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SALT LAKE CITY — Visitation across the National Park Service system returned to the closest it has been to pre-pandemic levels last year, according to recently released data.
Visitation across the entire United States National Park Service system reached 325.5 million visits in 2023, an increase of 4% from 2022. The final tally also fell just 0.6% from the 2019 total. Recreation visitor hours also jumped 4%, to 1.4 billion hours, while the number of visitors using concession-operated lodging increased 5%, despite a drop in overnight stays at parks.
The total takes into account all visitation at the country's 63 national parks, as well as monuments, recreation areas, historical parks and other assets overseen by the park service.
"Our national parks tell our shared American story," National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a statement. "I'm glad visitors are finding hidden gems, exploring in the off-season and finding new ways to have a great time in our national parks."
So, where do Utah's national parks, which brought in 10.6 million visits in 2023, rank in popularity?
Utah's national parks
Zion National Park remains Utah's most popular national park and its high standing among western parks also remains unchanged. It drew 4.6 million visits in 2023, falling behind the Grand Canyon's 4.7 million visits that topped all western parks.
Zion led the West in 2021, briefly snatching the crown from its southern neighbor. Grand Canyon and Zion national parks placed second and third, respectively, behind the national winner every year: Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Split between North Carolina and Tennessee, the park generated nearly 13.3 million visits last year.
Yellowstone (4.5 million visits) and Rocky Mountain (4.1 million visits) rounded out the top five. Yosemite, Acadia, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree and Olympic national parks — all of which brought in at least 2.9 million visits — completed the top 10. Grand Teton and Olympic national parks are newcomers to the annual top 10.
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The rest of Utah's gems land a little farther down the list. Bryce Canyon National Park ended up 15th on the list, bringing in nearly 2.5 million visits. Arches National Park's close to 1.5 million visits made it the 20th most-visited park in the country, just ahead of Capitol Reef's 21st-place finish in 2023 (1.3 million visits).
Canyonlands National Park (800,322 visits) ended up 27th among all national parks.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve was last year's least-visited park, as a little more than 11,000 people ventured into the remote Alaska wonder. National Park of American Samoa (12,135 visits), Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (16,728 visits), Kobuk National Park (17,616 visits) and Isle Royale National Park (28,965 visits) rounded out the five least-visited parks in 2023.
Lake Powell's top-10 finish
The National Park Service oversees more than just national parks, which account for a little more than a quarter of all park service visits.
The agency is also in charge of protecting all sorts of national monuments, recreation areas, parkways, historic sites and many other categories. It manages over 400 places altogether.

The 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia, dubbed "America's Favorite Drive," counted almost 16.8 million visits last year, to top all of the agency's assets in 2023. It was followed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's nearly 15 million visits.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, including Lake Powell, was the highest-visited National Park Service site in Utah in 2023, and it also ended up 10th among every site in the federal system last year. Its record 5.2 million visits placed just behind Lake Mead National Recreation Area's 5.8 million visits.
Both reservoirs along the Colorado River experienced significant influx of water, as a result of last year's strong regional snowpack and efforts to preserve the reservoirs from collapsing, which may have led to each faring so well.
Glen Canyon officials noted on Tuesday some portions of the recreation areas doubled in visitation last year. For instance, the Lees Ferry District jumped from 1 million visits in 2022 to 2.2 million visits in 2023.
Michelle Kerns, superintendent at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument, said the numbers seem to indicate the public's desire to enjoy the "wide range of recreational opportunities" available near the Utah-Arizona border.
"While Lake Powell continues to provide significant recreational opportunities, more people are also recognizing the unparalleled land-based and river-based recreation options and cultural and historic resources within our 1.25 million acres," she said in a statement. "Glen Canyon continues to be an economic engine for the region in Utah and Arizona and is especially important to our gateway communities."
Correction: An earlier version said there are 64 national parks but should have said 63.
