Visitor statistics
How many people visit New River Gorge?
Last verified NPS Visitor Use Statistics1984–2025
1,958,440 recreation visits in 2025, #17 of 63 national parks. The record is 2025 (1,958,440). Every year since 1984, straight from the National Park Service’s own counts, including the years before it became a national park in 2020.
- 2025 visits
- 1,958,440
- +8.1% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #17
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 2025
- 1,958,440 visits
- vs 2015
- +66.1%
- ten-year change
- vs 1984
- +746.7%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Jul 2024
- 293,196 visits
1984–2025
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 (42 years) ↓
| Year | Recreation visits | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,958,440 | +8.1% | #17 |
| 2024 | 1,811,937 | +6.1% | #17 |
| 2023 | 1,707,223 | +7.1% | #17 |
| 2022 | 1,593,523 | −5.3% | #18 |
| 2021 | 1,682,720 | +59.6% | #17 |
| 2020 | 1,054,374 | −11.8% | #19 |
| 2019 | 1,195,721 | −3.0% | #24 |
| 2018 | 1,232,627 | +5.5% | #21 |
| 2017 | 1,168,658 | −2.4% | #23 |
| 2016 | 1,197,931 | +1.6% | #24 |
| 2015 | 1,178,753 | +4.8% | #22 |
| 2014 | 1,124,799 | +4.9% | #22 |
| 2013 | 1,071,823 | −5.0% | #21 |
| 2012 | 1,128,195 | +5.3% | #20 |
| 2011 | 1,071,088 | −7.0% | #19 |
| 2010 | 1,151,213 | +0.6% | #20 |
| 2009 | 1,144,318 | −5.7% | #19 |
| 2008 | 1,212,854 | +3.0% | #17 |
| 2007 | 1,178,012 | +4.7% | #18 |
| 2006 | 1,124,688 | +7.5% | #18 |
| 2005 | 1,045,814 | −9.2% | #22 |
| 2004 | 1,151,782 | +3.7% | #22 |
| 2003 | 1,111,164 | −8.6% | #21 |
| 2002 | 1,215,875 | −1.3% | #19 |
| 2001 | 1,231,529 | +8.7% | #21 |
| 2000 | 1,132,531 | −4.5% | #22 |
| 1999 | 1,186,501 | −0.9% | #22 |
| 1998 | 1,197,649 | −2.5% | #21 |
| 1997 | 1,228,242 | −0.8% | #20 |
| 1996 | 1,237,637 | +5.1% | #20 |
| 1995 | 1,177,238 | +9.0% | #20 |
| 1994 | 1,079,994 | +7.4% | #22 |
| 1993 | 1,005,598 | +6.9% | #24 |
| 1992 | 940,310 | +21.8% | #25 |
| 1991 | 772,172 | +104.3% | #27 |
| 1990 | 378,035 | −8.1% | #42 |
| 1989 | 411,195 | +2.9% | #42 |
| 1988 | 399,722 | −8.5% | #43 |
| 1987 | 436,791 | +10.8% | #41 |
| 1986 | 394,079 | +49.8% | #41 |
| 1985 | 263,021 | +13.7% | #44 |
| 1984 | 231,295 | — | #44 |
By decade
The long view
- 1980s
- 356,017
- avg · 6 yrs
- 1990s
- 1.02 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 1.15 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 1.15 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 1.63 million
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1984–1988 the three busiest months carried 50% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 43% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAJFMAMJJASOND
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
New River Gorge visitor questions
- How many people visit New River Gorge National Park & Preserve each year?
- 1,958,440 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #17 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 1,152,081 a year.
- What was New River Gorge's busiest year?
- 2025, with 1,958,440 recreation visits — the current record. The single busiest month on record was July 2024 (293,196 visits).
- Is New River Gorge getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +66.1% compared with 2015 and +87.3% 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.
- Why does the record start before New River Gorge 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 2020. Earlier years are visits to the same place under its previous designation.
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