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The article is courtesy of Hellotickets
- Great Smoky Mountains takes first place with a 96.9 fall score – and almost 20 million visitors since 2020.
- Acadia in Maine and Zion in Utah round out the top three.
- Eight of the top ten parks earn 4.8 stars or higher on Google reviews, showing how much visitors enjoy them during autumn.
Autumn might just be the perfect time to explore America’s national parks – cooler air, quieter trails and those famous bursts of color.
A new study by Hellotickets has crunched five years of visitor data and online reviews to reveal where travelers are heading for the ultimate fall experience, with Great Smoky Mountains National Park coming out on top.
The travel platform analyzed National Park Service data from 2020 to 2024, combining visitor numbers, time spent in each park and Google reviews to create a unique fall score out of 100.
Top 10 national parks for autumn visits
| Rank | National Park | State | Fall score | Fall visitors (2020-2024) | Visitor hours | Fall reviews | Google rating |
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Tennessee | 96.9 | 19,792,760 | 132,555,724 | 1,848 | 4.9 |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | Maine | 84.7 | 6,194,587 | 38,817,091 | 1,639 | 4.9 |
| 3 | Zion National Park | Utah | 83.2 | 6,451,972 | 40,077,408 | 2,323 | 4.8 |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain National Park | Colorado | 82.3 | 5,543,168 | 35,456,593 | 1,175 | 4.9 |
| 5 | Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona | 81.9 | 5,864,167 | 91,447,240 | 947 | 4.8 |
| 6 | Yosemite National Park | California | 81.1 | 4,986,620 | 69,399,414 | 1,343 | 4.8 |
| 7 | Yellowstone National Park | Wyoming | 78.2 | 5,652,147 | 98,489,826 | 479 | 4.8 |
| 8 | Grand Teton National Park | Wyoming | 76.8 | 4,365,847 | 24,313,432 | 762 | 4.9 |
| 9 | Bryce Canyon National Park | Utah | 75.7 | 3,236,875 | 17,393,884 | 1,219 | 4.9 |
| 10 | Golden Gate National Recreation Area | California | 71.9 | 18,638,167 | 49,114,601 | 122 | 4.7 |
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