated as “national parks” (versus national monuments, national historic sites, national recreation areas, and other designations).
Most Visited Places in the National Park System
| Park Site | Number of Visitors | |
| 1. | Golden Gate National Recreation Area | 15,004,420 |
| 2. | Blue Ridge Parkway | 13,941,749 |
| 3. | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 10,099,276 |
| 4. | George Washington Memorial Parkway | 7,472,150 |
| 5. | Lincoln Memorial | 7,139,072 |
| 6. | Lake Mead National Recreation Area | 6,942,873 |
| 7. | Gateway National Recreation Area | 6,021,713 |
| 8. | Natchez Trace Parkway | 5,846,474 |
| 9. | Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park | 5,066,219 |
| 10. | Grand Canyon National Park | 4,756,771 |
Most Visited National Parks
| Park Site | Number of Visitors | |
| 1. | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 10,099,276 |
| 2. | Grand Canyon National Park | 4,756,771 |
| 3. | Yosemite National Park | 3,882,642 |
| 4. | Yellowstone National Park | 3,513,484 |
| 5. | Rocky Mountain National Park | 3,434,751 |
| 6. | Olympic National Park | 3,243,872 |
| 7. | Zion National Park | 3,189,696 |
| 8. | Grand Teton National Park | 2,791,392 |
| 9. | Acadia National Park | 2,563,129 |
| 10. | Glacier National Park | 2,338,528 |
See more on the National Park Service website.
About the author
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Jennifer Errick Managing Editor of Online CommunicationsJennifer co-produces NPCA's podcast, The Secret Lives of Parks, and writes, edits and moderates online content.
