Many national parks across the U.S. set records last year for tourist visits.
More than 297 million people traveled to national parks in 2021, according to the National Park Service. That’s 60 million more people than in 2020.
In fact, at 44 of the nation’s 63 national parks, tourists smashed visitation records. Zion National Park in Utah overtook Yellowstone as the second-most visited park in the country; Great Smoky Mountains National Park led the way with 14.1 million visitors. Three other national parks also had more than 10 million visitors in 2021.
The big “famous” national parks, of course, get a lot of attention. But, what’s maybe a lesser-known national park that you’ve visited and loved?