America's most visited national park, Great Smoky Mountains, just broke its own record

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw 14.1 million visits in 2021, topping the record from 2019 by 1.5 million.

Officials say the park also set eight monthly visitation records during winter and spring months last year.

Acting Superintendent Alan Sumeriski says park visitation has increased by 57% over the last decade. The park saw an increase of 40% in frontcountry camping last year, while backcountry camping increased 20%.

The park reported seeing its highest visitation in the summer and fall, peaking in July and October. However, visitation is increasing in the winter and spring at the park that straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina state line.

Great Smoky Mountains has been America's most visited national park for years. The full list of 2021 visitations across the National Park Service has not been released yet, but for perspective, the park had 12.1 million visits in 2020. The second-most visited national park, Yellowstone, saw 3.8 visits the same year.

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Contributing: Eve Chen, USA TODAY