Denali 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 251,105 | |
| 1980 | 216,361 | -13.8% |
| 1981 | 256,593 | +18.6% |
| 1982 | 321,868 | +25.4% |
| 1983 | 346,082 | +7.5% |
| 1984 | 395,099 | +14.2% |
| 1985 | 436,545 | +10.5% |
| 1986 | 529,749 | +21.4% |
| 1987 | 575,013 | +8.5% |
| 1988 | 592,431 | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 543,640 | -8.2% |
| 1990 | 546,693 | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 558,870 | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 503,674 | -9.9% |
| 1993 | 505,565 | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 490,311 | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 543,309 | +10.8% |
| 1996 | 341,385 | -37.2% |
| 1997 | 354,278 | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 372,519 | +5.1% |
| 1999 | 386,867 | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 363,983 | -5.9% |
| 2001 | 360,191 | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 311,335 | -13.6% |
| 2003 | 360,189 | +15.7% |
| 2004 | 404,236 | +12.2% |
| 2005 | 403,520 | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 415,935 | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 458,308 | +10.2% |
| 2008 | 432,309 | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 358,041 | -17.2% |
| 2010 | 378,855 | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 406,582 | +7.3% |
| 2012 | 388,433 | -4.5% |
| 2013 | 530,922 | +36.7% |
| 2014 | 531,315 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 560,757 | +5.5% |
| 2016 | 587,412 | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 642,809 | +9.4% |
| 2018 | 594,660 | -7.5% |
| 2019 | 601,152 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 54,850 | -90.9% |
| 2021 | 229,521 | +318.5% |
| 2022 | 427,562 | +86.3% |
| 2023 | 498,722 | +16.6% |
| 2024 | 466,227 | -6.5% |
| 2025 | 543,300 | +16.5% |
What the trend says
The latest rise leaves Denali below its series record. 2025's 543,300 recreation visits are 15.5% below the 2017 high of 642,809.
A year-over-year increase is not the same as long-term growth. Compared with 2015's 560,757 visits, the latest total is 3.1% lower. The 16.5% annual increase answers a different question from that ten-year comparison.
Keep the individual years in view. Denali recorded 498,722 visits in 2023 and 466,227 in 2024 before reaching 543,300 in 2025. These counts describe the sequence; they do not identify the causes or predict the following year.
Common questions
How many visits did Denali record in 2025?
543,300 recreation visits, up 16.5% from 466,227 in 2024. Repeat visits are not combined into a count of distinct people.
What was Denali's busiest year?
2017, with 642,809 recreation visits, is the highest year in this 1979–2025 dataset. This is a record within the displayed series, not a claim about earlier years.
Why did Denali visitation change?
Annual counts alone cannot establish why visits rose or fell. This page reports the recorded totals without assigning causes. For choosing travel dates, use the monthly crowd calendar and best-time guide.
How the annual totals are calculated
Each year sums twelve monthly TRV (recreation visit) values for reporting unit DENA in the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. The table covers 1979–2025. Counts measure recreation visits, not unique people or visitor spending.
These totals show changes but do not establish their causes. Historical reporting practices may differ, and the series maximum makes no claim about years before 1979. We are independent of 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.