What Are the Deadliest US National Parks?

Every year, more than 330 million people pour into America’s national parks, and in 2024, these iconic landscapes set a new record with 331.9 million visits. It makes perfect sense. These are the places we daydream about, the places that stop us in our tracks with sunrise-lit canyons, roaring waterfalls, and quiet stretches of wild country you simply can’t find anywhere else.

But here is the part many visitors forget. The same cliffs, rivers, heat, and high-altitude trails that draw us in are also the reason hundreds of people never make it home each year. Nature is breathtaking, but unforgiving if you are not prepared. That does not mean you should skip these incredible places. It just means knowing the risks before you step onto the trail.

So let’s take a closer look at the parks that now rank among the deadliest and what their stories reveal about staying safe in America’s most unforgettable places.

U.S. National Parks and Park Units With the Most Reported Deaths

Before we get into the parks themselves, it helps to understand how the National Park Service is organized. NPS manages more than 400 sites across the country, including national parks, monuments, seashores, and even recreation areas. Not all of the deadliest places are the postcard-famous parks you might expect.