Thanks for your reply and for your list. Surely no one can say that you are wrong with any of the U.S. parks.

I realize that it is a totally subjective list, and that each person’s list may be different, depending on their likes, experiences and even the time of year that they visited. It is possible that the lack of visitors adds to the lure of some of the parks. I prefer having the place all to myself. I wish I could make it to all of the parks in all of the seasons so that I can make a fair assessment. Can you please call my wife and tell her that it is required that I go to all of the parks in all of the seasons ASAP?
Thanks.

I think the numbers for Great Smoky Mountains NP are helped considerably by the folks who simply drive any portion of the Blue Ridge Pkwy, and being so close to many of the eastern population centers, that’s a lot. Same applies to Shenandoah NP. Now, the folks who visit parks like Glacier & Big Bend… they’re the ones who plan for those parks specifically. There’s nobody just “passing through” those parks.

I should also mention that the Smokies is the most visited National Park in America at 8 million visitors per year, with the next closest being at 5 million. The people have voted every year with their travel plans.