More than 305 million people visited a national park last year, passing the visitation record set at national parks in 2014, according to unofficial numbers from the National Park Service.
The final 2015 tally will be released in late February. However, park service officials say the 305 million visits to national parks in 2015 is an increase of more than 4 percent, or 12 million, over the 292.8 million visits in 2014.
Of the 409 parks in the national park system, only 365record the number of visitors. However, the NPS said it has recorded more than 13 billion visits to parks since park managers began counting visitors in 1904, a dozen years before the NPS was created.
“The increasing popularity of our national parks comes as we are actively reaching out to new audiences and inviting them to explore the depth and breadth of the national park system,” National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said in a news release. “The 409 parks we care for preserve natural, cultural and historic landscapes across 84 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories, and they tell stories that reflect the great diversity of our nation.”
Added Jarvis: “Even with record breaking visitation, visitors can still find quiet places in the parks for those willing to seek them out. I can take you to Yosemite Valley on the Fourth of July and within five minutes get you to a place where you are all alone.”
National parks that charge admission will be hosting a number of fee-free days this year. They are April 16-24, Aug. 25-28, Sept. 24 and Nov. 11.