It turns out that the U.S. national parks are more popular than ever.

The National Park Service (NPS) this week revealed that a record-breaking number of visitors toured its sites in 2024. According to the agency’s annual report, the 404 out of the 433 NPS sites that that report data—including all 63 national parks—saw 331,863,858 individual visits last year.

That’s 6.36 million more visits than in 2023 and approximately one million more than the previous record, which was set in 2016 when the park service recorded 330,971,689 visits.

The report went up on the NPS website on Wednesday, March 5; however, the data was not distributed to media in a press release as in previous years. On Thursday, March 6, The New York Times reported that the NPS asked staff in an internal memo not to push the information via a release or social media to the public.

Outside reached out to the NPS for comment but did not hear back by the time this story was published.

Buried within the report are a handful of compelling takeaways: NPS sites experienced major visitation upticks in March and June compared to the five-year average, while visitation during the remaining months was consistent with that of previous years.

NPS sites also saw an increase in overnight stays—this includes camping and nights spent at concession-operated lodges and hotels—jumping 2.6 percent from 2023. Overnight stays at lodges increased 11.7 percent from 2023 numbers.

According to the data, 28 of the 404 parks set records for visitation—but some of the most popular U.S. National Parks did not. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which historically sees more visits than any national park, saw a slight downturn in visits: 12.1 million in 2024 compared to 13.2 million in 2023. The Grand Canyon attracted 4.9 million visits—up from 2023 numbers—but far short of its 2018 record of 6.3 million. Yellowstone National Park recorded its second busiest year, with 4.7 million visits, and Yosemite National Park its fifth busiest with 4.1 million visits.

Instead, a handful of the NPS-managed National Recreation Areas and National Historic Sites experienced surges in visitation. Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California recorded 17.1 million visits, topping the previous record of 15.6 million in 2022. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. also experienced a record year, with 8.4 million visits. Gateway Arch National Recreation Area in Missouri also broke records with 8.4 million visitors.

The news comes as the NPS is weathering a staffing crisis after losing approximately ten percent of its workforce since the start of the year. On February 14, the NPS fired 1,000 employees with probationary status—a designation given to all workers in their first 12 months of employment. An additional 700 NPS workers reportedly took early retirement buyouts, further weakening the agency’s staff size.

The cuts are part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to shrink federal spending.

“The National Park Service just reported the highest visitation in its history, as the administration conducts massive firings and threatens to close visitor centers and public safety facilities,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA) in a press release.

On Thursday, March 6 the NPCA, a nonpartisan group that advocates for the parks, revealed that the agency also plans to cancel 34 leases on buildings operated by the NPS. The collection includes visitor centers, rescue facilities, and offices of law enforcement.

Brengel said the information was released by the House Natural Resources Committee on Friday, February 28.

Included in the list of canceled leases are nine visitor centers and contact stations:

• Morris Thompson visitor center in Fairbanks Alaska
• Little River Canyon center in Center, Alabama
• New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park center in Louisiana
• Mississippi National River center in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Niobrara National Scenic River center in Valentine, Nebraska
• Salinas Pueblo Mission center in Mountainair, New Mexico
• Missouri National Recreation River center in Yankton, South Dakota
• Klondike Gold Rush center in Seattle, Washington.

“As peak travel season arrives, park visitors will have to contend with closed visitor centers and campgrounds, canceled ranger programs, and less search and rescue staff,” Brengel said in a release. “If building leases are cancelled, it will make these problems worse.”