How many people visit Channel Islands National Park each year?

227,186 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #51 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 317,325 a year.

What was Channel Islands's busiest year?

2002, with 613,935 recreation visits — +170.2% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was August 1995 (98,958 visits).

Is Channel Islands getting more crowded?

2025 visits were −30.1% compared with 2015.

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.

Why does the record start before Channel Islands became a national park?

The NPS counts visits by park unit, and the unit kept the same statistics code when it was redesignated a national park in 1980. Earlier years are visits to the same place under its previous designation.

Visitor statistics

How many people visit Channel Islands?

Last verified October 5, 2026NPS Visitor Use Statistics1979–2025

227,186 recreation visits in 2025, #51 of 63 national parks. The record is 2002 (613,935). Every year since 1979, straight from the National Park Service’s own counts, including the years before it became a national park in 1980.

fish in ocean swimming next to tall kelp plants rising to surface — Photo: NPS/Brett Seymour

2025 visits: 227,186; −13.5% vs 2024
Rank, 2025: #51; of 63 national parks
Record year: 2002; 613,935 visits
vs 2015: −30.1%; ten-year change
vs 1979: +173.9%; since the first full year
Busiest month ever: Aug 1995; 98,958 visits

1979–2025

Every year since the counts began

Recreation visits per calendar year, as reported to the NPS Visitor Use Statistics office. The 2025 bar is highlighted; a missing bar means the park did not report all twelve months that year.

Show the full table (47 years) ↓

Year	Recreation visits	Change	Rank
2025	227,186	−13.5%	#51
2024	262,581	−20.1%	#50
2023	328,746	+1.7%	#50
2022	323,245	+1.3%	#47
2021	319,252	+90.8%	#47
2020	167,290	−59.2%	#47
2019	409,630	+11.8%	#47
2018	366,250	−4.5%	#46
2017	383,687	+5.2%	#46
2016	364,807	+12.3%	#47
2015	324,816	−5.1%	#46
2014	342,161	+61.4%	#45
2013	212,029	−15.1%	#50
2012	249,594	+2.8%	#48
2011	242,756	−12.5%	#49
2010	277,515	−20.4%	#48
2009	348,745	+5.0%	#46
2008	332,177	−7.9%	#46
2007	360,806	−3.9%	#46
2006	375,256	—	#45
2005	incomplete	—	—
2004	537,716	−8.2%	#33
2003	585,919	−4.6%	#32
2002	613,935	+18.0%	#31
2001	520,428	+7.8%	#34
2000	482,571	−20.5%	#35
1999	607,057	+5.7%	#33
1998	574,270	+17.5%	#34
1997	488,757	−0.4%	#36
1996	490,715	−6.7%	#36
1995	525,882	+200.1%	#40
1994	175,226	−5.2%	#50
1993	184,867	+9.3%	#51
1992	169,181	+13.3%	#51
1991	149,263	+3.6%	#51
1990	144,083	−5.6%	#52
1989	152,662	−9.4%	#51
1988	168,592	−3.4%	#51
1987	174,607	+1.0%	#49
1986	172,913	+5.3%	#49
1985	164,132	−19.3%	#49
1984	203,411	−0.8%	#45
1983	205,024	+19.0%	#44
1982	172,287	+96.9%	#46
1981	87,514	−16.3%	#50
1980	104,574	+26.1%	#49
1979	82,937	—	#50

By decade

The long view

1970s: 82,937; avg · 1 yr
1980s: 160,572; avg · 10 yrs
1990s: 350,930; avg · 10 yrs
2000s: 461,950; avg · 9 yrs
2010s: 317,325; avg · 10 yrs
2020s: 271,383; avg · 6 yrs

Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 43% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 34% — visits have spread out across the year.

Average visits by month

2021–2025 · NPS IRMA

JFMAMJJASOND

Quietest: JanuaryBusiest: 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

Channel Islands visitor questions

How many people visit Channel Islands National Park each year?: 227,186 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #51 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 317,325 a year.
What was Channel Islands's busiest year?: 2002, with 613,935 recreation visits — +170.2% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was August 1995 (98,958 visits).
Is Channel Islands getting more crowded?: 2025 visits were −30.1% compared with 2015.
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.
Why does the record start before Channel Islands became a national park?: The NPS counts visits by park unit, and the unit kept the same statistics code when it was redesignated a national park in 1980. Earlier years are visits to the same place under its previous designation.

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