Boy did Americans and other visitors make good use of US National Park Service sites in 2024 – enough to set a record.

An internal memo shows that National Park Service staff has been told to keep quiet about staggering visitation amid slashes to funding and staff.

The numbers reveal that national parks are more popular than ever and do not square with the Trump administration’s recent firing of 1,000 short-service NPS employees (those without job protections).

Now is the time to plan spring and summer travel, with national parks being among some of the hottest destinations. The latest numbers show nearly 332 million visits to National Park Service sites last year,