Where Does Yellowstone Rank On Popular National Parks?

With Yellowstone National Park being fully opened to tourists this past week, the summer tourist season is in full swing.

All over the country, people from not only the United States, but from all over the world, will come and see the beauty and wonderment of our Parks System that was started when “The Yellowstone National Park Protection Act” was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. The act protected the land from private development and declared it “a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”  On Aug. 25, 1916, the National Parks Service was founded after “The National Park Service Organic Act” was passed by Congress and then approved by President Woodrow Wilson.

There are 63 national parks in the U.S., according to the National Park Service, with California having the most national parks with nine total in the state. The next state with the most parks is Alaska, which has eight national parks. Our neighbor to the south, Utah, comes in third place with a total of five national parks, while Colorado is in fourth with four national parks.

As far as people visiting our natural wonders, Yellowstone National Park saw a slight dip in the number of visitors.  In 2022: 3,290,242 (The park was closed from June 13 through June 21. Three entrances opened June 22.) 2021: 4,860,242.

So which National Park has the distinction of being the most popular based on the sheer number of visitors to go through its entrance?  That distinction belongs to Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Appalachian Mountains, still remains America’s most visited national park by a long shot.

Nearly 13 million people visited the park straddling North Carolina and Tennessee last year, according to newly released National Park Service numbers. That’s fewer than the 14.1 million who visited in 2021 but still far more than any of the other 62 national parks.

“The 2022 visitation report confirms what we have long known to be true – Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to be a special place for millions of visitors,” Superintendent Cassius Cash said in a news release. “We are thinking about what average visitation over the last ten years means for the next ten years and how we will preserve a high-quality visitor experience as well as park resources.”

The most parks popular are nearly all household names like  Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Joshua Tree , but there are two that may surprise casual fans.

Cuyahoga Valley and Indiana Dunes both saw more visitors last year than places like Arches and Everglades, which didn’t make the top 15.

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 12,937,633
2. Grand Canyon National Park – 4,732,101
3. Zion National Park – 4,692,417
4. Rocky Mountain National Park – 4,300,424
5. Acadia National Park – 3,970,260
6. Yosemite National Park – 3,667,550
7. Yellowstone National Park – 3,290,242
8. Joshua Tree National Park – 3,058,294
9. Cuyahoga Valley National Park – 2,913,312
10. Glacier National Park – 2,908,458
11. Indiana Dunes National Park – 2,834,180
12. Grand Teton National Park – 2,806,223
13. Hot Springs National Park – 2,646,133
14. Olympic National Park – 2,432,972
15. Bryce Canyon National Park – 2,354,660

Source: National Park Service