Record number of visits likely as U.S. parks system turns 100

Many of the country’s most prominent national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Zion, set new visitation records in 2015 and are bracing for what could be an even busier new year.

The U.S. National Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday in 2016 and has been urging Americans to rediscover the country’s scenic wonders or find new parks to visit through marketing campaigns that include giving free passes to every fourthgrader and their families.

So the attendance records could be short lived, with even bigger crowds expected next year.

“Everybody’s getting psyched and ready for it,” Yellowstone spokeswoman Sandra Snell-Dobert said. “We want people to have a good experience when it comes to our national parks. We’re trying to keep that wonderful experience while managing large numbers of people.”

Overall visitation to national parks is on track to hit 300 million in 2015, besting last year’s all-time high of nearly 293 million. Absent December totals, Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona hit almost 5.3 million visits. Zion in Utah is over 3.5 million. Yellowstone, which stretches into Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, is nearing 4.1 million. Yosemite in California is about 220,000 visits shy of the 1996 record — 4.2 million — with November and December still left to count.

The past year has meant some adjusting for parks as they manage the crowds. Yosemite lowered the entrance fees during the late fall and winter partly to encourage visitors to consider times other than the busy summer. Zion extended its shuttle bus service when the parking lots became too full for people to access the canyon. It also brought in interns to help study peak times.

The Grand Canyon opened up its residential and employee entrance at the South Rim to those who already had passes over holiday weekends and plans to do the same in 2016. It’s also ramped up hiring for entrance gate employees but will move them around jobs so they don’t get burned out, said Grand Canyon revenue and fee business manager Marlon Avantyr.

“We survived this year pretty much unscathed, just tired, but in a good way,” he said. “We have a good plan and a good idea of what to expect, so we’re hoping to stay ahead of the curve.”