Park Statistics

 

Important Dates

• June 8, 1923 – Bryce Canyon National Monument was established (administered by the U.S. Forest Service).
• June 7, 1924 – Congress approves Utah National Park; however national park status would not be official until all state and private land within the monument boundaries belong to the United States.
• February 25, 1928 – Congress approves name change to Bryce Canyon National Park; state and private land still did not belong to the United States.
• September 15, 1928 – Bryce Canyon National Park officially established. State and private land is sold to the United States and management transfers from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service.
• 1931 and 1942 – Subsequent legislation enlarged the park to its current size.
• June 8, 2023 – Bryce Canyon celebrates 100 years of federal protection.

 

Geographic Facts

• Total Area: 35,835 acres (14,501 hectares)
• Lowest Elevation: 6,620 feet (2018 meters) Yellow Creek
• Highest Elevation: 9,115 feet (2778 meters) Rainbow Point
• Elevation at Visitor Center: 7,894 feet (2,406 meters)
• Elevation at Sunset Point: 8,000 feet (2,438 meters)

 

Visitation Statistics

Visitation to Bryce Canyon National Park has been steadily increasing in recent years. The National Park Service records monthly visitor use statistics and publishes them online. View the interactive NPS Visitor Use Statistics page to explore numbers and information from 1979 to present.

 

Your Fee Dollars at Work

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience. At least 80 percent of the money stays in the park where it is collected, and the other 20 percent is used to benefit parks that do not collect fees. Discover how your fee dollars are used throughout the national park system.

 

Economic Impact

In 2018, 318 million park visitors spent an estimated $20.2 billion in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands across the country. These expenditures supported a total of 329 thousand jobs, $13.6 billion in labor income, $23.4 billion in value added, and $40.1 billion in economic output in the national economy.

Use the interactive Visitor Spending Effects tool to explore the economic contributions of National Park Service visitor spending at the national, state, and local levels.

 

Budget

The National Park Service budget is developed each February for the next fiscal year, which starts October 1. The budget defines the NPS’ goals and objectives and the funding necessary to accomplish them. The NPS budget is rolled up into the budget for the Department of the Interior and then with the rest of the Executive Branch and submitted to Congress for its review and approval.