Top 10 Most-Visited Free National Parks

Some of the most gorgeous places in the U.S. are national parks—and many of the most popular units in the park system charge no admission fee.

Mental Floss compiled this list by tabulating the National Park Service’s annual visitation statistics to all of its units, including parks, national monuments, national historical parks, and other categories. The most popular national parks were cross-referenced with their fee information pages in the NPS app, and then the free admission sites were ranked according to the number of annual visits. While all of the parks below are free to enter, keep in mind that some specific activities, places, or services charge fees. For example, Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires a modest payment for a vehicle parking tag if you plan to be in the property longer than 15 minutes.

1. These 10 Free National Parks Are the Most Loved
2. These 10 Free NPS Units Are the Most Popular

These 10 Free National Parks Are the Most Loved

For obvious reasons, urban national parks are among the most visited in the whole system. The Great Smoky Mountains drew the most people in 2024, the most recent year for which statistics are available—12,191,834, to be exact. The national park, which straddles the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, is easily accessible to about one-third of U.S. residents, making it a travel destination for many people. The park’s unique biodiversity has even earned it two important designations: as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. People also love to stop by Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio for a hike on its 125 miles of trails, including the popular Ledges Trail with its unusual geological formations. Gateway Arch National Park rounds out the top three free parks. Here, you can take a tram inside Eero Saarinen’s iconic arch to 630 feet above St. Louis to witness the Mississippi River and cityscape.

The rest of the top free national parks are as follows:

These 10 Free NPS Units Are the Most Popular

Regarding all units in the park system that don’t charge an admission fee, Golden Gate National Recreation Area was many people’s number one pick, with 17,187,508 visits. This urban national park is filled with rich culture and historical buildings, from Alcatraz Island to the Presidio of San Francisco. Blue Ridge Parkway is second on the list; the 469-mile scenic byway passes through the Appalachian Highlands of Virginia and North Carolina. (However, some sections are temporarily closed to repair damage from Hurricane Helene.)

You can find the rest of the top 10 free NPS sites below:

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