Visitor statistics
How many people visit Yosemite?
Last verified NPS Visitor Use Statistics1979–2025
4,278,413 recreation visits in 2025, #5 of 63 national parks. The record is 2016 (5,028,868). Every year since 1979, straight from the National Park Service’s own counts.
- 2025 visits
- 4,278,413
- +3.8% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #5
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 2016
- 5,028,868 visits
- vs 2015
- +3.1%
- ten-year change
- vs 1979
- +82.0%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Jul 2016
- 780,728 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 | 4,278,413 | +3.8% | #5 |
| 2024 | 4,121,807 | +5.8% | #6 |
| 2023 | 3,897,070 | +6.3% | #6 |
| 2022 | 3,667,550 | +11.6% | #6 |
| 2021 | 3,287,595 | +44.9% | #8 |
| 2020 | 2,268,313 | −48.7% | #12 |
| 2019 | 4,422,861 | +10.3% | #5 |
| 2018 | 4,009,436 | −7.6% | #6 |
| 2017 | 4,336,890 | −13.8% | #5 |
| 2016 | 5,028,868 | +21.2% | #3 |
| 2015 | 4,150,217 | +6.9% | #4 |
| 2014 | 3,882,642 | +5.2% | #3 |
| 2013 | 3,691,191 | −4.2% | #3 |
| 2012 | 3,853,404 | −2.5% | #3 |
| 2011 | 3,951,393 | +1.3% | #3 |
| 2010 | 3,901,408 | +4.4% | #3 |
| 2009 | 3,737,472 | +8.9% | #3 |
| 2008 | 3,431,514 | −2.1% | #3 |
| 2007 | 3,503,428 | +8.0% | #3 |
| 2006 | 3,242,644 | −1.9% | #3 |
| 2005 | 3,304,144 | +0.7% | #3 |
| 2004 | 3,280,911 | −2.9% | #4 |
| 2003 | 3,378,664 | +0.5% | #3 |
| 2002 | 3,361,867 | −0.2% | #4 |
| 2001 | 3,368,731 | −0.9% | #5 |
| 2000 | 3,400,903 | −2.7% | #4 |
| 1999 | 3,493,607 | −4.5% | #3 |
| 1998 | 3,657,132 | −0.3% | #3 |
| 1997 | 3,669,970 | −9.3% | #4 |
| 1996 | 4,046,207 | +2.2% | #3 |
| 1995 | 3,958,406 | −0.1% | #3 |
| 1994 | 3,962,117 | +3.2% | #3 |
| 1993 | 3,839,645 | +0.5% | #3 |
| 1992 | 3,819,518 | +11.6% | #3 |
| 1991 | 3,423,101 | +9.5% | #3 |
| 1990 | 3,124,939 | −5.5% | #3 |
| 1989 | 3,308,159 | +2.8% | #4 |
| 1988 | 3,216,681 | +2.0% | #4 |
| 1987 | 3,152,275 | +9.6% | #4 |
| 1986 | 2,876,717 | +1.6% | #5 |
| 1985 | 2,831,952 | +3.4% | #3 |
| 1984 | 2,738,467 | +11.4% | #4 |
| 1983 | 2,457,464 | +1.7% | #5 |
| 1982 | 2,415,587 | −4.0% | #7 |
| 1981 | 2,516,893 | +1.1% | #6 |
| 1980 | 2,490,282 | +5.9% | #5 |
| 1979 | 2,350,782 | — | #5 |
By decade
The long view
- 1970s
- 2.35 million
- avg · 1 yr
- 1980s
- 2.8 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 1990s
- 3.7 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 3.4 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 4.12 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 3.59 million
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 49% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 42% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAJFMAMJJASOND
Quietest: JanuaryBusiest: August
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
Yosemite visitor questions
- How many people visit Yosemite National Park each year?
- 4,278,413 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #5 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 4,122,831 a year.
- What was Yosemite's busiest year?
- 2016, with 5,028,868 recreation visits — +17.5% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was July 2016 (780,728 visits).
- Is Yosemite getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +3.1% compared with 2015 and +29.5% compared with 2005. The low point of recent years was 2020 (2,268,313).
- 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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