If you’re a frequent visitor of national parks and have been for a number of years, you may have noticed a trend recently. For several years now, our country’s most popular national parks have experienced a steady uptick in the number of annual visitors.
Depending on how you plan to experience a national park or even the time of year, the time of the week, or the time of the day that you plan to visit, this might not be a big deal. But if you want to visit that park’s most popular attractions during the busy season, you might find yourself facing crowds, lines, and traffic.
Here are Utah Luxury Tours, we specialize in helping guests experience national parks like never before. From taking you off the beaten path to lesser-known spots to helping you hit the highlights while avoiding the crowds, having an experienced guide on your side makes all the difference. Keep reading to learn more about the growing crowd problem and how to beat them during your next national park visit.
Taking a Look at Rising Crowds in the Most Popular National Parks
Last year marked the busiest year for national parks in the U.S. since 2017. Yellowstone, the fourth most-visited national park in 2023, welcomed 4.5 million visitors. While 2022 saw a dip due to flooding that closed the park for two weeks during the busy summer season, this is still a huge jump from the pre-pandemic numbers.
Grand Teton National Park saw a big jump as well. In 2022, the park welcomed 2.8 million visitors. That number increased by 22% in 2023, topping 3.4 million people. This number earned it the title of the eighth most-visited national park for the year. The most-visited park for the year, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, saw a more modest increase of 3% but still saw more than 13.2 million guests.
While numbers throughout the country’s national park generally saw a rise, a few saw a dip. Zion National Park saw a very slight decrease in its annual visitor count, coming in at 4.65 million guests, down from 4.69 in 2022.
It wasn’t just the most popular parks that saw higher visitor numbers last year. A total of 20 national park sites broke their previous visitor number records in 2023. Among them were less popular parks like Glacier Bay, Congaree, Dry Tortugas, and New River Gorge.
Combating Rising Visitor Numbers
Rising visitor numbers might sound like it spells disaster for your next national park visit. But there’s an easy way to make the most of your visit, no matter the crowd levels.
Booking a trip with Utah Luxury Tours is a simple way to maximize your time in the park, no matter when you visit, where you go, or what the visitor numbers are like that day. Our guides are experts in navigating every national park on your itinerary. They know the best routes, the best times of day to hit the highlights, and they know plenty of lesser-known spots that your average tourist misses.
For an even more personalized experience, consider booking one of our Private Tours. These tours allow you to set your own pace and customize your experience to fit your and your friends or family members’ interests.
The best part is that when you travel with us, everything is taken care of for you. From planning an itinerary to transportation between parks to choosing trails or booking extras, our guides handle it all. That way, you get to focus on relaxing and enjoying the incredible scenery that surrounds you.
Experience National Parks Like Never Before
Whether you’re dreaming of visiting a new national park that’s on your bucket list or revisiting one that you’ve been to a hundred times, booking a trip with Utah Luxury Tours allows you to experience your chosen parks in an entirely new way. From beating the crowds to experiencing lesser-known parts of the park to enjoying a stress-free adventure, our carefully curated itineraries and experienced guides ensure that your tour experience is unforgettable.
Are you ready to see for yourself why traveling with Utah Luxury Tours beats traveling on your own every time? We have countless tours to choose from, making it easy to find the perfect one for you! Maybe you want to experience all five of Utah’s national parks. Perhaps Yellowstone National Park, with its geysers and wildlife, is on your bucket list. Or, maybe you’re interested in a themed tour, like our Astro Night Photography Tour, designed to help you hone your night photography skills. Check out our available Scheduled Tours today to start planning your next adventure.
