Visitor statistics
How many people visit Shenandoah?
Last verified NPS Visitor Use Statistics1979–2025
1,682,152 recreation visits in 2025, #19 of 63 national parks. The record is 1993 (1,951,366). Every year since 1979, straight from the National Park Service’s own counts.
- 2025 visits
- 1,682,152
- −2.2% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #19
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 1993
- 1,951,366 visits
- vs 2015
- +27.3%
- ten-year change
- vs 1979
- +10.6%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Oct 1988
- 420,713 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 | 1,682,152 | −2.2% | #19 |
| 2024 | 1,720,211 | +9.1% | #18 |
| 2023 | 1,576,008 | +8.7% | #20 |
| 2022 | 1,449,300 | −9.0% | #21 |
| 2021 | 1,592,312 | −4.4% | #19 |
| 2020 | 1,666,265 | +16.9% | #14 |
| 2019 | 1,425,507 | +12.7% | #20 |
| 2018 | 1,264,880 | −13.3% | #20 |
| 2017 | 1,458,874 | +1.5% | #18 |
| 2016 | 1,437,341 | +8.7% | #18 |
| 2015 | 1,321,873 | +5.3% | #19 |
| 2014 | 1,255,321 | +10.5% | #20 |
| 2013 | 1,136,505 | −6.1% | #19 |
| 2012 | 1,210,200 | +0.0% | #18 |
| 2011 | 1,209,883 | −3.5% | #18 |
| 2010 | 1,253,386 | +11.8% | #18 |
| 2009 | 1,120,981 | +4.2% | #20 |
| 2008 | 1,075,878 | −2.8% | #20 |
| 2007 | 1,107,227 | +2.9% | #19 |
| 2006 | 1,076,150 | −1.7% | #20 |
| 2005 | 1,094,912 | −13.2% | #21 |
| 2004 | 1,261,000 | +8.3% | #18 |
| 2003 | 1,163,950 | −16.2% | #19 |
| 2002 | 1,389,244 | −7.3% | #17 |
| 2001 | 1,498,561 | +5.6% | #15 |
| 2000 | 1,419,579 | +6.0% | #17 |
| 1999 | 1,339,286 | −9.1% | #18 |
| 1998 | 1,473,100 | −7.2% | #17 |
| 1997 | 1,587,790 | +1.1% | #16 |
| 1996 | 1,571,019 | −10.6% | #14 |
| 1995 | 1,757,794 | −8.8% | #14 |
| 1994 | 1,926,883 | −1.3% | #14 |
| 1993 | 1,951,366 | +7.1% | #14 |
| 1992 | 1,822,193 | −6.0% | #13 |
| 1991 | 1,939,486 | +9.5% | #13 |
| 1990 | 1,771,780 | −5.4% | #13 |
| 1989 | 1,873,817 | −3.3% | #10 |
| 1988 | 1,937,155 | +9.6% | #10 |
| 1987 | 1,767,727 | −4.1% | #10 |
| 1986 | 1,843,985 | −4.6% | #9 |
| 1985 | 1,933,085 | +3.4% | #9 |
| 1984 | 1,869,307 | +5.7% | #10 |
| 1983 | 1,768,378 | +0.9% | #11 |
| 1982 | 1,751,972 | −3.7% | #11 |
| 1981 | 1,819,546 | +7.1% | #11 |
| 1980 | 1,699,228 | +11.7% | #10 |
| 1979 | 1,521,451 | — | #12 |
By decade
The long view
- 1970s
- 1.52 million
- avg · 1 yr
- 1980s
- 1.83 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 1990s
- 1.71 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 1.22 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 1.3 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 1.61 million
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 49% 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: October
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
Shenandoah visitor questions
- How many people visit Shenandoah National Park each year?
- 1,682,152 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #19 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 1,297,377 a year.
- What was Shenandoah's busiest year?
- 1993, with 1,951,366 recreation visits — +16.0% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was October 1988 (420,713 visits).
- Is Shenandoah getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +27.3% compared with 2015 and +53.6% 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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