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Love our Lakeshore: New report shows more people are visiting Apostle Islands, new record for national parks visits
During this challenging time of change for our nation and for our national parks, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore wants to shine a bright light – a lighthouse beacon if you will – on this very special place and on the people dedicated to protecting the national lakeshore for future generations. That’s the goal of our series entitled “Love our Lakeshore.” (You can tell us why you Love Our Lakeshore by filling out our simple form at this link.)
In this report, we explore new data released by the National Park Service on visitation to the Apostle Islands Natinal Lakeshore and its importance as an economic engine for the region, as well as record-setting visitation nationally.
More Apostle Islands visitors in 2024
Visitation to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is growing, according to new data from the National Park Service. 253,703 people visited the lakeshore in 2024, a small increase from 247,167 visitors in 2023.
The national lakeshore’s visitation peak in 2021 happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar peak in 2014 was due largely to a rare opening of the mainland ice caves.
The new data follows long-term trends in monthly visits to the lakeshore. July and August are the peak months due to favorable weather conditions. September and June follow closely behind, followed by October and May.
Visitation during the winter months is typically very low. However, when conditions are right for people to visit the mainland ice caves, thousands flock to the lakeshore. In this graph, you can see what happened in 2014 and 2015, when the ice caves were last open. February 2014 visitations totaled more than 68,000. March 2014 vistation totaled more than 65,000. March 2015 visitation totaled 35,000.
The national lakeshore continues to have a vital, positive economic impact on surrounding communities. The most-recent economic data available is for 2023. During that year, visitors to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore spent an estimated $44.4 million in local gateway regions. Those tourism dollars supported a total of 608 jobs, $17.2 million in labor income, $29.4 million in value added, and $55.7 million in economic output in local economies surrounding the park.
New National Parks Record
Nationally, the National Park Service reported a record 331.9 million recreation visits in 2024, an increase of 6.36 million recreation visits, or 2%, from 2023. Some other key points from the report:
- The previous record was set in 2016 with 330,971,689 recreation visits.
- Recreation visitor hours were 1.4 billion.
- There was a 2.6% increase from 2023 for overnight stays in concession and NPS operated facilities. Overnight stays at concession operated lodging alone were up 11.7%.
- 404 of the 433 National Park System units report visitor use.
- Four new parks began reporting in 2024.
- 28 parks, 7% of reporting parks, set a record for annual recreation visits.
- Visitors are spreading out their visits throughout the year. 55% of parks experienced an above average number of visits in February-June and October-December.
- 38 parks experienced visitation above the 10-year average in every month of the year.
Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Executive Director Jeff Rennicke says, “The public’s love for national parks and their desire to see them protected radiates clearly in these new visitation numbers. This report should be a clarion call, loud and clear, that our parks, and the dedicated staff of the National Park Service, are national treasures.”
You can explore the new data for 2024, for the entire National Park Service system, for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, or for any other park of your choosing on the National Park Service website.
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