The top 10 most visited National Parks in 2025

State of play: 4.1 million visitors passed through the gates at Rocky Mountain National Park in 2025, a small increase from the prior year, according to new National Park Service tallies

• Colorado's other three national parks saw visitation decreases, in part because of last year's federal government shutdown, officials said.
• 2025's visitation totals: Mesa Verde (463,130), Great Sand Dunes (432,498) and Black Canyon of the Gunnison (250,086).

The big picture: The top 10 national parks in 2025 were:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina (11.5 million visitors)
2. Zion National Park, Utah (4.9 million)
3. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (4.7 million)
4. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (4.4 million)
5. Yosemite National Park, California (4.2 million)
6. Rocky Mountain National Park (4.1 million)
7. Acadia National Park, Maine (4 million)
8. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (3.8 million)
9. Olympic National Park, Washington (3.5 million)
10. Glacier National Park, Montana (3.1 million)

💭 My thought bubble: Instead of paying attention to the top parks, I'm looking at some of the least visited parks in the lower 48 for my next trips, like North Cascades in Washington state, Great Basin in Nevada and Voyageurs in Minnesota.