America’s Best National Parks to Visit this Fall-Great Smoky Mountains Grabs the Top Spot

The article is courtesy of Hellotickets

Great Smoky Mountains takes first place with a 96.9 fall score – and almost 20 million visitors since 2020.
Acadia in Maine and Zion in Utah round out the top three.
Eight of the top ten parks earn 4.8 stars or higher on Google reviews, showing how much visitors enjoy them during autumn.

Autumn might just be the perfect time to explore America’s national parks – cooler air, quieter trails and those famous bursts of color.

A new study by Hellotickets has crunched five years of visitor data and online reviews to reveal where travelers are heading for the ultimate fall experience, with Great Smoky Mountains National Park coming out on top.

The travel platform analyzed National Park Service data from 2020 to 2024, combining visitor numbers, time spent in each park and Google reviews to create a unique fall score out of 100.

Top 10 national parks for autumn visits

Rank	National Park	State	Fall score	Fall visitors (2020-2024)	Visitor hours	Fall reviews	Google rating
1	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	Tennessee	96.9	19,792,760	132,555,724	1,848	4.9
2	Acadia National Park	Maine	84.7	6,194,587	38,817,091	1,639	4.9
3	Zion National Park	Utah	83.2	6,451,972	40,077,408	2,323	4.8
4	Rocky Mountain National Park	Colorado	82.3	5,543,168	35,456,593	1,175	4.9
5	Grand Canyon National Park	Arizona	81.9	5,864,167	91,447,240	947	4.8
6	Yosemite National Park	California	81.1	4,986,620	69,399,414	1,343	4.8
7	Yellowstone National Park	Wyoming	78.2	5,652,147	98,489,826	479	4.8
8	Grand Teton National Park	Wyoming	76.8	4,365,847	24,313,432	762	4.9
9	Bryce Canyon National Park	Utah	75.7	3,236,875	17,393,884	1,219	4.9
10	Golden Gate National Recreation Area	California	71.9	18,638,167	49,114,601	122	4.7

Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee leads the list with a near-perfect score of 96.9. Almost 20 million people have visited between September and November over the past five years, spending more than 132 million hours among its misty ridges and golden forests. The park holds a 4.9 Google rating from 1,848 autumn-related reviews – more than almost any other park in the U.S.

Acadia National Park in Maine ranks second with a score of 84.7. Over 6.2 million visitors have made their way there during the autumn months, spending nearly 39 million hours exploring its rocky coastline and forest trails. With a 4.9 Google rating and 1,639 seasonal reviews, Acadia remains one of America’s favorite coastal escapes for leaf-peeping season.

Utah’s Zion National Park takes third place with a score of 83.2, drawing 6.45 million visitors during the autumn months. Together they spent more than 40 million hours weaving through the park’s famous red canyons glowing in the fall light. With 2,323 autumn-specific reviews – the highest in the study – it’s clearly a park that leaves an impression.

Coming fourth is Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, which earned a score of 82.3. Around 5.5 million people visited during the autumn months – logging over 35 million hours among golden aspens and mountain trails. The park has a 4.9 rating from 1,175 autumn reviews, reflecting consistently positive visitor feedback.

Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona ranks fifth, scoring 81.9. Nearly six million travelers visited during the fall, spending about 91 million hours taking in its iconic views – the third-highest total of any park. It holds a 4.8 Google rating with 947 autumn-related reviews.

Yosemite National Park in California comes sixth with a score of 81.1. Almost five million visitors explored its waterfalls, forests and granite cliffs between 2020 and 2024, spending close to 69 million hours in the park. Yosemite keeps a 4.8 rating from 1,343 autumn reviews.

In seventh place sits Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, scoring 78.2. The park welcomed 5.65 million visitors during the autumn months, who spent an incredible 98.5 million hours among its geysers, hot springs and wildlife – the second-highest total recorded. It holds a 4.8 Google rating from 479 autumn reviews.

Also in Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park ranks eighth with a score of 76.8. Around 4.4 million people visited during fall, spending more than 24 million hours across its lakes, peaks and valleys. The park maintains a 4.9 Google rating backed by 762 autumn reviews.

In ninth place is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, scoring 75.7. Around 3.2 million people visited during the fall, spending more than 17 million hours in the park – and with 1,219 autumn reviews and a 4.9 rating, it’s clear the park’s famous hoodoos make a lasting impression.

