If you thought some of our walking trails were becoming busy, take a look at this.
America’s iconic Appalachian Trail recorded 16.9 million visitors in 2025, according to new figures released last month by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and the National Park Service (NPS). Of these, 6.2 million visits were to sections managed by the NPS, placing the trail among the ten most visited NPS sites in the country.
Stretching over 3200km across 14 states, the Appalachian Trail has traditionally been difficult to monitor in terms of total visitor numbers. This year, however, the ATC and NPS combined trail counters, field observations and anonymised mobile location data to produce a more accurate estimate.
Notably, this marks the first time in its 89-year history that the trail has been included in the NPS annual park rankings. ATC President and CEO Cinda Waldbuesser said the data highlights just how significant the trail is to millions.
The figures show that 36% of visitors spent time on national park land, with Virginia, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania seeing the highest traffic, while Maine and West Virginia recorded the lowest shares. Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail was also counted, with just over 29,000 visits.