About Parks Decoded
We built Parks Decoded because planning a national park trip shouldn't require a PhD in Reddit threads.
The Problem
Most national park websites tell you the same thing: every park is amazing, every trail is beautiful, and you should definitely visit. What they don't tell you is that Zion Canyon has 22,000 visitors per square mile annually, or that North Cascades — with equally stunning scenery — has 21.
We think that kind of context matters when you're spending vacation days and travel money.
What We Do
Parks Decoded aggregates real data from the National Park Service, the Integrated Resource Management Applications portal, and other public sources. We crunch the numbers into practical metrics — congestion indexes, monthly visit scores, campsite pressure ratings — and translate them into plain-English guides.
We don't rank parks to declare winners. We rank them to help you find the right park for your specific trip: your schedule, your comfort level with crowds, your budget, your hiking ability.
What We Don't Do
- We don't accept sponsored content or paid placements
- We don't use affiliate links for gear or accommodations
- We don't pretend every park is perfect for everyone
- We don't replace the NPS — always check nps.gov for official conditions and alerts
The Data
Every metric on this site comes from verifiable public data. We document our sources and methodology on our Our Data page. If you spot an error, we want to know about it.
Who We Are
Parks Decoded is an independent project built by people who love national parks and believe in the power of good data to improve trip planning. We're not affiliated with the National Park Service, any concessioner, or any tourism board.