Looking to Avoid National Park Crowds This Summer? Michigan’s Isle Royale Rank Among the Best Spots

Photo by Ken Jacobsen

Article courtesy of Mahjong 4 Friends.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the busiest park for summer visits in 2025, recording more than 3.9 million visits between June and August.
• Yellowstone and Acadia rank second and third, with 2.8 million and 2.4 million summer visits, respectively.
• Yosemite is the standout growth story in the top 10, with summer visits up 39% compared with 2021.

Summer might be the classic time to visit America’s national parks, but some parks are still drawing far bigger crowds than others.

New research by Mahjong 4 Friends looked at National Park Service data to reveal the national parks with the highest number of summer visits in 2025.

The study looked at June, July and August figures, combining recreational visits, tent campers and RV campers to show where visitor activity is highest during the summer months. Only parks located in US states were included.

The ten busiest national parks for summer visits in 2025

Great Smoky Mountains National Park takes first place by a clear margin, recording 3,923,345 summer visits in 2025. Even with visits down 18.6% compared with 2021, the Tennessee park remains in a league of its own, pulling in more than one million more summer visits than any other park in the ranking.

Yellowstone National Park follows in second with 2,847,552 summer visits. The Wyoming park is still one of the country’s biggest summer draws, helped by its geysers, hot springs and wildlife, although visits were 5.4% lower than in 2021.

Acadia National Park in Maine comes third, with 2,391,013 summer visits. Unlike several of the parks at the top of the ranking, Acadia ended the period slightly ahead of where it started, with visits up 2.2% since 2021.

In fourth place is Glacier National Park, which recorded 2,241,996 summer visits. The Montana park has stayed fairly steady over the past few years, with visits rising 2.6% compared with 2021.

Grand Teton National Park ranks fifth, drawing 2,203,185 summer visits last year. While that is 4.1% lower than its 2021 total, the park still sits comfortably among the most visited summer destinations, with its mountain views and lakes continuing to attract huge numbers of travellers.

Rocky Mountain National Park takes sixth place, with 2,165,188 summer visits. The Colorado park saw visits fall 8.9% from 2021, but it remains one of the busiest parks in the country during the warmer months.

Yosemite National Park is the standout growth story in the top 10. The California park recorded 2,147,074 summer visits in 2025, up 39% from 2021, making it one of the few major parks where summer crowds have grown sharply over the period.

Zion National Park ranks eighth, with 1,645,679 summer visits in 2025. Its red rock canyons still make it one of the country’s most recognisable parks, but summer visits were down 9% compared with 2021.

Olympic National Park in Washington places ninth, recording 1,599,465 summer visits. The park’s mix of coastline, rainforest and mountain scenery continues to bring in large numbers, although visits were 6.7% lower than in 2021.

Grand Canyon National Park rounds out the top 10, with 1,391,826 summer visits. Despite being one of the most famous national parks in the world, its summer numbers were down 12.6% compared with 2021, suggesting that even the biggest names are not immune to shifting visitor patterns.

Overall, the top 10 shows a clear split. Some of America’s most famous parks are still pulling in huge summer crowds, but many are no busier than they were a few years ago. Yosemite is the obvious exception, with summer visits rising sharply while several other headline parks have softened.

The five least crowded national parks for summer visits in 2025

Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska was the least crowded park in the study, with just 5,832 summer visits in 2025. Even so, that figure is up 238.7% compared with 2021, when the park recorded only 1,722 summer visits.

Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, also in Alaska, ranks second among the least crowded parks, with 12,061 summer visits in 2025. Its numbers have almost doubled since 2021, rising 93.4%.

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve comes third, recording 18,159 summer visits in 2025. The Alaska park saw a more modest increase over the five-year period, with visits up 18.8%.

Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida ranks fourth, with 24,357 summer visits in 2025. Its numbers have remained fairly steady since 2021, rising just 4.3%.

Isle Royale National Park in Michigan rounds out the bottom five, with 27,962 summer visits in 2025. Like Dry Tortugas, its summer traffic has been relatively stable, with visits up 6.3% compared with 2021.

The bottom five show the opposite side of summer national park travel. While the busiest parks count visitors in the millions, several remote or harder-to-access parks still see fewer than 30,000 visits across the whole summer.

Neal Taparia, President of Mahjong 4 Friends, says: “Summer national park trips are one of those classic American travel experiences, but the data shows how different that experience can be depending on where you go.

“Great Smoky Mountains is still in a league of its own. Even after falling from 2021 levels, it recorded almost four million summer visits in 2025, which puts it more than one million visits ahead of Yellowstone in second place.

“What stands out is that the busiest parks are not all following the same pattern. Yosemite has grown sharply, while Acadia and Glacier have also edged up. But Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Zion, Rocky Mountain and Olympic are all down compared with 2021.

“At the other end of the ranking, the least crowded parks are mostly remote, difficult to reach, or require more planning than a typical summer trip. That is part of what keeps visitor numbers low, but it can also make them appealing for people who want a quieter experience.

“For anyone planning a summer trip, the takeaway is simple: the famous parks are famous for a reason, but they also come with the biggest crowds. If you want a more relaxed visit, it is worth planning carefully, going early in the day, looking at less busy entrances or considering parks outside the top 10.”

Methodology:

1. Mahjong 4 Friends looked at National Park Service visitor data for US national parks.
2. Summer was defined as June, July and August combined.
3. The totals combine recreational visits, tent campers and RV campers for each park. Parks were ranked by their 2025 summer total only.
4. The percentage change compares each park’s 2025 summer total with its 2021 summer total.
5. Only parks located in US states were included. Parks in US territories were excluded from the ranking.

Full ranking: