Visitation On Parkway Grew By 6% Last Year

Visitation on the Blue Ridge Parkway grew by about 1 million people, or 6%, last year over 2022 figures, with slight increases across most months of the year.

The 2023 figures for the parkway and other national parks were released by the National Park Service last week. The NPS reported a total of 325.5 million visits to 400 parks in 2023, an increase of 13 million or 4% over 2022.

The parkway saw approximately 16.7 million visits last year.

“The parkway’s location, design, and proximity to so many gateway communities provide a wide array of rich natural, cultural, recreational, and historical experiences for park visitors,” said Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout. “Appealing to so many visitors of so many different interests and abilities is a hallmark of the parkway experience across the decades.”

Visitation figures and trends guide how the National Park Service manages parks to ensure the best experience possible for park visitors, said a NPS spokesperson. The visitation statistics dashboard on the agency’s website provides recreational visit statistics for every park in the U.S. for 2023.