National parks in America are more popular than ever. In 2017, more than 331 million people visited the 379 national parks in the US, according to the National Park Service, just 90,000 short of the record set in 2016. Here are the 20 of the top national parks in the country. Please share these popular destinations with your friends (hit the share buttons at the bottom of page).
Most popular national parks include several in Utah
America has an incredible variety of landscapes in its many national parks, ranging from bursting geysers to gigantic canyons or towering forests.
Be sure to include Utah on the list of places to visit because the state is attracting a record number of visitors. Four of Utah's five national parks set records for attendance in 2017. Zion moved up from fifth place passing Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park. Bryce Canyon moved up to 12th with 2.6 million visitors, Arches is ranked 16th with 1.5 million visitors, Capitol Reef was 21st with 1.2 million and Canyonlands ranked 26th with 742,271 visitors.
According to the NPS, 61 of the 385 reporting parks set new visitation records and 42 parks broke a record they set in 2016.
What's amazing, is that half of ALL national parks visits took place in 27 parks.
Another interesting statistic is that people spent more hours in our national parks last year - a record 1.44 billion recreation hours. That's an increase of 19 million hours in 2016.
Naturally, this heavy traffic is taking a toll on our parks.
"Our national parks are being loved to death," US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said. "As visitor rates continue at a high level, we must prioritize much-need deferred maintenance including aging facilities, road and other critical infrastructure.
He added, "President Trump's proposal to establish a Public Lands Infrastructure Fund is a step in the right direction. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue and the President and I remain ready to work with anyone in Congress who is willing to get the job done."
To help out, be sure to throw out all litter in the proper trash receptacles and stay on designated trails.
The great factor about our national parks is that they are not temporary like a movie or even a ride in an amusement park. They took millions of years to form and if we take care of them, our national parks will remain for millions of years.
Note: The Park and Facilities Catalog is a national supplier of park furnishings such as picnic tables, park benches, trash receptacles and hundreds of other items. The company is also a staunch supporter of our national, state and local parks.