National Parks See Record Numbers
Yosemite, CA — More people than ever are entering the gates of America’s parks and Yosemite is right up there near the top of the list.
The National Park Service (NPS) reports 2015 set a new record with 307,247,252 visitors to parks across the country. That is up almost 5 percent from 2014 and breaks the previous record of 292.8 million. There are 410 parks within the system, 57 set new attendance records, including Yosemite, as previously reported. Park spokesperson Ashley Mayer expounds on making the national top ten list of national parks. “We’re very excited…Yosemite made history in 2015. We beat our previously held visitation record, which was set in 1996. So, we thrilled that there are lot’s people coming out an enjoying parks and we’re just glad to be a part of that.”
Yosemite came in fourth on the list of most visited national parks, as shown in the list at the bottom, even topping Yellowstone National Park. “I was surprised to see that,” remarked Mayer adding that she believes Yosemite’s natural scenery gave it the edge as it allows visitors to connect directly with nature. She also notes, “For the National Park Service to have a record visitation across all the units is very exciting because there are so many incredible places.”
The park service also boast a boost in overnight park stays across the country last year, up 6 percent over 2014. This year is the National Park Service’s Centennial, which Yosemite will celebrate on August 25. (Click here for more details.)
Here is the park service’s list of the top attended National Parks in 2015:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 10,712,674
Grand Canyon National Park – 5,520,736
Rocky Mountain National Park – 4,155,916
Yosemite National Park – 4,150,217
Yellowstone National Park – 4,097,710
Zion National Park – 3,648,846
Olympic National Park – 3,263,761
Grand Teton National Park – 3,149,921
Acadia National Park – 2,811,184
Glacier National Park – 2,366,056
The NPS also provided this overall list of most visited parks in its system last year:
Blue Ridge Parkway – 15,054,603
Golden Gate National Recreation Area – 14,888,537
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 10,712,674
Lincoln Memorial – 7,941,771
Lake Mead National Recreation Area – 7,298,465
George Washington Memorial Parkway – 7,286,463
Gateway National Recreation Area – 6,392,565
Natchez Trace Parkway – 5,785,812
Vietnam Veterans Memorial – 5,597,077
Grand Canyon National Park – 5,520,736
