Deadliest national parks in America revealed

Millions visit U.S. national parks each year, and some don’t make it back home.

Based on available mortality and visitor data from the National Park Service, five parks were found to be the deadliest.

Washington state’s North Cascades National Park has the highest mortality rate at 0.004% with nine deaths between 2014 and 2021.

Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park & Preserve came in second, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Reserve was third, Fort Bowie National Historic Site was fourth and Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site rounded out the top five.

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Fewer than 0.0002% of visitors died within national parks during this range, according to The Hill.

Park Service data shows 2,092 visitors died in national parks across the country between 2014 and 2021. 

In that period, most of the causes of death were listed as “undetermined.” 

Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 415 deaths. There were also over 400 drownings and 385 medical deaths. 

Deaths caused by wildlife or animals were the rarest, with just five reported in that period.

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In 2020, two of those deaths occurred at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Reserve in south central Alaska. 

Another death occurred at Yellowstone National Park in 2015, when a 63-year-old Montana man was killed by a female grizzly bear. The bear was euthanized, and her cubs were taken to a facility. 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, where human remains have recently been found, had 145 deaths, including 47 from drowning. 

 

Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park and California’s Yosemite National Park recorded 97 and 94 deaths, respectively. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park had 80, and Natchez Trace Park had 74, 62 from motor vehicle crashes.