Quick question: What is the most visited national park?
No, it’s not Yellowstone, though Yellowstone is the first national park. It’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which spans 31 miles from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Cherokee, North Carolina. Great Smoky Mountains National Park experienced its second busiest year ever in 2022 with 12,937,633 visits. Last year’s visitation was more than 1.5 million above the park’s 10-year average, and more than the visitation of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks combined.
Sadly, many call it the “windshield wipers park,” because so many visitors don’t get out of their car.
Whether you visit Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains National Park or any of the other 63 national parks, there are some easy hacks to make your first visit with kids easier, more fun and less stressful.
Yes. Visiting a national park can be stressful—even finding a parking spot at popular trail heads can be difficult. The NPS app is the new official app for the National Park Service with tools to explore. Just be sure to download it in advance and save for offline use!
If you’re planning to visit multiple national parks this year, an America Beautiful National Parks Pass is a great bet. The pass is valid at more than 2,000 national park sites and 10 percent of the sale proceeds are donated to the National Park Foundation, helping to keep our parks beautiful! Remember, the average cost of admission to a national park is $35. If you have fourth-graders, they are eligible for the free Every Kid Outdoors pass that gets your family free admission for a year (just get it in advance) and if grandparents are traveling with you in the same car, their Senior Pass ($20 for a year, $80 for lifetime) will get them and you into the park.
Another hack that will save you aggravation: If there is a shuttle system around the park, use it, like at Zion National Park in Utah and Acadia National Parks. You don’t want to be frustrated like I was trying to find a parking spot at Zion. And if you are planning to hike an especially popular trail, head out early.
Plan ahead—not only with rain jackets, a first-aid kit, sufficient food, snacks and water, but also with a tentative itinerary. Be mindful that popular national parks now have timed-entry reservation systems to control overcrowding, including Arches National Park, Glacier National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.
