These 10 National Parks Saw the Most Visitors in 2020
In a year that was mostly devoid of international travel, we paid extra attention to America's national parks in 2020. Despite closures and restrictions throughout the year, the 63 recognized sites were a refuge for those in need of a socially distanced retreat. The national parks received 237 million visitors in 2020, which is a 28 percent decrease from the previous year, according to the National Park Service, but 15 parks actually saw a record number of tourists, and five of those parks broke the visitation records they set in 2019. “This past year has reminded us how important national parks and public lands are to overall wellbeing,” said NPS deputy director Shawn Benge in a press release. “Throughout the country, national parks provided close-to-home opportunities for people to spend much needed time outdoors for their physical and psychological health.”
The NPS's official top 10 list for 2020—a ranking of the most visited national parks in a given year—looks pretty familiar to previous years, most notably because the top spot has remained the same since 1944. But the list had a few surprises entries and omissions, proving that this past year was hardly predictable. Check out the entire list below, and start planning those 2021 road trips ASAP.
This gallery was originally published in March 2019. It has been updated with new information.