Millions visit America’s national parks each year, but a small number of those trips end in tragedy. Analysis conducted by outdoor lifestyle and information website Outforia took data from the National Park Service and outlined the leading cause of accidental deaths across the country's national parks. Across 63 national parks from 2014 to 2022, falls accounted for the largest share of accidental deaths, at about 36 percent.
Motor vehicle crashes followed at approximately 21 percent, while drownings accounted for around 16 percent. Environmental deaths, which Outforia said included those related to heat, cold, avalanches, rockfalls and flash floods, followed at about 15 percent. Aircraft incidents accounted for 4.7 percent of accidental deaths, while “other transportation,” which Outforia said included boats, bikes, skiing and horses, made up 3 percent.
Other or unspecified deaths accounted for 2.7 percent of the total, while wildlife encounters made up less than 1 percent. The rankings do not include Chiricahua National Park in southeastern Arizona, which became America’s 64th national park when its former status as a national monument was changed in October. The analysis also found that California’s Yosemite National Park recorded the most accidental deaths during the period, with 61.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles Tennessee and North Carolina, followed with 58, while Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park recorded 53. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in California, and Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park followed with 42 and 31 accidental deaths, respectively. However, Alaska’s Wrangell-St.
Elias ranked as the riskiest park per visit, with roughly one accidental death for every 65,000 visits. According to Outforia, that rate was nearly 20 times the figure across all national parks. Below are the leading causes of accidental death in the national parks included in Outforia’s analysis: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Death Valley NP, Yellowstone NP, Redwood NP, Acadia NP, Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Badlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, Mammoth Cave NP, Hot Springs NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP, Wind Cave NP and Cuyahoga Valley NP.
Yosemite NP, Grand Canyon NP, Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs, Grand Teton NP, Mount Rainier NP, Zion NP, Rocky Mountain NP, Glacier NP, Denali NP & Preserve, Canyonlands NP, North Cascades NP, Shenandoah NP, Big Bend NP, Arches NP, Crater Lake NP, Haleakala NP and Pinnacles NP. Joshua Tree NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Saguaro NP, White Sands NP, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP and Great Sand Dunes NP & Preserve. Olympic NP, Virgin Islands NP, Indiana Dunes NP, Wrangell-St.
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