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I’ve been there. No parking places left at the trailhead at Rocky Mountain National Park. Trails as busy as a New York Street at rush hour at Zion National Park in Utah. Bear Jams (tourists stopping to view bears by the side of the road) in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming.

It’s no wonder. The National Park Service reported 325.5 million recreation visits i n 2023. This is an increase of 13 million recreation visits. Just as significant, NPS data shows that there are more visits in the spring and fall, traditionally off seasons, with 20 parks, many of them less visited, breaking visitor records. What a great way to celebrate National Park Week from April 20 through 28, 2024.

“From Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park in Hawai'i to Congaree National Park in South Carolina, parks are attracting more visitors each year to learn about our shared history,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “Our national parks tell our shared American story. 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.”

The Visitation Statistics Dashboard on NPS.gov provides recreational visit statistics for every park in the US for 2023.

You may be disappointed if you try to plan a last-minute trip to the most popular national parks. In fact, some will require as much planning as a Disney trip.

During the busiest visitor times, some of the most popular national parks, including Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Arches National Parks in Utah, and Yosemite National Park in California have timed- entry reservation systems. Others, including Acadia National Park in Maine and Glacier National Park in Montana also have timed- entry reservations for certain roads like Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier, perhaps the most scenic road in the huge park and the Cadillac Summit Road in Acadia.

For the first time ever, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state will implement a pilot timed-entry reservation system for vehicles entering through the Paradise Corridor and the Sunrise Corridor. Outside has a guide to the latest reservation requirements.

If you can, you will want to reserve campsites either in or near the park you want to visit. KOA, with more than 480 locations in North America has cabins and RV sites near many national parks. Under Canvas provides seasonal glamping tents, activities, and food in a growing number of locales, including Zion and Bryce Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Glacier.

Keep in mind that natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events can affect visitation. Summer heat, wildland fires, storms, and natural disasters, floods and landslides required a number of parks to close for periods of time in 2023. For example, Death Valley National Park was entirely closed Aug. 20 until Oct. 15 due to flood damage.

Still, there are plenty of ways to avoid the hassles and the crowds. There are 429 national park sites in the U.S., though just 63 have the "National Park" designation in their names. The others fall into several categories, including National Battlefields, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, National Seashores, and National Recreation Areas.

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