US National Parks hits all-time record number of visits

ISTANBUL

The US National Park Service reported a record 331.9 million visits in 2024, beating its previous record of 330.9 million in 2016 – news announced in the shadow of massive park employee layoffs by the Trump administration.

According to visitor use data released by the service, 2024 was a very popular year for recreational park visits, with visitors totaling 1.4 billion hours across the country.

That marks a 2% increase over 2023, which saw 6.36 million fewer visits, and beats the previous record set in 2016. The park service celebrated its centennial that year, racking up 330 million visits.

Yet in February, under unprecedented staff reductions across the US government, 1,000 staffers at the National Park Service were laid off, along with 3,000 US Forest Service employees, 2,300 employees at the Interior Department, and 800 staffers at the Bureau of Land Management.

That month, USA Today reported that national parks across the country are cutting hours, canceling tours, closing visitor centers and making other cutbacks amid the controversial reductions in staff and budgets.

Founded in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, the park service manages more than 400 sites across the country, as four new parks opened in 2024 and 28 parks hit record annual visits.

Recreation areas, memorials and parks were the most visited as a 2.6% increase from 2023 for overnight stays in park service-operated facilities was observed. Overnight stays at concession operated lodging alone were up 11.7%.

Visitation patterns have also been spreading across the year rather than concentrated at certain periods of time: 55% of parks saw an above average number of visits in February-June and October-December. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the National Park Service has reported a surge in visitation to national parks, increasing from 237M to 331.9M in the past 4 years.