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Most Virginia national parks saw visits drop last year

Karri Peifer,

A herd of horses swimming in blue water, with two horses prominently in the foreground and many others paddling in the background. — The wild ponies making their swim across the Assateague Channel in July. Photo: Graeme Sloan/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Most of Virginia's national parks saw a drop in visits last year, according to new National Park Service tallies.

Why it matters: 2025 was a rough year for the park service, marked by layoffs, reduced hours and the longest federal government shutdown in history — during prime leaf peeping season.

By the numbers: Shenandoah National Park recorded 1.68 million visitors last year, down from 1.72 million in 2024, per NPS.

Maggie L. Walker's Jackson Ward home, which dropped its tour schedule from five to two days a week, last year, logged 4,657 tours, down from 6,310.
The Colonial Parkway between Yorktown in Jamestown logged just under 1.6 million visitors, a steep drop from the 2.5 million trips logged in 2024.
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania military parks, Manassas National Battlefield Park and Appomattox Court House each also saw notable visit declines.

Yes, but: George Washington Birthplace in Colonial Beach and Assateague Island, which hosted the 100th anniversary of the annual pony swim last year, saw visits increase.

Assateague saw 2.3 million visitors last year, up from 2.2 million the year before.
And 72,000 people visited George Washington's hometown, up from 59,000.

Zoom out: Nationwide, NPS reported 323 million visitors last year, 8.85 million fewer than in 2024.

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Most Virginia national parks saw visits drop last year

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