More than 282 million people visited America’s national parks in 2012, an increase of more than 3 million over 2011. Two parks with a local connection — the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — were the most popular, the National Park Service reports.
More than 15 million visited the parkway last year, making it the most-visited place in the system. With nearly 10 million visitors in 2012, the GSMNP was the most-visited park. — from the U.S. National Park Service
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