In a testomony to
the enduring attract of America’s pure and historic wonders, the Nationwide
Park Service (NPS) welcomed roughly 325.5 million recreation visits throughout
its 400 websites final yr, in response to its newly launched annual visitation
report.
That’s a notable
improve of 4 p.c, or 13 million visits, over 2022 because the Nationwide Park system
continues the lengthy climb out of its pandemic-era struggles. In line with CNN,
2016 stays the height yr for leisure nationwide park visits, boasting a
whole of almost 331 million.
“From Kaloko
Honokōhau Nationwide Historic Park in Hawai’i to Congaree Nationwide Park in South
Carolina, parks are attracting extra guests annually to study our
shared historical past,” Nationwide Park Service Director Chuck Sams mentioned in a information
launch.
As per normal, there
had been a number of predictably perennial favourite websites amongst guests, which proved
to be among the many prime 10 hottest.
Topping the listing,
as anticipated, is the scenic marvel often called the Blue Ridge Parkway, famend for
its breathtaking vistas and winding roads that showcase ever-changing seasonal
landscapes. Boasting a formidable 16.75 million visits in 2023, visits to this
spectacular strip of roadway constituted 5.15 p.c of all visits to the NPS
system.
The one newcomer
to the lineup is Glen Canyon Nationwide Recreation Space, which makes its prime 10 debut
regardless of going through challenges from intensive drought within the Southwest in 2022.
In the meantime, the emotionally poignant Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C., though slipping out of the highest 10, maintained a decent place at
Quantity 12 within the rankings.
The Nationwide Mall with a view of Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. (Picture Credit score: Adobe Inventory/kmiragaya)
2023’s Prime 10 Most-Visited
NPS Websites
- Blue Ridge
Parkway (16.75 million visits) - Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space (14.95 million)
- Nice Smoky Mountains Nationwide Park (13.29 million)
- Gateway Nationwide Recreation Space (8.70 million)
- Gulf Islands Nationwide Seashore (8.27 million)
- Lincoln Memorial (8.09 million)
- George Washington Memorial Parkway (7.39 million)
- Natchez Hint Parkway (6.78 million)
- Lake Mead Nationwide Recreation Space (5.79 million)
- Glen Canyon Nationwide Recreation Space (5.20 million)
In line with
the most-visited NPS websites, Nice Smoky Mountains Nationwide Park—which straddles
the border between North Carolina and Tennessee—tops the listing of headliner
nationwide parks. Usually occupying the highest spot from yr to yr, the large
park welcomed extra than13 million guests in 2023.
The Grand Canyon and Colorado River, Arizona. (Picture Credit score: Adobe Inventory/Andy Evans Images)
The listing of probably the most
standard nationwide parks excludes different sorts of NPS websites, similar to memorials,
battlefields, recreation areas, and so forth. Final yr, California’s Joshua Tree and
Washington’s Olympic Nationwide Park pushed their means into the highest 10, knocking
Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley and Montana’s Glacier Nationwide Park out of their 2022
prime most-visited spots.
2023’s Prime 10 Most-Visited
Nationwide Parks
- Nice Smoky
Mountains Nationwide Park (13.29
million) - Grand Canyon Nationwide Park (4.73 million)
- Zion Nationwide Park (4.62 million)
- Yellowstone Nationwide Park (4.50 million)
- Rocky Mountain Nationwide Park (4.11 million)
- Yosemite Nationwide Park (3.89 million)
- Acadia Nationwide Park (3.87 million)
- Grand Teton Nationwide Park (3.41 million)
- Joshua Tree Nationwide Park (3.27 million)
- Olympic Nationwide Park (2.94 million)
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