Hidden gems, off-season trips highlights of 325.5 million national park visits in 2023

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.

Today, the National Park Service 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.

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 US 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 Historic Park
* Keweenaw National Historic Park
* Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
* Lincoln Memorial
* Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
* Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park
* Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Memorial
* Minidoka National Historic Site
* Mojave National Preserve
* New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
* Nez Perce National Historic Park
* Ninety Six National Historic Site 



Jeff
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