The top 10 most visited US National Park sites are …

By Forrest Brown, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 1:53 PM EDT, Fri May 26, 2023
<strong>1. Blue Ridge Parkway:</strong> Fall colors vividly pop in this aerial photo of the parkway in the North Carolina portion of its route. (The parkway continues into Virginia). More than 15.7 million people paid recreational visits to the parkway in 2022, making it the No. 1 US National Park Service site.
1. Blue Ridge Parkway: Fall colors vividly pop in this aerial photo of the parkway in the North Carolina portion of its route. (The parkway continues into Virginia). More than 15.7 million people paid recreational visits to the parkway in 2022, making it the No. 1 US National Park Service site.
Kirk Wester/Adobe Stock
<strong>2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area:</strong> A bicyclist rides along one of the many bike paths and trails at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. San Francisco is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/best-bicycle-cities-world-travelers/index.html" target="_blank">one of the top cities in the world</a> to visit by bike.
2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area: A bicyclist rides along one of the many bike paths and trails at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. San Francisco is one of the top cities in the world to visit by bike.
George Rose/Getty Images
<strong>3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park:</strong> Another sunrise comes to the third-most visited NPS site, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee. It also holds the distinction of being the most visited national park in 2022. (There are 63 in total).
3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Another sunrise comes to the third-most visited NPS site, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee. It also holds the distinction of being the most visited national park in 2022. (There are 63 in total).
Nickolay Khoroshkov/Adobe Stock
<strong>4. Gateway National Recreation Area:</strong> The sun sets on Sandy Hook Bay in this area along the New Jersey shore. The recreation area extends into parts of New York, too.
4. Gateway National Recreation Area: The sun sets on Sandy Hook Bay in this area along the New Jersey shore. The recreation area extends into parts of New York, too.
andykazie/iStockphoto/Getty Images
<strong>5. The Lincoln Memorial:</strong> At the epicenter of American history, the Lincoln Memorial is on the National Mall in Washington. It celebrated its <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lincoln-memorial-100th-anniversary-washington/index.html" target="_blank">100th anniversary</a> in 2022.
5. The Lincoln Memorial: At the epicenter of American history, the Lincoln Memorial is on the National Mall in Washington. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022.
Jbyard/Adobe Stock
<strong>6. George Washington Memorial Parkway</strong>: Gorgeous spring tulips and dogwoods adorn the parkway in McLean, Virginia. The parkway also runs through parts of the District of Columbia and Maryland.
6. George Washington Memorial Parkway: Gorgeous spring tulips and dogwoods adorn the parkway in McLean, Virginia. The parkway also runs through parts of the District of Columbia and Maryland.
Alamy Stock Photo
<strong>7. Natchez Trace Parkway:</strong> This 444-mile ribbon of beauty goes through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Pictured is a stretch of road in Franklin, Tennessee.
7. Natchez Trace Parkway: This 444-mile ribbon of beauty goes through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Pictured is a stretch of road in Franklin, Tennessee.
John/Adobe Stock
<strong>8. Gulf Islands National Seashore: </strong>This treasure on the Gulf of Mexico occupies various pristine spots in Mississippi and Florida. Pictured are the famous white sands of Santa Rosa Island.
8. Gulf Islands National Seashore: This treasure on the Gulf of Mexico occupies various pristine spots in Mississippi and Florida. Pictured are the famous white sands of Santa Rosa Island.
James Randklev/Corbis Documentary RF/Getty Images
<strong>9. Lake Mead National Recreation Area:</strong> Like many other sites, this recreation area crosses state lines, occupying parts of Arizona and Nevada. Despite recent heavy rains and snows, many people are concerned about the lake's future. The Southwest's long drought has put the body of water under intense pressure.
9. Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Like many other sites, this recreation area crosses state lines, occupying parts of Arizona and Nevada. Despite recent heavy rains and snows, many people are concerned about the lake's future. The Southwest's long drought has put the body of water under intense pressure.
David McNew/Getty Images
<strong>10. Vietnam War Memorial:</strong> Almost 4.9 million people came to the memorial in 2022. The memorial in Washington chronologically lists the names of 58,318 Americans who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
10. Vietnam War Memorial: Almost 4.9 million people came to the memorial in 2022. The memorial in Washington chronologically lists the names of 58,318 Americans who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
J. David Ake/AP
The 10 most visited US National Park sites in 2022

Editor’s Note: Monthly Ticket is a CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world.

CNN  — 

The 424 sites administered by the US National Park Service continued to rebound from the pandemic last year, and a perennial favorite once again landed in the top spot for most visited site for 2022.

Almost 312 million recreation visits were logged by the NPS in 2022, which is closing in on the pre-pandemic 2019 numbers of roughly 327.5 million visits.

The NPS also labored in 2022 to avoid the long lines and temporary closings at many of the marquee parks that marred the 2021 experience for many.

“We’re excited to see our efforts to increase visitation to parks in the off-season and in parks that are less well-known paying off,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in an online statement in March.

“Many parks with record visitation in 2022 are on what we would call ‘the road less traveled.’ “

Top 10 most visited NPS sites in 2022

Blue Ridge Parkway is not the road less traveled. In fact, it's the most popular site in the entire national park system.
Blue Ridge Parkway is not the road less traveled. In fact, it's the most popular site in the entire national park system.
Craig Zerbe/Adobe Stock

Just two sites – one a long, scenic parkway in the East and the other a recreational area in a populous West Coast metro – accounted for around 10% of all visits to all sites. The top 10 for 2022 (numbers are rounded):

1. Blue Ridge Parkway, 15.71 million visits

2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 15.64 million

3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 12.94 million

4. Gateway National Recreation Area, 8.73 million

5. Lincoln Memorial, 7.83 million

6. George Washington Memorial Parkway, 7.4 million

7. Natchez Trace Parkway, 6.54 million

8. Gulf Islands National Seashore, 5.69 million

9. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 5.58 million

10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 4.89 million

Top 10 most visited national parks

Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park in California. The park welcomed 3.67 million visitors in 2022.
Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park in California. The park welcomed 3.67 million visitors in 2022.
Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images/FILE

In breaking down just the headliner national parks vs. every NPS site, which include memorials, battlefields, recreations areas and more, a familiar name once again tops the list for 2022:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 12.94 million

2. Grand Canyon National Park, 4.73 million

3. Zion National Park, 4.69 million

4. Rocky Mountain National Park, 4.30 million

5. Acadia National Park, 3.97 million

6. Yosemite National Park, 3.67 million

7. Yellowstone National Park, 3.29 million

8. Joshua Tree National Park, 3.06 million

9. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 2.913 million

10. Glacier National Park, 2.908 million

A few more tidbits

The NPS report is full of interesting insights into who goes where and why. A few highlights: