Crowds by month
Compare the full year’s monthly recreation visits and normal weather.
Great Smoky Mountains visitation by year
47 years of annual recreation visits, 1979–2025. The chart shows the long-run shape; the table keeps every total and its change from the previous year.
| Year | Recreation visits | Year-over-year |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 8,019,788 | |
| 1980 | 8,440,953 | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 8,312,884 | -1.5% |
| 1982 | 8,177,869 | -1.6% |
| 1983 | 8,435,475 | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 8,508,390 | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 9,319,290 | +9.5% |
| 1986 | 9,836,306 | +5.5% |
| 1987 | 10,209,841 | +3.8% |
| 1988 | 8,770,781 | -14.1% |
| 1989 | 8,333,553 | -5.0% |
| 1990 | 8,151,769 | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 8,654,459 | +6.2% |
| 1992 | 8,931,690 | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 9,283,848 | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 8,628,174 | -7.1% |
| 1995 | 9,080,420 | +5.2% |
| 1996 | 9,265,667 | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 9,965,075 | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 9,989,395 | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 10,283,598 | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 10,175,812 | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 9,197,697 | -9.6% |
| 2002 | 9,316,420 | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 9,366,845 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 9,167,046 | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 9,192,477 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 9,289,215 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 9,372,253 | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 9,044,010 | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 9,491,437 | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 9,463,538 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 9,008,830 | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 9,685,829 | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 9,354,695 | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 10,099,276 | +8.0% |
| 2015 | 10,712,674 | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 11,312,786 | +5.6% |
| 2016 100th anniversary of NPS | ||
| 2017 | 11,338,893 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 11,421,200 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 12,547,743 | +9.9% |
| 2020 | 12,095,720 | -3.6% |
| 2021Highest | 14,161,548 | +17.1% |
| 2022 | 12,937,633 | -8.6% |
| 2023 | 13,297,647 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 12,191,834 | -8.3% |
| 2025Latest | 11,527,939 | -5.4% |
What the visitation trend shows
Read the latest total alongside the record and earlier years.
2025 in the annual record. It ranks 7 of 47 annual totals, 18.6% below the 2021 maximum of 14,161,548. The latest total is down 5.4% from 2024.
The longer comparison. 2025 is 7.6% above 2015's 10,712,674 visits. This compares two endpoints, not uninterrupted growth or decline. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM).
Read individual years. The source records 14,161,548 in 2021 and 13,297,647 in 2023. The table retains each intervening year. Annual counts do not establish the cause of a change or predict crowding on a particular date.
Questions about Great Smoky Mountains visitation
How many visits did Great Smoky Mountains record in 2025?
11,527,939 recreation visits, compared with 12,191,834 in 2024. These are visits, not unique people.
What was Great Smoky Mountains's highest recorded visitation year?
The maximum in this 1979–2025 dataset is 14,161,548 in 2021. This is a record within the displayed years, not a claim about earlier history.
Is Great Smoky Mountains visitation increasing?
The reported 2025 total is down 5.4% from 2024. 2025 is 7.6% above 2015's 10,712,674 visits. This compares two endpoints, not uninterrupted growth or decline. Annual totals alone do not explain what caused a change.
What was Great Smoky Mountains's lowest recorded visitation year?
1979 has the lowest count in the 1979–2025 series: 8,019,788 recreation visits. The annual table preserves the original totals; it does not establish why a low occurred.
How we built this page.
An independent guide using official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
- Official annual data
- NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. Each total sums twelve monthly TRV recreation-visit values for reporting unit GRSM. The table covers 1979–2025.
- What is counted
- Visits, not unique visitors. Repeat visits are not combined into distinct people. The totals do not measure visitor spending, individual trails or parking availability.
- Reading changes
- Recorded changes do not establish causes. Year-over-year percentages compare a total with the previous year. Historical reporting practices and boundaries may differ. The series maximum makes no claim about years before 1979.
- Comparing years
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM). Annual totals use one reporting unit and the same NPS data package throughout. Historical counting practices and park boundaries may differ; a change in recorded visits does not by itself establish what caused it.