What was the most visited U.S. national park in 2023?

Page last updated: 13 September 2024

The United States is home to 63 national parks, each offering unique landscapes, ecosystems, and recreational activities. This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of the U.S. national parks based on 2023 recreational visits, park size, and safety records.

Top U.S. National Parks by Recreation Visits (2023)

Rank	Park	Recreation Visits	% of Total
1	Great Smoky Mountains NP	13,297,647	14.39%
2	Grand Canyon NP	4,733,705	5.12%
3	Zion NP	4,623,238	5.00%
4	Yellowstone NP	4,501,382	4.87%
5	Rocky Mountain NP	4,115,837	4.45%
6	Yosemite NP	3,897,070	4.22%
7	Acadia NP	3,879,890	4.20%
8	Grand Teton NP	3,417,106	3.70%
9	Joshua Tree NP	3,270,404	3.54%
10	Olympic NP	2,947,503	3.19%
11	Glacier NP	2,933,616	3.18%
12	Cuyahoga Valley NP	2,860,059	3.10%
13	Indiana Dunes NP	2,765,892	2.99%
14	Hot Springs NP	2,502,967	2.71%
15	Bryce Canyon NP	2,461,269	2.66%
16	Gateway Arch NP	2,422,836	2.62%
17	New River Gorge NP & PRES	1,707,223	1.85%
18	Mount Rainier NP	1,674,294	1.81%
19	Hawaii Volcanoes NP	1,620,294	1.75%
20	Shenandoah NP	1,576,008	1.71%
21	Arches NP	1,482,045	1.60%
22	Capitol Reef NP	1,268,861	1.37%
23	Death Valley NP	1,099,632	1.19%
24	Badlands NP	1,046,400	1.13%
25	Saguaro NP	1,010,906	1.09%
26	Sequoia NP	980,567	1.06%
27	Everglades NP	810,189	0.88%
28	Canyonlands NP	800,322	0.87%
29	Haleakala NP	791,292	0.86%
30	Theodore Roosevelt NP	746,862	0.81%
31	White Sands NP	729,096	0.79%
32	Glacier Bay NP & PRES	703,659	0.76%
33	Mammoth Cave NP	654,450	0.71%
34	Kings Canyon NP	643,065	0.70%
35	Wind Cave NP	592,459	0.64%
36	Biscayne NP	571,242	0.62%
37	Crater Lake NP	559,976	0.61%
38	Petrified Forest NP	520,491	0.56%
39	Great Sand Dunes NP & PRES	512,219	0.55%
40	Big Bend NP	509,129	0.55%
41	Mesa Verde NP	505,194	0.55%
42	Denali NP & PRES	498,722	0.54%
43	Lassen Volcanic NP	418,978	0.45%
44	Redwood NP	409,105	0.44%
45	Carlsbad Caverns NP	394,121	0.43%
46	Kenai Fjords NP	387,525	0.42%
47	Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP	357,069	0.39%
48	Virgin Islands NP	343,685	0.37%
49	Pinnacles NP	341,220	0.37%
50	Channel Islands NP	328,746	0.36%
51	Congaree NP	250,114	0.27%
52	Guadalupe Mountains NP	227,340	0.25%
53	Voyageurs NP	220,825	0.24%
54	Great Basin NP	143,265	0.16%
55	Dry Tortugas NP	84,285	0.09%
56	Wrangell-St. Elias NP & PRES	78,305	0.08%
57	North Cascades NP	40,351	0.04%
58	Katmai NP & PRES	33,763	0.04%
59	Isle Royale NP	28,965	0.03%
60	Kobuk Valley NP	17,616	0.02%
61	Lake Clark NP & PRES	16,728	0.02%
62	NP of American Samoa	12,135	0.01%
63	Gates of the Arctic NP & PRES	11,045	0.01%

What was the most visited U.S. national park in 2023?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park consistently ranks as the most visited national park in the United States. In 2023, it welcomed 13 million visitors.

The park is located on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Learn more about which states have the most national parks here.

What was the least visited U.S. national park in 2023?

The Gates of the Arctic National Park, located in northern Alaska, holds the title of the least visited national park, welcoming just 9,000 visitors in 2023.

2023 Camper Distribution in U.S. National Parks by Type

In 2023, U.S. National Parks saw 92.39 million recreation visits in total. Out of those, more than 8.42 million visitors chose to camp.

In 2023, the most popular type of camping in U.S. National Parks was tent camping, followed by RV camping.
A smaller number of visitors choose the more remote and adventurous option of backcountry camping.

Which U.S. National Park had the most tent campers in 2023?

