Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING -JUNE 20: A Bald Eagle perches on a dead pine tree above Sylvan ...
[+] Lake on June 20, 2024. in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/Getty Images) Getty Images It’s summer, and the thoughts of millions of Americans turn to death in the National Parks.
Considering that 325 million people visited U.S. National Parks in 2023, their concern is understandable.
Indeed, the National Parks Service even maintains a webpage called, unsurprisingly, Deaths in National Parks . Spoiler alert: the National Parks are actually relatively safe. An average of 358 people die annually on National Park Service lands, so with 325 million visitors in 2023, that represents a death rate of just over one person per one million visitors.
Who does die in National Parks? They tend to be disproportionately male; 79% occurred among males. And people 45 and older accounted for more than half of all deaths (52%). While some parks are statistically more dangerous than others, the National Park Service won’t tell you which they are.
Rather hilariously, the Park Service has a webpage dedicated to NOT answering the question “ What is the most dangerous park ?” It says “We get this question a lot. There is not a “most dangerous national park.” Parks have hazards.
Hazards are potential sources of harm. ” The subject of the most dangerous National Parks is obviously sensitive for the Park Service. Its website tells readers, “Rather than asking, “what is the most dangerous park,” we think the better question you should ask is: What hazards do I need to prepare for, so I have a fun and injury-free national park visit?” Of course that doesn’t’ stop people from asking about the most dangerous National Parks.
This article addresses it twice, by the park with the largest numbers of deaths and by the park with the highest death-to-visitors ratio. MORE FOR YOU ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 6 Recap And Review: The Flight Of The Dragonriders Presidential Odds Shakeup As Kamala Harris Now Leading Democratic Challenger To Donald Trump As Armored Vehicles Run Out, Russian Brigades Are Adding Dirt Bike Training For Some New Troops LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, NEVADA - JULY 28: A visitor rides a personal watercraft as ..
. [+] people swim near their boat in Boulder Basin on July 28, 2022 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Getty Images Lake Mead National Recreation Area had the highest number of deaths in 2022, 21.
But 5.58 million visited that year, so the death rate was quite low. On the other hand, the park with the second highest death rate, North Cascades National Park, is frequently listed as “ the most dangerous park .
” In 2022, the park had three deaths but just 30,154 visitors, resulting in a 0.0099% mortality rate. function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.
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North Cascades would have 602 deaths per 10 million visitors, a rate six and a half time higher the second “most deadly” park, Mt. Denali in Alaska, with just 90 deaths per 10 million. North Cascades is a rugged mountain park with few roads, alpine lakes, steep trails, and tough hikes and climbs.
Its leading causes of death are drowning from rushing water, slips and falls, medical incidents and rockfalls. Helicopter rescues are common. To add extra excitement, the grizzly bear was recently reintroduced in North Cascades.
Most causes of death in National Parks according to NPS Mortality Data CY2014-2019 , are more prosaic. Motor Vehicle Crashes accounted for 354 deaths, Drowning 314, Falls accounted for 206, Environment, 98, Other Transportation, such as aircraft crashes, 66, Poisoning, 30 , and Other, 9. Wildlife attacks accounted for just three deaths.
Sadly suicide, accounting for 381 deaths in the six-year period, was the single largest cause of death. Environmental problems, such as heatstroke, often result in deaths that didn’t have to happen. A father and his young adult daughter recently died in Utah’s beautiful Canyonlands National Park.
The pair were found dead after running out of water in hundred degree temperatures. Heatstroke is a common problem, as temperatures soar to record-breaking levels. Palm Springs just hit a record high of 124 degrees Fahrenheit.
To avoid heat stroke while hiking, stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and electrolyte-rich fluids, such as sports drinks. Wearing loose-fitting clothing and a hat can also help protect against heat exhaustion. And do not hike in the hottest part of the day.
Death Valley National Park, CA - July 09: A visitor to Death Valley National Park's Mesquite Flat ...
[+] Sand Dunes pass a sign warning against taking chances in temperatures as high as 125 degrees on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Death Valley National Park, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Many deaths in National Parks are preventable. In June of 2016, a 23-year-old Oregon man and his sister walked off the Norris Geyser Basin boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park.
According to the deputy chief ranger, the pair were searching for a place to “hot pot,” or soak illegally in the park’s thermal features. The two hiked into a prohibited area. The young man fell into a boiling, acidic hot spring.
His sister tried to help him, but he could not climb out. When rangers arrived, only portions of his body, with thermal burns, were visible. The rescuers could not recover his remains, due to the volatility of the hot spring and an approaching lightning storm.
The next morning, no remains were visible, and the temperature in the spring had reached the boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. “The consensus among the rescue/recovery team ..
. was that the extreme heat of the hot spring, coupled with its acidic nature, dissolved the remains.” Only a wallet and a pair of flip-flops were recovered.
Another park, Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, located on the Arizona side of the U.S. border with Mexico, was recently named the country’s single deadliest national park by personal injury law firm Triumph Law .
With an average of 215,881 visitors per year, and the 60 deaths that occurred between 2013 and 2023, the park has a rate of 25.27 deaths for every one million visitors. The park’s location makes it a common crossing point for smugglers and migrants trying to enter the U.
S. Each year people die in the heat or are attacked by cartel members. Park ranger Kris Engle was shot and killed in 2003, and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was closed down to visitors for 11 years before reopening again in 2014.
While its website indicates that Organ Pipe is open, the West, East, and Southeast border roads are “closed for public safety.” LUKEVILLE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 08: A sign warning of smuggling and illegal immigration stands in the ..
. [+] Organ Pipe National Monument near U.S.
-Mexico border on December 08, 2023 Lukeville, Arizona. A surge of immigrants illegally passing through openings cut by smugglers into the border wall has overwhelmed U.S.
immigration authorities, causing them to shut down several international ports of entry so that officers can help process the new arrivals. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) Getty Images Except for the ever-present mosquitos, Everglades National Park isn’t particularly dangerous, but it has been the site of more than 175 unsolved murders since 1965. The park is a 1.
5 million acre swampy, jungle-like area in South Florida that is a popular choice for dumping bodies. A section of U.S.
Highway 41 thar runs through the park is known as Alligator Alley. It is a popular place for killer to dump the bodies of their victims. Bull sharks have been known to come close to shore as well.
Even in popular, crowded parks like Grand Canyon tragic accidents can still occur. In April of 2018, a 35-year-old man fell to his death while taking photos near the edge of the Grand Canyon. He was backing up to take a photo when he lost his footing and fell 1,000 feet to his death.
Zion National Park in Utah is a popular National Park for people of all ages. A popular activity is hiking in the Virgin River. But even this relatively safe park was the site of seven tragic deaths in 2015.
A group of seven hikers were swept away in a flash flood in Keyhole Canyon, when a sudden storm dumped over a half inch of rain in an hour, creating flash flooding. U.S.
National Parks are safe. But it’s always worthwhile taking precautions, so that you too do not become a statistic. SPRINGDALE, UT - MAY 15: Hikers take pictures at the entrance of the famous Narrows hike, currently .
.. [+] closed, along the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park on May 15, 2020 in Springdale, Utah.
Zion National Park had a limited reopening Wednesday as part of its reopening plan after it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) Getty Images.
