According to the monthly report from the National Parks Service, visits to national parks totaled 20.6 million in March, up 37 percent from 15.1 million in March 2020 as the pandemic emerged.

Total visits for the first three months of the year reached 45.95 million, up 5.6 percent from 43.5 million a year ago.

Among the parks seeing the largest visits for March were:

  • San Francisco Maritime NHP, 2,000,536 against 110,130 a year ago;
  • Natchez Trace Pkwy, 2,118,284 against 515,828;
  • Golden Gate NRA, 934,122 against 934,122;
  • Great Smoky Mountains NP, 931,060 against 487,535;
  • Blue Ridge Pkwy, 704,563 against 763,211;
  • Gateway NRA, 628,020 against 628,020;
  • Lake Mead NRA, 590,978 against 590,978;
  • George Washington MEM Pkwy, 466,602 against 466,602;
  • Chesapeake & Ohio Canal NHP, 422,762 against 492,473;
  • Zion NP, 207,400 against 429,455;
  • Joshua Tree NP, 226,600 against 375,049;
  • Gulf Islands NS 357,247 against 357,247;
  • Grand Canyon NP, 276,002 against 320,277;
  • Colonial NHP, 280,516 against 280,516;
  • Chattahoochee River NRA, 184,411 against 271,783;
  • Lincoln Memorial, 264,171 against 264,171;
  • Canaveral NS, 92,736 against 229,427; and
  • Saguaro NP, 98,901 against 200,968.
Photo courtesy Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee Creek