Date: March 15, 2017
Contact: Denise Shultz, 360-584-7302
Sedro Woolley, WA–Lake Chelan National Recreation Area recorded 45,514, North Cascades National Park 28,646 and Ross Lake National Recreation Area 905,418 visitors with a combined total of 979,578 visits in 2016, the National Park Service’s centennial year.
“We expected more visitors in 2016 as the NPS celebrated its Centennial with special events and activities, but these numbers really show the depth of feeling people have for their national parks,” said Superintendent Karen Taylor-Goodrich. “The Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque campaign launched with the National Park Foundation reached new audiences but also highlighted lesser-known parks.”
Visitation Highlights at North Cascades National Park Service Complex:
- Lake Chelan NRA 45,514 in 2016 compared to 32,186 in 2015
- Ross Lake NRA 905,418 in 2016 compared to 772,579 in 2015
- North Cascades NP 28,646 in 2016 compared to 20,677 in 2015
- All three units combined 979,578 in 2016 compared to 825,442 in 2015
The Every Kid in a Park program also encouraged visitation by offering every fourth grader in America a free one-year national parks pass for the student and his or her family. Entering its third year with the start of the fall school term, more than 2 million signed up for the program through the
online portal in its first year.
Top 10 Visited Park Units:
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area – 15,638,777
- Blue Ridge Parkway – 15,175,578
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 11,312,786
- George Washington Memorial Parkway – 10,323,339
- Gateway National Recreation Area – 8,651,770
- Lincoln Memorial – 7,915,934
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area – 7,175,891
- Grand Canyon National Park – 5,969,811
- Natchez Trace Parkway – 5,891,315
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial – 5,299,713
