Which US national park is the most visited, with over 12 million annual visitors?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited US national park, recording more than 12 million visitors in 2024. It straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

The park was established in 1934 after years of land acquisition and public campaigning. Unlike many western national parks, much of its land was assembled from private holdings, including former farms, logging areas, and mountain communities. Today, historic cabins, churches, cemeteries, and mills preserve evidence of those earlier residents.

Its popularity comes from a combination of easy access, scenic roads, waterfalls, wildlife, and exceptional biodiversity. The park protects more than 522,000 acres and includes a section of the Appalachian Trail. Its forests are especially rich because the mountains’ varied elevations and moist climate create many habitats.

Visitors sometimes assume the most visited park must be Yellowstone, Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon because those names are globally famous. Great Smoky Mountains’ location near large population centres and its lack of an entrance fee help explain why its annual visitation is so high.