The National Park Service recorded more than 323 million recreation visits in 2025, including over 13 million overnight stays. Despite the impressive numbers, it represents a decrease of 8.85 million recreation visits, or 2.7 percent, from the record year in 2024.
The 43-day partial government shutdown in October and November 2025 likely impacted the year’s visitation numbers, as many sites were forced to partially or fully close to visitors as staff were furloughed.
Even with the complications of the shutdown, twenty-six parks set a record for annual recreation visits. Twenty-nine percent of total visitors across the National Park System were to national parks, and visitation peaked during the summer months.
“America’s national parks continue to be places where people come to experience our country’s history, landscapes and shared heritage,” said Comptroller Jessica Bowron. “We are committed to keeping parks open, accessible and well-managed so visitors can safely enjoy these extraordinary places today and for generations to come.”
Among national parks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park experienced the highest visitation by far, with 11,527,939 visitors in 2025. It was followed by Zion National Park, with nearly five million visitors, and Yellowstone National Park, with almost 4.8 million visitors.
Looking at all sites within the National Park System, Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic road through the Appalachian Highlands, experienced the highest visitation, with 16,533,753 visitors in 2025. It was followed by Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which saw 15.7 million visitors.
For the first time, the Appalachian Trail was included in the National Park Service’s Annual Park Ranking Report. Approximately one-third of the A.T. is on NPS lands, and those parts of the A.T. experienced 6.2 million visits in 2025, making it the ninth most visited national park last year. Overall, the A.T. had 16.9 million recreation visits in 2025.
To measure visitation to the trail, the ATC and the National Park Service used aggregated, anonymized mobile location data combined with trail counters and field observations to confirm patterns and accuracy. To ensure alignment with national reporting standards, the ATC collaborated closely with the NPS Social Science Program.
“For the first time, we can truly see how popular and meaningful the Appalachian Trail and its landscape are to millions of people,” said Cinda Waldbuesser, president and CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. “We are very proud of our work in partnership with the National Park Service on a methodology that enables us to accurately understand how people use the footpath, what sections see the most visitation, and how to better support local communities so the trail remains an iconic destination for generations to come.
Read the full National Parks Traveler report here.
