After receiving year-end numbers from around the National Park System, visitation to the parks in 2015 reached a record 307.2 million, according to the National Park Service. A number of parks attracted some staggering numbers of visitors, such as Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain, which each surpassed 4 million for the first time, and Grand Canyon which tallied more than 5 million for the first time, the agency said.
While the Park Service described that total as a "certified" count for 2015, parks routinely have trouble with counting visitors for a variety of reasons, from unstaffed entrance stations and parks that don't track visitors to counters that malfunction. Still, the total shows the parks have not lost their popularity with vacationers.
“The popularity of national parks is well known, but last year’s numbers really are extraordinary,” said Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “As the National Park Service celebrates its 100th year, we’re preparing to welcome more visitors than ever, including a new generation of park supporters and advocates who are discovering their own national park adventures.”
2015 visitation highlights include:
* 307,247,252 recreation visits, a 4.9 percent increase over 2014 and the previous record of 292.8 million recreation visits.
* 371 of the 410 parks in the National Park System report visitation.
* 57 of the 371 reporting parks set a record for annual recreation visits. Eleven parks had more than 5 million recreation visits in 2015.
Notable park milestones in 2015, according to the Park Service:
* Joshua Tree National Park surpassed 2 million annual recreation visits for the first time.
* Rocky Mountain National Park surpassed 4 million annual recreation visits for the first time.
* Yellowstone National Park surpassed 4 million annual recreation visits for the first time.
* Grand Canyon National Park surpassed 5 million annual recreation visits for the first time.
* Glacier National Park surpassed 100 million total recreation visits (1910 to 2015)
* Overnight stays in park campgrounds and backcountry were up over 2014.
* Total overnight stays (sum of all categories) were up 6 percent over 2014.
Highlights:
* Concessioner campground overnights were up 12.5 percent.
* NPS campground tent overnights were up 13 percent.
* NPS campground RV overnights were up 10 percent.
* Backcountry overnights were up 7 percent.
Top 10 Visitation
All Units of the National Park System
* Blue Ridge Parkway - 15,054,603
* Golden Gate National Recreation Area - 14,888,537
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 10,712,674
* Lincoln Memorial - 7,941,771
* Lake Mead National Recreation Area - 7,298,465
* George Washington Memorial Parkway - 7,286,463
* Gateway National Recreation Area - 6,392,565
* Natchez Trace Parkway - 5,785,812
* Vietnam Veterans Memorial - 5,597,077
* Grand Canyon National Park - 5,520,736
National Parks
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 10,712,674
* Grand Canyon National Park - 5,520,736
* Rocky Mountain National Park - 4,155,916
* Yosemite National Park - 4,150,217
* Yellowstone National Park - 4,097,710
* Zion National Park - 3,648,846
* Olympic National Park - 3,263,761
* Grand Teton National Park - 3,149,921
* Acadia National Park - 2,811,184
* Glacier National Park - 2,366,056
Comments
my wife and I were blessed to be able to visit 4 of the top 10 parks...
I think it is imperative the NPS sits back to evaluate just what it is trying to accomplish. Reading the traveler and visiting a National Park these days it would be easy to assume that it's goals are to fit as many people into its parks as possible like the old how many people can you fit in a phone booth (showing my age here) stunt, to generate as much revenue as possible, to create the largest maintenance backlog or employ the most lawyers. What about the quality of the visitor experience? Stating the obvious, everyone has their own ideas as to what the parks should be, but when you have routine traffic jams in the parks this to me is an epic failure. Getting away from crowds, noise, pollution, and enjoying solitude and nature is why I used to visit the parks. That is exceedingly difficult to do these days. Maybe it's time to cut back on the amenities, require people to "rough it" a little more when they visit and give them a better appreciation for what nature is. It is very likely I am in the minority in those desires but isn't that the problem? It seems the NPS wants to cater to as many people as possible and I don't think that should be their goal.
Complete agreement, Wild. One of my biggest fears is that they (probably the state, county, or Navajo tribe) will PAVE the roads leading into Chaco Canyon to replace the very rough dirt and gravel roads that help protect the place now.
Paved roads, making it easy to reach Chaco, would completely destroy the character that now makes the park one of the few that is not overrun by tour buses and ginormous motor homes and luxury mobile hotels.
(I was just at the RV show yesterday. What passes for "camping" equipment these days is ridiculous. Manufacturers are making them bigger and bigger and fancier and fancier and packing more and more electronic entertainment into them. One of the biggest beasts had TWO BATHROOMS. A lot of them have two or three flat screen TV sets and 6000 watt generators to run it all. Then they claim that's what their customers "want." Do they really? I guess so, because they keep spending fortunes for them. Or do they spend the fortunes because there are no alternatives? Excuse, please, while I go outside and utter a huge primal scream.)