Americans have rediscovered their natural treasures — national parks. According to the
National Park Service (NPS), more than 276 million outdoor enthusiasts visited
NPS-administered sites in 2004 — a healthy 10 million-visit increase over 2003.
Glacier
National Park, in Montana, registered the largest traffic increase, with 22 percent more
visits than in 2003, followed closely by the Los Angeles-adjacent Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area.
Here are the top 10 most-visited units of the NPS (with number of
recreational visits in parentheses):
- Blue Ridge Parkway
(17,999,116) - Golden Gate National Recreation
Area (13,270,547) - Great Smoky Mountains National
Park (9,167,046) - Gateway National Recreation
Area (8,228,573) - Lake Mead National Recreation
Area (7,819,984) - George Washington Memorial
Parkway (7,227,909) - Natchez Trace Parkway
(5,389,227) - World War II Memorial
(5,382,498) - Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area (5,052,264) - Grand Canyon National Park
(4,326,234)
