While overall visitation continues to grow across America’s national parks, visitors are increasingly discovering opportunities in less well-known parks and during park off-seasons.
The National Park Service (NPS) announced that 400 national parks reported a total of 325.5 million recreation visits in 2023, an increase of 13 million or 4% over 2022. In addition to the continued growth in overall numbers, NPS data shows that visitation is increasing in the more traditional off seasons at many parks, with more visits in the spring and fall than seen in years past. And 20 parks, many of them less well-known, broke visitation records in 2023.
“From Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park in Hawai’i to Congaree National Park in South Carolina, parks are attracting more visitors each year to learn about our shared history,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “Our national parks tell our shared American story. I’m glad visitors are finding hidden gems, exploring in the off-season and finding new ways to have a great time in our national parks.”
Visitation figures and trends guide how the National Park Service manages parks to ensure the best experience possible for park visitors. The Visitation Statistics Dashboard on NPS.gov provides recreational visit statistics for every park in the US for 2023 and also for previous years, dating back to 1979 for some parks. Of the 429 parks in the National Park System, 400 parks counted visitors in 2023. For the first time, there are now parks reporting their visitation numbers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories. Five national parks began reporting in 2023, and this is the first year a park from Delaware is included.
The 20 parks that broke visitation records in 2023 are:
- Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
- Congaree National Park
- Dry Tortugas National Park
- Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- John Muir National Historic Site
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park
- Keweenaw National Historical Park
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
- Lincoln Memorial
- Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
- Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
- Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Memorial
- Minidoka National Historic Site
- Mojave National Preserve
- New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
- Nez Perce National Historical Park
- Ninety Six National Historic Site
Natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events affected visitation at some parks, NPS said. Summer heat, wildland fires, and storms and natural disasters, floods and landslides required several parks to close for periods of time in 2023. Some parks that were impacted include:
Death Valley National Park was entirely closed Aug. 20 until Oct. 15 due to flood damage.
Much of the Chilkoot Trail at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Alaska was closed due to flooding in 2023.
Haleakalā National Park closed the Summit and Kīpahulu districts from Aug. 8 until Aug. 25 due to wildland fires and high winds.