The National Park Service hopes visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine will plan a side trip to Saint Croix Island, an international historic site in the Saint Croix River between Maine and Canada that preserves the history of an early French settlement. NPS/Victoria Stauffenberg

Visitation to the National Park System last year approached 300 million, rebounding from 2020 levels, but the bulk of those visitors headed to just 25 of the 423 units, the National Park Service announced Wednesday.

“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,” Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “We’re happy to see so many visitors returning to iconic parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, but there are hundreds more that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Whatever experience you’re looking for in 2022, national parks are here to discover.”

According to Park Service figures, the system saw 297.1 million recreation visits in 2021 -- an increase by 60 million over 2020 -- but 148.2 million of those visitors were counted in just 25 parks. Indeed, visitation records were set at Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and a number of other parks. 

In trying to encourage visitors to expand their travels in the park system, the Park Service suggests visitors "create your own circle of discovery. A visit to Redwoods State and National Parks offers a great opportunity to explore Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, and Lassen Volcanic National Park."

"When in Maine for a visit to Acadia National Park, don’t miss Saint Croix Island International Historic Site and one of America’s newest national parks, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument," the agency added in a release. 

As you plan your travel, the Park Service urges you to take advantage of the search feature on the NPS website to search by state, activity and topic, as you might find a hidden gem or two. Also be sure to download the NPS App from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store to find up-to-date information about all 423 national parks.

Inside the 2021 visitation report

• 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 percent decrease.

2021 by the 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)    

25 most visited parks in the National Park System

• Blue Ridge Parkway: 15.9 million
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 14.1 million
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area: 13.7 million
• Gateway National Recreation Area: 9.1 million
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area: 7.6 million
• George Washington Memorial Parkway: 6.8 million
• Natchez Trace Parkway: 6.4 million
• Lincoln Memorial: 5.8 million 
• Gulf Islands National Seashore: 5.5 million
• Zion National Park: 5 million 
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park: 5 million
• Yellowstone National Park: 4.9 million
• Grand Canyon National Park: 4.5 million
• Rocky Mountain National Park: 4.4 million
• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area: 4.3 million
• Acadia National Park: 4 million
• Cape Cod National Seashore: 4 million
• Grand Teton National Park: 3.9 million
• World War II Memorial: 3.7 million
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial: 3.6 million
• Yosemite National Park: 3.3 million
• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: 3.3 million
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore: 3.2 million
• Indiana Dunes National Park: 3.2 million
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: 3.1 million

For an in-depth look at visitation statistics,  visit the National Park Service Social Science website. For national summaries and individual park figures, visit the National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics website.