Overview
- The National Park Service logged 323,012,629 recreation visits in 2025, down 8,850,729 from the 2024 record, a decline of about 2.7%.
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area (-1.44 million), Gateway National Recreation Area (-1.23 million) and the World War II Memorial (~-1.17 million) together accounted for roughly 3.84 million of the systemwide decrease.
- Twenty-six NPS sites set all-time highs, and California’s nine national parks collectively reached nearly 12 million visits, surpassing the state record and rising by more than 800,000 year over year.
- A 43-day federal shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025 furloughed staff and closed many visitor centers and museums, though parks largely remained accessible under administration guidance.
- The year featured workforce losses and policy disputes, with officials pledging to keep parks open as advocacy groups warned of threats to stewardship and morale.