WNC claims two of 2020’s three most visited National Park units Even during January this year, visitors crowd the space at Laurel Falls. NPS photo
Despite the pandemic or perhaps because of it Western North Carolina was home to two of the nation’s three most visited National Park Service units in 2020.
Last year, the Blue Ridge Parkway recorded 14.1 million visits, making it the nation’s most-visited unit, while the Great Smoky Mountains National Park received 12.1 million visits, making it the third most-visited unit and far-and-away the most visited National Park, claiming quadruple the number of visits of second-place Yellowstone National Park, with 3.8 million.