Visitor statistics
How many people visit Congaree?
Last verified NPS Visitor Use Statistics1985–2025
287,833 recreation visits in 2025, #49 of 63 national parks. The record is 2025 (287,833). Every year since 1985, straight from the National Park Service’s own counts, including the years before it became a national park in 2003.
- 2025 visits
- 287,833
- +18.9% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #49
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 2025
- 287,833 visits
- vs 2015
- +228.9%
- ten-year change
- vs 1985
- +2234.0%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Mar 2024
- 33,992 visits
1985–2025
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 (41 years) ↓
| Year | Recreation visits | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 287,833 | +18.9% | #49 |
| 2024 | 242,049 | −3.2% | #51 |
| 2023 | 250,114 | +22.3% | #51 |
| 2022 | 204,522 | −5.0% | #52 |
| 2021 | 215,181 | +80.4% | #52 |
| 2020 | 119,306 | −25.2% | #51 |
| 2019 | 159,445 | +9.3% | #52 |
| 2018 | 145,929 | −8.6% | #53 |
| 2017 | 159,595 | +11.0% | #54 |
| 2016 | 143,843 | +64.4% | #54 |
| 2015 | 87,513 | −27.1% | #54 |
| 2014 | 120,122 | −0.2% | #53 |
| 2013 | 120,340 | +9.7% | #53 |
| 2012 | 109,685 | −8.7% | #53 |
| 2011 | 120,166 | −0.9% | #53 |
| 2010 | 121,208 | −1.4% | #53 |
| 2009 | 122,970 | +17.2% | #53 |
| 2008 | 104,913 | −9.2% | #53 |
| 2007 | 115,524 | −13.8% | #53 |
| 2006 | 134,045 | +59.0% | #53 |
| 2005 | 84,301 | −33.2% | #52 |
| 2004 | 126,247 | +17.9% | #53 |
| 2003 | 107,114 | +5.4% | #53 |
| 2002 | 101,620 | −15.1% | #53 |
| 2001 | 119,738 | +25.2% | #53 |
| 2000 | 95,619 | +16.3% | #53 |
| 1999 | 82,223 | −12.3% | #54 |
| 1998 | 93,725 | +32.5% | #53 |
| 1997 | 70,716 | +12.9% | #54 |
| 1996 | 62,614 | −7.9% | #54 |
| 1995 | 67,949 | +0.3% | #54 |
| 1994 | 67,756 | +23.9% | #53 |
| 1993 | 54,669 | +36.6% | #53 |
| 1992 | 40,018 | +29.2% | #56 |
| 1991 | 30,975 | +33.4% | #56 |
| 1990 | 23,223 | −8.7% | #58 |
| 1989 | 25,445 | −3.1% | #58 |
| 1988 | 26,257 | +29.3% | #58 |
| 1987 | 20,312 | +23.0% | #58 |
| 1986 | 16,508 | +33.9% | #58 |
| 1985 | 12,332 | — | #60 |
By decade
The long view
- 1980s
- 20,171
- avg · 5 yrs
- 1990s
- 59,387
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 111,209
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 128,785
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 219,834
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1985–1989 the three busiest months carried 42% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 35% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAJFMAMJJASOND
Quietest: AugustBusiest: May
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
Congaree visitor questions
- How many people visit Congaree National Park each year?
- 287,833 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #49 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 128,785 a year.
- What was Congaree's busiest year?
- 2025, with 287,833 recreation visits — the current record. The single busiest month on record was March 2024 (33,992 visits).
- Is Congaree getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +228.9% compared with 2015 and +241.4% 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.
- Why does the record start before Congaree 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 2003. Earlier years are visits to the same place under its previous designation.
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