Smoky Mountain Nationwide Park Sees Sky-Excessive Variety of Guests in 2023

Nationwide park guests proceed to make the Smoky Mountains their No. 1 vacation spot, yr after yr. Based on new reviews from the Nationwide Park Service, the park welcomed over 13 million guests in 2023, marking its second-highest yr ever recorded.

There’s little doubt that guests can’t get sufficient of what the Smokies has to supply. Particularly in the summertime and fall months, individuals flock from throughout to get a glimpse of the park’s majesty. With over 800 mountain climbing trails and an limitless quantities of wildlife and crops, there’s no scarcity of issues to do within the park. From June to October, the park welcomed over a million guests every month. 

Within the final ten years, the Smokies averages 12 million guests yearly. In 2021, the park hit a report excessive when over 14 million individuals selected the park as their excellent vacation spot, because the COVID-19 pandemic led individuals to enterprise extra exterior. 

Though outside lovers repeatedly make the Tennessee-North Carolina park their favourite choose, it has downsides. From hours-long site visitors delays to park closures to deadly accidents, a rise in guests can imply less-than-ideal outcomes. 

Specialists checked out the variety of deaths that occurred in nationwide parks between July 2013 and July 2023 to find out probably the most harmful nationwide parks within the nation. As for a way the GSMNP fared, it ranked quantity 4 on the record, with 104 deaths within the final decade. 

As well as, greater than a 3rd of the fatalities have been driving-related. Furthermore, many of the fatalities occurred in September, when the park noticed an inflow in guests. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic 469-mile route that takes drivers via Virginia and North Carolina, was the fifth-most lethal park. It noticed 100 fatalities within the final ten years, with automobile accidents being the primary reason for dying. 

How Nationwide Parks Ranked for Fatalities From July 2013-June 2023

1. Lake Mead Nationwide Recreation Space: 203 deaths 
2. Yosemite Nationwide Park: 152 deaths
3. Grand Canyon Nationwide Park: 136 deaths
4. Nice Smoky Mountains Nationwide Park: 104 deaths
5. Blue Ridge Parkway: 100 deaths
6. Natchez Hint Parkway: 89 deaths
7. Baltimore-Washington Parkway: 83 deaths
8. Glen Canyon Nationwide Recreation Space: 75 deaths
9. Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space: 70 deaths
10. Yellowstone Nationwide Park: 53 deaths