This new story about 2021 visitation numbers in national parks is based on a February 16, 2022, National Park Service press release. You can read the original release here.
It’s been reported far and wide that several U.S. national parks experienced overwhelming crowds last year.
Famously, Arches National Park had to close dozens of times because it was at capacity, while other parks like Glacier and Rocky Mountain had a reservation system in place.
Now, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that some of the nation’s most famous national parks, once again, broke visitation records in 2021.
Although that doesn’t come as a big surprise at all, it is worth noting that overall visitation numbers across the National Park System are still below pre-pandemic levels.
Total recreational visits across the system were up by 60 million (25.3%) compared with 2020. This steep increase was mainly because of less strict COVID-19 regulations.
The NPS says that “while visitation has not completely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it has regained much of the visitation lost due to pandemic restrictions in 2020 and is now at a level like the 2014-2015 run up to the NPS Centennial in 2016.”
National Park Service Releases 2021 Visitation Numbers
There are 423 units in the National Park System. Yet, 50% of the entire system’s 297.1 million recreational visits in 2021 were in only 25 parks (6% of all parks)!
In other words, those 25 extremely busy national parks get the same number of annual visitors as the other 398 parks combined.
No wonder it sometimes feels as if the system is under tremendous pressure. The reality is, however, that the vast majority of America’s national parks do not have a visitation problem.
NPS Director Chuck Sams said “it’s wonderful to see so many Americans continuing to find solace and inspiration in these incredible places during the second year of the pandemic. We’re happy to see so many visitors returning to iconic parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.”
He did add, however, that “there are hundreds more that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Whatever experience you’re looking for, national parks are here to discover.”
2021 National Park Visitation Report Highlights
- Forty-four parks set a record for recreation visits in 2021.
- Six parks broke a visitation record they set in 2020.
- Blue Ridge Parkway remained the most-visited park in the National Park System.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park set a visitation record in 2021 and passed 14 million recreation visits for the first time.
- Five parks began reporting official visitor statistics for the first time: Alagnak Wild River (Alaska), Camp Nelson National Monument (Ky.), Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Miss.), Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (Nev.), and World War I Memorial (District of Columbia).
- In 2021, some parks operated with limited capacities or indoor space restrictions, but most were open to visitors. Seven parks—all of them historic sites in urban areas—remained closed throughout 2021 due health and safety concerns related to COVID-19.
- Recreation visitor hours dipped from 1.43 billion in 2019 to 1.36 billion in 2021, a 5% decrease.
2021 National Park Visitation Numbers
- 297,115,406 recreation visits
- 1,356,657,749 recreation visitor hours
- 12,745,455 overnight stays (recreation + non-recreation)
- Three parks had more than 10 million recreation visits – Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Eleven parks had more than five million recreation visits – up from seven parks in 2020 and equal to the number of parks in 2019
- 73 parks had more than one million recreation visits (19% of reporting parks) – up from 60 parks in 2020 and down from 80 parks in 2019
- 25% of total recreation visits occurred in the top eight most-visited parks (2% of all parks in the National Park System)
- 50% of total recreation visits occurred in the top 25 most-visited parks (6% of all parks in the National Park System)
Considering that several popular parks have been extremely busy in recent years and that total visitation numbers aren’t even near their historical peaks yet, we can expect 2022 to be another record-breaking year.
As mentioned above, there are some parks you might want to avoid during the peak season.
For example, it’s a good idea to plan a trip to Arches, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Acadia or Zion in the shoulder season. Mid-spring or fall is generally much more enjoyable than the middle of summer.
See the national parks that require reservations in 2022 here.
Additionally, it’s well worth considering visiting some of the less-known national parks in the system. Head to parks like North Cascades, Lassen Volcanic, Great Basin, Voyageurs, Isle Royale or some of the spectacular Alaskan parks instead.
The NPS also suggests exploring “clusters of parks” on one trip, creating your own “circle of discovery.” Here are some great options:
- Northern Rockies national parks road trip
- Arizona national parks road trip
- Pacific Northwest national parks road trip
- Cascade Range Volcanoes national parks road trip
- Utah national parks road trip
You can find a bunch of fantastic national park road trip ideas here.
For an in-depth look at 2021 national parks visitation statistics, please visit the National Park Service Social Science website. For national summaries and individual park figures, please visit the National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics website.