The national park system in the United States has a new attendance record for 2014. More than 290 million people visited one of the many national parks or recreational areas in the country
The old attendance record was set in 1999 when more than 287 million people visited the park system.
The 2014 record was an increase from 2013 by 7 percent, or 19 million.
The actual attendance for 2014 was 292,800,082 million people, 3,243,872 of whom visited Olympic National Park.
There are 405 recreational areas inside the National Park Service system, and 59 are designated national parks. Three of those parks are found in Washington state: Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades.
While 2014 had the highest number of visitors ever, the Park Service hopes that 2016 will bring in a record crowd as it will be the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
The top 10 most visited national parks:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 10,099,276
Grand Canyon National Park: 4,756,771
Yosemite National Park: 3,882,642
Yellowstone National Park: 3,513,484
Rocky Mountain National Park: 3,434,751
Olympic National Park: 3,243,872
Zion National Park: 3,189,696
Grand Teton National Park: 2,791,392
Acadia National Park: 2,563,129
Glacier National Park: 2,338,528
Here are the top visited National Park Service sites in 2014:
Golden Gate National Recreation Area: 15,004,420
Blue Ridge Parkway: 13,941,749
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 10,099,276
George Washington Memorial Parkway: 7,472,150
Lincoln Memorial: 7,139,072
Lake Mead National Recreation Area: 6,942,873
Gateway National Recreation Area: 6,021,713
Natchez Trace Parkway: 5,846,474
Chesapeake & Ohio National Historical Park: 5,066,219
Grand Canyon National Park: 4,756,771