Yosemite National Park leads with the highest number of tent campers in 2023, totalling 275,278 campers.

This was followed by Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Joshua Tree National Park.

Which U.S. National Park had the most RV campers?

In 2023, Yosemite National Park had the most RV campers among U.S. National Parks, with a total of 196,092 campers.

This was followed again by Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which accommodated 158,211 RV campers.

Which U.S. National Park had the most backcountry campers in 2023?

The Grand Canyon National Park recorded the highest number of backcountry campers among U.S. National Parks, with a total of 299,725 in 2023.

This was followed by Olympic National Park, which had 158,254 backcountry campers.

U.S. National Parks by Size

Rank	National Park	State	Acres	Comparable Country, State or Island
1	Wrangell-St. Elias NP & PRES	Alaska	8,323,146.48	Moldova
2	Gates of the Arctic NP & PRES	Alaska	7,523,897.40	Maryland
3	Denali NP & PRES	Alaska	4,740,911.16	Slovenia
4	Katmai NP & PRES	Alaska	3,674,529.33	Connecticut
5	Death Valley NP	California, Nevada	3,373,063.14	Montenegro
6	Glacier Bay NP & PRES	Alaska	3,223,383.43	Montenegro
7	Lake Clark NP & PRES	Alaska	2,619,816.49	Lebanon
8	Yellowstone NP	Wyoming, Montana, Idaho	2,219,790.71	Puerto Rico
9	Kobuk Valley NP	Alaska	1,750,716.16	Palestine
10	Everglades NP	Florida	1,400,539.30	Delaware
11	Grand Canyon NP	Arizona	1,201,647.03	Trinidad and Tobago
12	Glacier NP	Montana	1,013,125.99	Cape Verde
13	Olympic NP	Washington	922,649.41	Rhode Island
14	Big Bend NP	Texas	801,163.21	Iturup Island (Russia)
15	Joshua Tree NP	California	790,635.74	Makira (Solomon Islands)
16	Yosemite NP	California	761,747.50	Zemlya Georga Island (Russia)
17	Kenai Fjords NP	Alaska	669,650.05	Unalaska Island (Alaska)
18	Isle Royale NP	Michigan	571,790.30	Luxembourg
19	Great Smoky Mountains NP	Tennessee, North Carolina	522,426.88	Alor Island (Indonesia )
20	North Cascades NP	Washington	504,780.94	Mauritius
21	Kings Canyon NP	California	461,901.20	Comoros
22	Sequoia NP	California	404,062.63	Åland Islands (Finland)
23	Canyonlands NP	Utah	337,597.83	Faroe Islands (Denmark)
24	Hawaiʻi Volcanoes NP	Hawaii	323,431.38	Lougheed Island (Canada)
25	Grand Teton NP	Wyoming	310,044.22	Mill Island (Antarctica)
26	Rocky Mountain NP	Colorado	265,795.20	Tahiti (French Polynesia)
27	Channel Islands NP	California	249,561.00	Hiiumaa (Estonia)
28	Badlands NP	South Dakota	242,755.94	São Tomé and Príncipe
29	Capitol Reef NP	Utah	241,904.50	São Tomé and Príncipe
30	Mount Rainier NP	Washington	236,381.64	São Tomé and Príncipe
31	Petrified Forest NP	Arizona	221,390.21	Turks and Caicos Islands
32	Voyageurs NP	Minnesota	218,200.15	Attu Island (Alaska)
33	Shenandoah NP	Virginia	199,217.77	Kiribati
34	Crater Lake NP	Oregon	183,224.05	Tonga
35	Biscayne NP	Florida	172,971.11	Federated States of Micronesia
36	Zion NP	Utah	147,237.02	Saint Lucia
37	White Sands NP	New Mexico	146,344.31	Saint Lucia
38	Redwood NP	California	138,999.37	Guam (United States)
39	Great Sand Dunes NP & PRES	Colorado	107,341.87	Curaçao (Netherlands)
40	Lassen Volcanic NP	California	106,589.02	Antigua and Barbuda
41	Saguaro NP	Arizona	91,715.72	Jan Mayen (Norway)
42	Guadalupe Mountains NP	Texas	86,367.10	Grenada
43	Great Basin NP	Nevada	77,180.00	Malta
44	Arches NP	Utah	76,678.98	Maldives
45	New River Gorge NP & PRES	West Virginia	72,186.49	Caribbean island (Saint Kitts)
46	Theodore Roosevelt NP	North Dakota	70,446.89	Bonaire (Netherlands)
47	Dry Tortugas NP	Florida	64,701.22	Saint Kitts and Nevis
48	Mammoth Cave NP	Kentucky	54,011.91	Sauvie Island (Oregon)
49	Mesa Verde NP	Colorado	52,485.17	Pine Island (Florida)
50	Acadia NP	Maine	49,075.26	American Samoa (United States)
51	Carlsbad Caverns NP	New Mexico	46,766.45	Washington, D.C
52	Bryce Canyon NP	Utah	35,835.08	Wallis and Futuna (France)
53	Wind Cave NP	South Dakota	33,970.84	Christmas Island (Australia)
54	Haleakalā NP	Hawaii	33,264.62	Christmas Island (Australia)
55	Cuyahoga Valley NP	Ohio	32,572.24	Vieques (Puerto Rico)
56	Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP	Colorado	30,780.76	Jersey (United Kingdom)
57	Pinnacles NP	California	26,685.73	Montserrat (United Kingdom)
58	Congaree NP	South Carolina	26,539.22	Montserrat (United Kingdom)
59	Indiana Dunes NP	Indiana	15,067.00	Nauru
60	Virgin Islands NP	United States Virgin Islands	14,940.00	San Marino
61	American Samoa NP	American Samoa	8,256.67	Macau (China)
62	Hot Springs NP	Arkansas	5,548.01	Tuvalu
63	Gateway Arch NP	Missouri	90.90	Vatican City