Rounding out the top ten is California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which scored 71.9. Despite sitting beside San Francisco’s urban sprawl, the park saw 18.6 million fall visitors – second only to the Smokies – spending nearly 49 million hours along its coastal paths and viewpoints. It holds a 4.7 Google rating from 122 seasonal reviews.

“The autumn months turn America’s parks into some of the most beautiful places in the world,” said Jorge Díaz Largo, CEO and Founder of Hellotickets. “Parks like Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia are incredible at any time of year, but they truly come alive in fall, when colors peak and the crowds feel different.

“What stood out in the data was that even parks with fewer overall visitors, like Zion, tend to receive far more reviews in autumn – showing that travelers really connect with the season.”

Methodology:

The study used official data from the National Park Service covering September, October and November (2020–2024). Only parks with more than one million combined visitors and an active Google review profile were included.

Each park was scored across five factors:

Total fall visits (30%)
Total visitor hours (30%)
Average Google rating (7.5%)
Total number of Google reviews (2.5%)
Number of autumn-related reviews (30%)

All data was cleaned, standardized on a 0–10 scale, and combined to create a final index score out of 100.

Full ranking:

Rank	National Park	State	Fall score	Fall visitors (2020-2024)	Visitor hours	Fall reviews	Google rating
1	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	Tennessee	96.9	19,792,760	132,555,724	1,848	4.90
2	Acadia National Park	Maine	84.7	6,194,587	38,817,091	1,639	4.90
3	Zion National Park	Utah	83.2	6,451,972	40,077,408	2,323	4.80
4	Rocky Mountain National Park	Colorado	82.3	5,543,168	35,456,593	1,175	4.90
5	Grand Canyon National Park	Arizona	81.9	5,864,167	91,447,240	947	4.80
6	Yosemite National Park	California	81.1	4,986,620	69,399,414	1,343	4.80
7	Yellowstone National Park	Wyoming	78.2	5,652,147	98,489,826	479	4.80
8	Grand Teton National Park	Wyoming	76.8	4,365,847	24,313,432	762	4.90
9	Bryce Canyon National Park	Utah	75.7	3,236,875	17,393,884	1,219	4.90
10	Golden Gate National Recreation Area	California	71.9	18,638,167	49,114,601	122	4.70
11	Shenandoah National Park	Virginia	70.8	3,185,126	19,612,937	1,409	4.80
12	Joshua Tree National Park	California	70.4	3,591,417	22,038,612	866	4.80
13	Glacier National Park	Montana	70.4	3,394,009	31,928,414	727	4.80
14	Lake Mead National Recreation Area	Nevada	67.5	7,947,509	59,469,049	176	4.60
15	Cuyahoga Valley National Park	Ohio	66.4	3,679,599	10,965,318	733	4.80
16	Mount Rainier National Park	Washington	66.1	2,025,611	10,128,043	832	4.90
17	Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area	Pennsylvania	66.1	5,744,262	24,093,751	406	4.70
18	Olympic National Park	Washington	65.4	3,881,774	19,877,449	321	4.80
19	Arches National Park	Utah	63.4	2,097,201	8,879,320	1,177	4.80
20	Point Reyes National Seashore	California	61.6	3,165,240	14,707,329	299	4.80
21	Glen Canyon National Recreation Area	Utah	59.1	4,294,721	38,253,539	60	4.70
22	Assateague Island National Seashore	Maryland	58.7	2,692,127	23,479,221	107	4.80
23	Sequoia National Park	California	56.7	1,253,135	45,614,086	328	4.80
24	New River Gorge National Park	West Virginia	55.7	2,074,758	4,693,070	226	4.90
25	Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area	Georgia	55.5	3,904,136	15,616,542	51	4.80
26	Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore	Michigan	55.4	1,378,807	8,618,786	342	4.90
27	Cape Cod National Seashore	Massachusetts	54.7	5,101,059	9,674,348	24	4.80
28	Valley Forge National Historical Park	Pennsylvania	54.4	2,497,594	4,995,188	270	4.80
29	Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park	Georgia	54.1	2,256,489	3,726,046	501	4.80
30	Mount Rushmore National Memorial	South Dakota	54.1	2,501,474	3,293,592	382