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How the mighty have fallen.
If you’re trying to become more outdoorsy this spring — you might want to avoid visiting a national park. Maybe not all of them, but at least the parks that are considered the deadliest — thanks to a new study.
Research by the National Park Service examined each US national park’s average yearly deaths from 2007-2024 — and some of the numbers the data uncovered are shockingly high.
Common causes of these park fatalities include falling, drowning, and motor vehicle crashes, according to Michael McCarty, chief safety officer at fall protection company, EDGE Fall Protection, LLC.
McCarty explained that half of these deaths are unintentional — mainly caused by people being careless. He also noted that many of these casualties were people 50 and over.
Data showed that the West Coast parks saw the most deaths — with Lake Mead National Recreation Area topping the list.
Located in both Nevada and Arizona — this park averages over 20 deaths annually — with the most common cause being drowning.
Coming in at No. 2 is Grand Canyon National Park. This park, also located in Arizona, sees about 12 deaths every year. The cause of them? Falling.
The national park with the third most annual deaths is Yosemite National Park in California — with over 11 annual casualties. This park is one of California’s most popular ones — as a result, it’s had more than three million visitors within the past five years. Falling was also the main cause of death here.
National parks in New York and New Jersey ranked fairly low on the list — not even making the top 10, averaging only four deaths a year. It seems our idea of a day at the park is strolling through Central Park.
The deadliest national parks in America:
1. Lake Mead National Recreation Area (20.88 yearly deaths)
2. Grand Canyon National Park (12.7)
3. Yosemite National Park (11.11)
4. Blue Ridge Parkway (10.7)
5. Natchez Trace Parkway (10.11)
6. Golden Gate National Recreation Area (9.52)
7. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (8.82)
8. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (8.17)
9. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (5.41)
10. Yellowstone National Park (4.94)
The research also looked at the states with the lowest number of recorded annual deaths from 2007-2024.
Some of these include Glacier National Park in Montana, Arkansas’ Buffalo National River, Zion National Park in Utah, Maryland’s Suitland Parkway, and Olympic National Park in Washington — which have all experienced a little over three deaths each year.