What is the largest National Park in the US?

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the largest national park in the United States. The park is located in Alaska, covering an area of 13.2 million acres (53,320 square kilometres).

Which U.S. National Park is the smallest in size?

Gateway Arch National Park is the smallest national park in the United States. The park is located in St. Louis, Missouri and spans just 91 acres (0.14 square miles or 0.37 square kilometres).

U.S. National Parks by Mortality Count

Rank	Park	Mortality Count
1	Grand Canyon National Park	216
2	Yosemite National Park	189
3	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	150
4	Yellowstone National Park	84
5	Mount Rainier National Park	82
6	Rocky Mountain National Park	77
7	Grand Teton National Park	73
8	Death Valley National Park	70
9	Olympic National Park	56
10	Zion National Park	55
11	Glacier National Park	53
12	Shenandoah National Park	48
13	Virgin Islands National Park	41
14	Cuyahoga Valley National Park	40
15	Big Bend National Park	35
16	Indiana Dunes National Park	32
17	Joshua Tree National Park	31
18	Acadia National Park	30
19	Canyonlands National Park	27
20	North Cascades National Park	27
21	Biscayne National Park	20
22	Saguaro National Park	19
23	Everglades National Park	18
24	Hawaii Volcanoes National Park	17
25	Arches National Park	15
26	Haleakala National Park	15
27	Channel Islands National Park	15
28	Mammoth Cave National Park	12
29	Crater Lake National Park	10
30	Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park	9
31	Capitol Reef National Park	8
32	Bryce Canyon National Park	7
33	White Sands National Park	7
34	Guadalupe Mountains National Park	7
35	Dry Tortugas National Park	7
36	Hot Springs National Park	6
37	Badlands National Park	6
38	Mesa Verde National Park	5
39	Lassen Volcanic National Park	5
40	Pinnacles National Park	5
41	Wind Cave National Park	4
42	Carlsbad Caverns National Park	4
43	Voyageurs National Park	4
44	Theodore Roosevelt National Park	2
45	Great Basin National Park	2
46	Isle Royale National Park	2
47	Gateway Arch National Park	1
48	Petrified Forest National Park	1
49	Congaree National Park	1
50	New River Gorge National Park & PRES	0
51	Sequoia National Park	0
52	Glacier Bay National Park & PRES	0
53	Kings Canyon National Park	0
54	Great Sand Dunes National Park & PRES	0
55	Denali National Park & PRES	0
56	Redwood National Park	0
57	Kenai Fjords National Park	0
58	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & PRES	0
59	Katmai National Park & PRES	0
60	Kobuk Valley National Park	0
61	Lake Clark National Park & PRES	0
62	National Park of American Samoa	0
63	Gates of the Arctic National Park & PRES	0

Which National Parks are the most dangerous?

Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Yosemite National Park in California, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are some of the national parks with the highest mortality counts according to recent data.

Common causes of fatalities include falls, drowning, and environmental exposure. The rugged terrain and high visitor numbers at these parks contribute to the higher accident rates.

What are the safest National Parks in the U.S.?

Some parks like Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park and Glacier Bay National Park report zero visitor deaths.

These parks typically have easier terrain and lower visitation numbers, which contribute to their safety records.

National Park Statistics

References

NPS: Facts and Figures – Visitation, Ranking and Mortality Data