Arches by the year.
Each point is the park's total recreation visits for that calendar year, drawn from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025 (Statistic = TRV, summed from monthly to annual). The full 1979-2025 history is shown: 47 years. The line traces the long-run shape; the orange dot marks the peak year and the teal dot marks the lowest. The table below carries every year's exact count and its year-over-year change.
| Year | Recreation visits | YoY | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 269,840 | ||
| 1980 | 290,519 | +7.7% | |
| 1981 | 326,508 | +12.4% | |
| 1982 | 339,415 | +4.0% | |
| 1983 | 287,875 | -15.2% | |
| 1984 | 345,180 | +19.9% | |
| 1985 | 363,464 | +5.3% | |
| 1986 | 419,444 | +15.4% | |
| 1987 | 468,916 | +11.8% | |
| 1988 | 520,455 | +11.0% | |
| 1989 | 555,809 | +6.8% | |
| 1990 | 620,719 | +11.7% | |
| 1991 | 705,882 | +13.7% | |
| 1992 | 799,831 | +13.3% | |
| 1993 | 773,678 | -3.3% | |
| 1994 | 777,178 | +0.5% | |
| 1995 | 859,374 | +10.6% | |
| 1996 | 856,016 | -0.4% | |
| 1997 | 858,525 | +0.3% | |
| 1998 | 837,161 | -2.5% | |
| 1999 | 869,980 | +3.9% | |
| 2000 | 786,429 | -9.6% | |
| 2001 | 754,026 | -4.1% | |
| 2002 | 769,672 | +2.1% | |
| 2003 | 757,781 | -1.5% | |
| 2004 | 733,131 | -3.3% | |
| 2005 | 781,670 | +6.6% | |
| 2006 | 833,049 | +6.6% | |
| 2007 | 860,181 | +3.3% | |
| 2008 | 928,795 | +8.0% | |
| 2009 | 996,312 | +7.3% | |
| 2010 | 1,014,405 | +1.8% | |
| 2011 | 1,040,758 | +2.6% | |
| 2012 | 1,070,577 | +2.9% | |
| 2013 | 1,082,866 | +1.1% | |
| 2014 | 1,284,767 | +18.6% | |
| 2015 | 1,399,247 | +8.9% | |
| 2016 | 1,585,718 | +13.3% | |
| 2017 | 1,539,028 | -2.9% | |
| 2018 | 1,663,557 | +8.1% | |
| 2019 | 1,659,702 | -0.2% | |
| 2020 | 1,238,083 | -25.4% | Pandemic-year drop |
| 2021 | 1,806,865 | +45.9% | All-time record; triggered first Timed Entry pilot |
| 2022 | 1,460,652 | -19.2% | Timed Entry Reservation in effect |
| 2023 | 1,482,045 | +1.5% | Timed Entry Reservation in effect |
| 2024 | 1,466,528 | -1.0% | Timed Entry Reservation in effect |
| 2025 | 1,511,740 | +3.1% |
What the trend says
Arches' annual recreation visits over the full 1979-2025 dataset trace one of the steepest growth arcs in the NPS system. The dataset begins in 1979 at roughly 270,000 visits: also the lowest year in the full 47-year series and a baseline only a fifth of the modern level. The 1980s ran in the 290,000-to-555,000 range with a decade mean near 392,000, doubling the 1979 baseline by 1989. The 1990s pushed the park sharply upward: visits crossed 700,000 in 1991, 800,000 by 1992, and reached the high 800,000s by mid-decade, with a 1990s decade mean near 796,000. The 2000s held in a wide 700,000-to-1.0 million band; the park crossed 1 million for the first time in 2010.
The 2010s broke that ceiling decisively. Visits climbed from 1.01 million in 2010 to 1.66 million in 2018 and 1.66 million in 2019, with a 2010s decade mean near 1.33 million; more than 3x the 1980s decade mean. The 2020 pandemic year fell to 1.24 million as NPS operated under reduced capacity in spring, but the recovery was sharp. The all-time peak in the full 1979-2025 series is 1.81 million in 2021, the first full reopening summer when Las Vegas-corridor and Salt Lake City-corridor drive demand surged toward the park and triggered the first Timed Entry Reservation pilot.
Since the 2021 record the trace has stepped back into a 1.46-to-1.51 million band as the Timed Entry Reservation system has run in most summers: 1.46 million in 2022, 1.48 million in 2023, 1.47 million in 2024, and 1.51 million in 2025. The 47-year mean is roughly 908,000; 2025 sits about 600,000 visits above that long-term mean but about 300,000 below the 2021 record. Read across the full window, the structural story is a near-sixfold climb from the 1979 baseline into a sustained 1.5-million-plus 2020s plateau, with the post-2021 trace deliberately capped by the Timed Entry system to flatten the summer parking and trailhead-crowding fight at the Windows district and Delicate Arch. Year-to-year movement on top of the modern plateau is small, driven by the timed-entry administration and summer heat that constrains how many visitors actually book midday visits. For seasonal shape, when within the year these visits actually land, see the per-park month-by-month curve on the best-time-to-visit page.
Common questions
How many people visit Arches each year?
Arches recorded 1,511,740 recreation visits in 2025, the most recent full year in the official NPS record. Across the full 1979-2025 history the park has averaged about 910,000 visits a year.
What is Arches's busiest year on record?
The busiest year in the 1979-2025 record is 2021, with 1,806,865 recreation visits. The most recent year, 2025, came in at 1,511,740.
Is Arches visitation increasing?
Arches visitation moved +3.1% from 2024 to 2025. Over the longer run it is +8.0% versus 2015 (1,399,247 visits), so the recent trend sits well above mid-2010s levels.
What was Arches's least-visited year?
The lowest reading in the 1979-2025 record is 1979, with 269,840 recreation visits, about 1,241,900 below the 2025 figure.
Methodology
Annual recreation visits come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025 on NPS IRMA Stats. The statistic shown is Recreation Visits, the NPS visitor-count category that excludes Tent Campers, Backcountry Campers, and Recreation Visit Hours. Annual totals are computed by summing the twelve monthly TRV (Total Recreation Visits) values for each year. The window displayed here is the full 1979-2025 history available in the NPS dataset. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.
Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.