How many people visit Badlands?
- 2025 visits
- 1,139,361
- +4.1% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #26
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 1991
- 1,518,396 visits
- vs 2015
- +15.2%
- ten-year change
- vs 1979
- +32.8%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Jul 1991
- 363,803 visits
1979–2025
Every year since the counts began
Show the full table (47 years) ↓
| Year | Recreation visits | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,139,361 | +4.1% | #26 |
| 2024 | 1,094,245 | +4.6% | #25 |
| 2023 | 1,046,400 | +3.9% | #24 |
| 2022 | 1,006,809 | −17.8% | #27 |
| 2021 | 1,224,226 | +33.5% | #22 |
| 2020 | 916,932 | −5.6% | #21 |
| 2019 | 970,998 | −3.8% | #28 |
| 2018 | 1,008,942 | −4.3% | #26 |
| 2017 | 1,054,325 | +5.8% | #26 |
| 2016 | 996,263 | +0.7% | #26 |
| 2015 | 989,354 | +14.0% | #26 |
| 2014 | 868,094 | −2.7% | #26 |
| 2013 | 892,372 | +1.0% | #25 |
| 2012 | 883,406 | +1.5% | #26 |
| 2011 | 870,741 | −10.9% | #26 |
| 2010 | 977,778 | +4.7% | #25 |
| 2009 | 933,918 | +10.4% | #24 |
| 2008 | 845,734 | −4.6% | #25 |
| 2007 | 886,654 | +5.5% | #24 |
| 2006 | 840,118 | −7.6% | #24 |
| 2005 | 909,146 | −2.9% | #25 |
| 2004 | 936,030 | +7.5% | #25 |
| 2003 | 871,034 | −4.2% | #27 |
| 2002 | 908,898 | −4.9% | #24 |
| 2001 | 955,469 | −13.6% | #25 |
| 2000 | 1,105,824 | +16.3% | #23 |
| 1999 | 950,453 | −6.9% | #25 |
| 1998 | 1,021,049 | +5.2% | #25 |
| 1997 | 970,696 | −5.3% | #26 |
| 1996 | 1,024,705 | −4.7% | #24 |
| 1995 | 1,075,569 | −4.9% | #23 |
| 1994 | 1,130,459 | −4.2% | #21 |
| 1993 | 1,179,458 | −2.1% | #20 |
| 1992 | 1,205,297 | −20.6% | #19 |
| 1991 | 1,518,396 | +14.5% | #16 |
| 1990 | 1,326,475 | +7.2% | #16 |
| 1989 | 1,237,956 | +11.5% | #18 |
| 1988 | 1,110,040 | −5.5% | #19 |
| 1987 | 1,174,398 | +14.5% | #17 |
| 1986 | 1,025,630 | +7.9% | #21 |
| 1985 | 950,242 | −14.7% | #19 |
| 1984 | 1,113,675 | +8.4% | #17 |
| 1983 | 1,026,981 | −0.3% | #18 |
| 1982 | 1,030,484 | −12.4% | #16 |
| 1981 | 1,175,952 | +23.4% | #17 |
| 1980 | 952,652 | +11.0% | #18 |
| 1979 | 858,000 | — | #18 |
By decade
The long view
- 1970s
- 858,000
- avg · 1 yr
- 1980s
- 1.08 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 1990s
- 1.14 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 919,283
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 951,227
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 1.07 million
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 65% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 61% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAQuietest: DecemberBusiest: July
The weather page puts these crowd levels beside each month’s temperatures.
About these numbers
Figures are the National Park Service’s monthly recreation-visit counts, retrieved from its public statistics service and summed by calendar year. A year is shown only when all twelve months were reported. The NPS revises recent months occasionally, so small differences from a later nps.gov table are normal. Rankings compare the 63 national parks for the same year. See every park ranked for 2025.
Sources · 2
- 1.NPS Visitor Use Statistics — monthly recreation visits by park, 1979–2025 · National Park Service (U.S. Department of the Interior)
- 2.NPS Visitor Use Statistics Definitions · National Park Service
FAQ
Badlands visitor questions
- How many people visit Badlands National Park each year?
- 1,139,361 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #26 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 951,227 a year.
- What was Badlands's busiest year?
- 1991, with 1,518,396 recreation visits — +33.3% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was July 1991 (363,803 visits).
- Is Badlands getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +15.2% compared with 2015 and +25.3% compared with 2005.
- What counts as a recreation visit?
- The NPS counts a recreation visit as one person entering the park for recreation; someone who leaves and re-enters is counted again, and commuters, through-traffic and staff are excluded. Counts come from gate and traffic counters with park-specific multipliers, so they are estimates.
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