The National Park Service saw another year for the record books in 2023. The agency recently released the numbers from last year, and it shows a steady increase in visitors at most parks, with some setting new records. So, which national park gets the most visitors?
Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to top the list, but there were plenty of ranking changes from 2022 to 2023.
Take a look at this year’s most visited national parks:
| 2023 Ranking | National Park | Number of Visitors | 2022 Ranking |
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains | 13,297,647 | 1 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon | 4,733,705 | 2 |
| 3 | Zion | 4,623,238 | 3 |
| 4 | Yellowstone | 4,501,382 | 7 |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain | 4,115,837 | 4 |
| 6 | Yosemite | 3,897,070 | 6 |
| 7 | Acadia | 3,879,890 | 5 |
| 8 | Grand Teton | 3,417,106 | 12 |
| 9 | Joshua Tree | 3,270,404 | 8 |
| 10 | Olympic | 2,947,503 | 14 |
| 11 | Glacier | 2,933,616 | 10 |
| 12 | Cuyahoga Valley | 2,860,059 | 9 |
| 13 | Indiana Dunes | 2,765,892 | 11 |
| 14 | Hot Springs | 2,502,967 | 13 |
| 15 | Bryce Canyon | 2,461,269 | 15 |
| 16 | Gateway Arch | 2,422,836 | 17 |
| 17 | New River Gorge | 1,707,223 | 18 |
| 18 | Mount Rainier | 1,674,294 | 16 |
| 19 | Hawaii Volcanoes | 1,620,294 | 19 |
| 20 | Shenandoah | 1,576,008 | 21 |
| 21 | Arches | 1,482,045 | 20 |
| 22 | Capitol Reef | 1,268,861 | 22 |
| 23 | Death Valley | 1,099,632 | 25 |
| 24 | Badlands | 1,046,400 | 27 |
| 25 | Sagurao | 1,010,906 | 28 |
| 26 | Sequoia | 980,567 | 24 |
| 27 | Everglades | 810,189 | 23 |
| 28 | Canyonlands | 800,322 | 29 |
| 29 | Haleakala | 791,292 | 26 |
| 30 | Theodore Roosevelt | 746,862 | 32 |
| 31 | White Sands | 729,096 | 30 |
| 32 | Glacier Bay | 703,659 | 36 |
| 33 | Mammoth Cave | 654,450 | 33 |
| 34 | Kings Canyon | 643,065 | 34 |
| 35 | Wind Cave | 592,459 | 35 |
| 36 | Biscayne | 571,242 | 31 |
| 37 | Crater Lake | 559,976 | 37 |
| 38 | Petrified Forest | 520,491 | 39 |
| 39 | Great Sand Dunes | 512,219 | 41 |
| 40 | Big Bend | 509,129 | 38 |
| 41 | Mesa Verde | 505,194 | 40 |
| 42 | Denali | 498,722 | 44 |
| 43 | Lassen Volcanic | 418,978 | 43 |
| 44 | Redwood | 409,105 | 42 |
| 45 | Carlsbad Caverns | 394,121 | 45 |
| 46 | Kenai Fjords | 387,525 | 46 |
| 47 | Black Canyon of the Gunnison | 357,069 | 48 |
| 48 | Virgin Islands | 343,685 | 53 |
| 49 | Pinnacles | 341,220 | 49 |
| 50 | Channel Islands | 328,746 | 47 |
| 51 | Congaree | 250,114 | 52 |
| 52 | Guadalupe Mountains | 227,340 | 51 |
| 53 | Voyageurs | 220,825 | 50 |
| 54 | Great Basin | 143,265 | 54 |
| 55 | Dry Tortugas | 84,285 | 55 |
| 56 | Wrangell-St. Elias | 78,305 | 56 |
| 57 | North Cascades | 40,351 | 58 |
| 58 | Katmai | 33,763 | 57 |
| 59 | Isle Royale | 28,965 | 59 |
| 60 | Kobuk Valley | 17,616 | 61 |
| 61 | Lake Clark | 16,728 | 60 |
| 62 | National Park of American Samoa | 12,135 | 63 |
| 63 | Gates of the Arctic | 11,045 | 62 |
As the numbers reveal, the popularity of many parks grew last year. And in some cases, some parks saw huge spikes while others lost a bit of their crowds.
What park did you visit in 2023? What are you looking forward to in 2024?
