America's 10 Most-Visited National Parks

Above, Grand Canyon National Park saw 4.5 million visitors in 2021. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yellowstone National Park is celebrating its 150th year as a national park this year. It was the first national park established in the United States.

Since then, we have added 62 more national parks in the the national park system administered by the National Park Service.

Not all of them are heavily visited. The Points Guy listed the most-visited national parks in the U.S. last year.

They begin with:

In the last few years, while travel came to a standstill everywhere else in the wake of the pandemic, America’s national parks got an unexpected boost. Wary of crowded airports and other forms of transportation, families and individuals alike hopped in their cars and journeyed to these beautiful outdoor spaces for their annual vacations instead.

The fresh air, scenic views and wide-open spaces seemed just the place to de-stress and unplug from the world for a while. However, the increase in popularity has in many cases led to a need for more advance planning than in the past, with hotels and campsites filling up and advance reservations becoming a requirement, sometimes even for hikes.

Here are the 10 most-visited national parks last year according to the National Park Service, and why you too should explore the beauty that can be found in our own backyard.

To see what they are, go here.