Utah’s National Park visitor numbers plummeted in 2025 – here’s why

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah’s 13 National Park Service sites saw 1.5 million less visitors from 2024 to 2025.

Utah’s “Mighty 5” saw only around 500,000 less visitors last year compared to 2024, with Bryce Canyon National Park making up the vast majority of that decline. The difference here has a caveat, though, as prior to 2025, the park determined visitation figures based on total boardings of park shuttle buses.

Because some visitors boarded shuttles multiple times during their visit, this approach overestimated the actual number of visitors. In their new approach, the park only counts unique passengers entering via shuttle.

MORE: Officials prepare for low water levels at Lake Powell

The rest of Utah’s Mighty 5 remained steady, each park showing differences of thousands to tens of thousands year over year. Arches National Park was the only one that showed an increase in visitors, attracting an additional 45,000 visitors in 2025.

So what caused the nearly one million less visitors at Utah’s National Park sites?

Glen Canyon National Park saw a decline of 996,108 visitors from 2024 to 2025. And it’s no mystery why — the park offers huge opportunity for water-based recreation, a sector of the recreation industry that took a major hit last year due to low water levels.

As of late Feb. 2026, the water elevation at Lake Powell, Glen Canyon’s major water recreation hub, is at 3531 feet — a 32-foot decline from its 3,563 feet of water elevation recorded the same time in 2025.

The 2026 data shows it’s the lowest average water elevation since 1964, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Despite the lower water levels, Glen Canyon and National Park Service staff are taking action to sustain visitor access, securing funding and planning long-term ramp projects at Antelope Point Public, Stanton Creek at Bullfrog, and Hite North. While those ramps won’t be completed before summer 2026, they will be designed to function at lower lake elevations.

Aramark and Antelope Point Holdings, who handle some operations at Lake Powell, are reportedly also developing contingency plans for potential marina and infrastructure adjustments. If you plan on visiting Glen Canyon, you can check water elevation levels and see which launch ramps are open here.

Additionally, the Great Salt Lake saw its third-lowest water year on record in 2025, highlighting the urgent need for a solution to uphold Utah’s indispensable natural resource.

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