Washington Parks Hit Record Visitors

0:00It's April 8th. You're listening to Vancouver News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Corey with the story. The National Park Service tracks visitors at 10 spots in Washington State, and in 2025, five of them smashed the 1 million visitor. Mark. Olympic National Park led the pack with over 3,580,000 people exploring its peninsula trails and coasts. Mount Rainier came next at 1,630,000, even with some uncertainty from a late-year government shutdown. These numbers highlight Washington's wild draw from massive parks to historic sites. Olympic's crowd dipped a bit from 2024's 3,700,000, but it still ranks as the second best year in two. Decades, only behind 1997's peak. Folks are flocking to these places for good reason. Think epic hikes, lakes, and history. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area hit 1,180,000 visitors. It's strongest since 2021, spanning that. Huge reservoir from Grand Coulee Dam, Northward.

1:02Ross Lake National Recreation Area pulled in 1,170,000 despite floods and landslides closing parts late in the year beating its old record from 2019. Fort Vancouver National Historic Site rounded out the top five with 1,070,000 boosted by Pokemon Go players even amid the shutdown. All of this shows Washington's parts bouncing back strong, drawing record crowds and proving nature's pool is unbreakable as we head into 20, 26.