The National Park Service released its annual numbers on the most-visited sites in the park system for 2012. For a breakdown of the most popular sites, see below. Special thanks to Park Advocate for the data.
Most Visited Places of the National Park System
| Park Site | Number of Visitors | |
| 1. | Blue Ridge Parkway | 15,205,059 |
| 2. | Golden Gate National Recreation Area | 14,540,338 |
| 3. | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 9,685,829 |
| 4. | George Washington Memorial Parkway | 7,425,577 |
| 5. | Lake Mead National Recreation Area | 6,285,439 |
| 6. | Lincoln Memorial | 6,191,361 |
| 7. | Natchez Trace Parkway | 5,560,668 |
| 8. | Gateway National Recreation Area | 5,043,863 |
| 9. | Gulf Islands National Seashore | 4,973,462 |
| 10. | Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area | 4,970,802 |
Most Visited National Parks
| Park Site | Number of Visitors | |
| 1. | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 9,685,829 |
| 2. | Grand Canyon National Park | 4,421,352 |
| 3. | Yosemite National Park | 3,853,404 |
| 4. | Yellowstone National Park | 3,447,729 |
| 5. | Rocky Mountain National Park | 3,229,617 |
| 6. | Zion National Park | 2,973,607 |
| 7. | Olympic National Park | 2,824,908 |
| 8. | Grand Teton National Park | 2,705,256 |
| 9. | Acadia National Park | 2,431,052 |
| 10. | Cuyahoga Valley National Park | 2,299,722 |
This post first appeared on AHA Today.
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