Which national park is the most popular in your state?

(NEXSTAR) – America’s national parks served more than 323 million recreational visits in 2025, the sixth-most of any year on record.

Recently-released data shows that more than 40 parks – the catch-all term for all of the units managed by the National Park Service – had more than 2.2 million recreation visits last year. Three had more than 10 million.

While you may be able to identify some of the most popular parks in the U.S., what about your state?

Thankfully, the NPS provides that data, too.

Unsurprisingly, the national parks within California garnered the most visits in 2025 at more than 39 million, according to NPS data. More than one-third of those visits were recorded at the state’s most visited – and the nation’s second-most visited – site, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In 2025 alone, the park recorded 15.7 million visits.

California’s other heavy hitters, like Yosemite and Joshua Tree national parks, helped propel it to the top, edging out the District of Columbia by about 2 million visits.

Alternatively, the state with the fewest national park visits last year was New Hampshire. Only Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park reports visitation numbers, and its roughly 28,000 visits in 2025 come in well below others on the list.

The interactive map below shows each state’s most visited national park, as well as how many visits it and all of the parks in each state garnered last year.

In only 19 states did the most visited park record fewer than 1 million recreational visits in 2025, though not all national park units release visit data.

In some cases, multiple states lay claim to a national park. Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, for example, has segments in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It ranks as the most visited park in both states.

For other parks, visitation numbers may vary for each state’s segment. The Blue Ridge Parkway, the nation’s most visited national park, is in North Carolina and Virginia. It recorded 16.5 million visits last year – roughly 11.3 million in North Carolina and 5.2 million in Virginia. While Blue Ridge was North Carolina’s busiest park, George Washington Memorial Parkway sits atop Virginia’s list.

Though that parkway also goes through Maryland and the District of Columbia, regional visitation data isn’t available for those areas.

Being divided among multiple states kept one highly visited national park off the map above. NPS data shows the Appalachian National Scenic Trail received roughly 6.2 million visits in 2025. Across the 14 states that the trail treks through, it was only Connecticut’s most visited park, with nearly 390,000 visits. The segment with the most visits, about 1.5 million, was in Virginia.

It’s difficult to predict whether the National Park Service will see another record or near-record year of visitation in 2026, but events for America’s 250th anniversary could help fuel visits. For example, July 4th fireworks are set to return to Mount Rushmore this summer.

There is also a new line-up of fee-free days this year, dubbed “resident-only patriotic fee-free days,” in which U.S. residents can get into the 106 fee-charging parks for free. Remaining fee-free days include:

Flag Day, June 14 (Also Trump’s birthday)

Independence Day weekend, July 3-5

The 110th birthday of the National Park Service, Aug. 25

Constitution Day, Sept. 17

Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, Oct. 27

Veterans Day, Nov. 11

Free admission was also in effect on February 16 in honor of Presidents’ Day.

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