Though 237 million views is a lot , we have to take into account that last year US national parks received 90 million fewer visitors than other years. According to the National Park Service, more than eight million people spent the night in some of them.
And more data: only Blue Ridge Parkway, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Y Great Smoky Mountains National Park they had more than 10 million recreational visits each of them. And most of the visits were made in the 23 most visited parks. Taking into account that the network has about 400, the figure is considerably lower than that of 2019 (amounting to 327 million visitors in total).
If you are thinking of planning a visit this year, when we can travel again, this ranking of the most visited can serve as the perfect route.
The 10 most visited national parks in the United States in 2020.
The 10 most visited national parks in the United States in 2020
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee – 12.1m visitors
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming – 3.8m visitors
- Zion National Park, Utah – 3.6m visitors
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado – 3.3m visitors
- Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming – 3.3m visitors
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – 2.9m visitors
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio – 2.8m visitors
- Acadia National Park, Maine – 2.7m visitors
- Olympic National Park, Washington – 2.5m visitors
- Joshua Tree National Park, California – 2.4m visitors
The days to visit the national parks for free in 2021
Like every year, the National Park Service establishes some free entry days in the parks. The rest of the days of the year charge admission , which usually ranges between 5 and 35 dollars, and is intended for maintenance.
If you are planning a trip to one of them, but it does not coincide with the indicated dates, there is also the American Beautiful Pass, an annual pass of 80 dollars that allows entry to more than 2000 recreational areas throughout the country , including all national parks. There are also free passes for seniors, members of the military, families with students, and the disabled. Here you can find more information.
These are the days of free admission to national parks:
- April 17th: First day of National Park Week (a week-long event in parks across the country).
- August 4th: one year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act.
- August 25th: anniversary of the National Park Service.
- September 25th: National Public Lands Day.
- November 11th: Veterans Day.
And if you are looking for more information about the measures taken in the parks due to COVID-19, you can find out more here.