National Parks Traveler Episode 158: Fleeing The Crowds

By Kurt Repanshek - February 20th, 2022

How many are too many? That’s the question to mull in the wake of news from the National Park Service that nearly 300 million visited the National Park System last year.

Now, to put some context into that number, it’s not the highest annual tally the Park Service has counted. Back in 2016, the agency’s centennial year, nearly 331 million people headed into the parks. But...that doesn’t mean last year’s number marked an improvement in your national park experience.

What is the perfect number for annual visitation to the park system’s 423 units? We really don’t know, as not all of those 423 units have specified the ideal carrying capacity for their parks, the number of visitors that doesn’t impact resources, that doesn’t strain park staff, and doesn’t adversely impact your national park experience.

To help sort out the pluses and minuses of 300 million visitors a year to the park system, and to offer you some suggestions for escaping the crowds, we’ve asked Becky Lomax, author of USA National Parks, The Complete Guide To All 63 Parks to return to the Traveler to discuss visitation.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:20 Sieur de Monts - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:33 Washington’s National Park Fund
2:06 Yosemite Conservancy
2:27 Interior Federal Credit Union
2:53 Wild Tribute
3:14 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
3:36 Kurt Repanshek and Becky Lomax, author of USA National Parks, The Complete Guide To All 63 Parks, discuss crowding in the National Park System and overlooked gems where you can avoid crowds.
22:54 Escalante - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of Peaks, Plateaus and Canyons
23:16 Potrero Group
23:43 Everglades Foundation
23:54 Friends of Acadia
24:18 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
24:45 Nova Scotia Tourism
25:19 Kurt and Becky continue their discussion and point out overlooked parks you will enjoy.
43:23 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Caribbean
43:46 Episode Closing
44:20 Orange Tree Productions
44:52 Splitbeard Productions
45:02 National Parks Traveler footer

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