The Smokys win again. That is one beautiful park, but man, places like Gatlinburg, TN are not high on the ol’ priority list. In any case, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, comes in at just over 9 million, and the runner up, Grand Canyon National Park clocks in at 4. Wild. The reason? Well, Rocky points out that GSMNP ”doesn’t charge people do drive through on the highway that transits the park, but they do count them all as visitors.” That and Gatlinburg, I suppose.
More info at National Parks Traveler.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park……………9,008,830
- Grand Canyon National Park………………………4,298,178
- Yosemite National Park……………………………3,951,393
- Yellowstone National Park…………………………3,394,326
- Rocky Mountain National Park…………………….3,176,941
- Olympic National Park……………………………..2,966,502
- Zion National Park………………………………….2,825,505
- Grand Teton National Park…………………………2,587,437
- Acadia National Park……………………………….2,374,645
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park…………………….2,161,185
The key is to drive through Gatlinburg, if you drive through at all, really early in the morning. Then within a few minutes you can be on the Chimney Tops trail hassle free. I’m also fond of the North-Eastern most edge of the park. It’s near the town of Cosby, TN and the trails are great with a fraction of the visitors.