BOULDER CITY, Nevada – Lake Mead National Recreation Area welcomed 7.5 million recreation visitors to the park in 2018, according to figures released by the National Park Service. For the second year in a row, it is the sixth most visited park in the entire National Park Service.
Nationally, visitation to America’s national parks in 2018 exceeded 300 million recreation visits for the fourth consecutive year. The 318.2 million recreation visits total is the third highest since record keeping began in 1904.
“Lake Mead National Recreation Area continues to be a popular destination because of the diverse activities that you can do in the park year-round and because it’s only minutes from Las Vegas,” said Todd Suess, acting superintendent.
The Lake Mead District had 6.3 million visitors in 2018, compared to 6.5 million the year before. The Lake Mohave District remained steady at 1.5 million visitors.
The Boulder Basin continues to be the most visited area of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Around 1.9 million visitors accessed the park via U.S. Highway 93 in Boulder City in 2018, and 1.4 million accessed the park via Lake Mead Parkway near Lake Las Vegas.
On Lake Mohave, Katherine Landing remains the most visited area followed by Willow Beach and Cottonwood Cove. Of the park’s 7.5 million recreation visitors, 6.3 million visited destinations in Nevada, while 1.2 million visited locations in Arizona.
“We are continuing to improve the visitor experience for the millions of people who enjoy Lake Mead, by prioritizing the park’s maintenance backlog, said Suess. “We are revitalizing campgrounds, upgrading the exterior trails and features at the visitor center and improving roads and launch ramps.”
Since 1937, nearly 440 million people have visited the recreation area. The area has ranked among the top 10 most visited national park units since 1938.
“The visitation to our national parks continues to affirm that Americans are in love with their public lands and hold dear the stories of our nation embodied in the natural, cultural and historic landscapes we protect in the National Park System,” National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said.
The
complete list of park visitation and other visitor-related statistics are
available on the National Park Service’s website at https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/.
Top 10 most-visited
National Park Service sites:
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
(15,223,697)
Blue Ridge Parkway (14,690,418)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (11,421,200)
Gateway National Recreation Area (9,243,305)
Lincoln Memorial (7,804,683)
Lake Mead
National Recreation Area (7,578,958)
George Washington Memorial Parkway (7,288,623)
Grand Canyon National Park (6,380,495)
Natchez Trace Parkway (6,362,439)
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (4,719,148) Lake Mead National Recreation
Area 2018 Visitation by Location
Boulder Beach Access from U.S. 93 (1,965,302)
Lake Mead Parkway (1,450,713)
Lakeview Overlook (835,042)
Lake Mead Boulevard (783,057)
Katherine Access Road (740,507)
Valley of Fire Access Road (559,271)
Northshore Road (southbound/Overton) (415,691)
Willow Beach Access Road (267,742)
Cottonwood Cove Access Road (178,279)
South Cove-Pearce Ferry Road (163,235)
Nevada Telephone Cove (134,383)
Nelson Landing (130,499)
Temple Bar Access Road (96,591)
Kingman Wash (31,532)
