{"id":14274,"date":"2026-06-02T16:44:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=14274"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:44:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:44:35","slug":"2025-nps-fatality-data-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=14274","title":{"rendered":"2025 NPS Fatality Data Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>National Park Service data shows a significant drop in fatalities from the pandemic peak, but one group of people makes up an overwhelming majority of those deaths. Plus, five parks make up one-quarter of all deaths. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Yosemite National Park ranked among the highest in death numbers across NPS sites<!-- --> (Photo: Bluejayphoto\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published June 2, 2026 10:04AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2025, 198 people died at National Park Service (NPS) sites across the United States, according to a recent NPS report. But one demographic accounted for the vast majority of those deaths, representing 83 percent of all reported fatalities: men.<\/p>\n<p>Every year, the NPS releases its <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/aboutus\/mortality-data.htm#:~:text=NPS%20Mortality%20Data%20Calendar%20Years%202007%E2%80%932025%20Released%20April%202026\">mortality data<\/a>, tracking how many people died and from what causes across the country. <em>Outside\u00a0<\/em>dug through the data, which was released in April, and found that 114 of the deaths last year were men. Another 23 women died, while the sex of 61 individuals was not recorded.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Whitten, 57, a search-and-rescue expert, told <em>Outside<\/em> that men have certain traits that make them more susceptible to backcountry accidents. Men are more likely to take risks and also make up a higher proportion of those engaged in high-risk activities such as solo backpacking or off-trail climbing. Now retired, Whitten spent 26 years leading search and rescue operations in California\u2019s rugged San Bernardino Mountains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my experience coordinating rescue operations, I\u2019ve seen that men seem to inherently think they can do certain things that may traditionally fall into \u2018masculine\u2019 roles,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cSome people think that because they\u2019re male, they have some advantage in the wilderness. That\u2019s just not true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s another factor behind the lopsided ratio of male deaths in national parks, however. Nationally, men account for nearly 70 percent of all motor vehicle collision fatalities, according to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/products\/databriefs\/db400.htm\">data<\/a> published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, the overall male crash fatality rate is more than double that of women.<\/p>\n<p>Whitten said a person\u2019s biggest threat when visiting a national park probably isn\u2019t being eaten by a bear or getting lost in the woods. It\u2019s hopping in the car to get there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most dangerous thing most of us do on a daily basis is drive,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of the fears that people have about the wilderness, the chances of those things happening are so small as to be statistically insignificant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Outside <\/em>also determined the five national parks that recorded the highest number of deaths last year.<\/p>\n<h2>Five NPS Sites Account for One-Quarter of All Deaths<\/h2>\n<p>Overall, deaths at national park sites decreased when compared with previous years. During the pandemic between 2020 and 2023, an average of 314 people died annually across national park sites. The annual average between 2014 and 2019 was even higher, at 358 a year.<\/p>\n<h3>Total Deaths Across NPS Sites Per Year<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>2025: 198 deaths<\/li>\n<li>2024: 193 deaths<\/li>\n<li>2023: 238 deaths<\/li>\n<li>2022: 369 deaths<\/li>\n<li>2021: 374 deaths<\/li>\n<li>2020: 277 deaths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But five NPS sites\u2014all of which are among the most visited\u2014accounted for nearly one-quarter of all deaths.<\/p>\n<h3>These NPS Sites Recorded the Most Deaths in 2025<\/h3>\n<p>Overall, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, located near Las Vegas, recorded the most overall deaths in the NPS system. Lake Mead attracts anglers and boaters, and the park reports multiple drownings every year. Three of the top five parks\u2014Blue Ridge Parkway, Natchez Trace Scenic Byway, and Great Smoky Mountains\u2014are located within\u00a0major highways and annually see a high number of vehicle deaths. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/aboutus\/mortality-data.htm\">NPS data<\/a> from previous years show that motor vehicle accidents are overwhelmingly the highest cause of death, followed by drowning.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lake Mead National Recreation Area:<\/strong> 11 deaths<\/li>\n<li><strong>Natchez Trace Scenic Byway:<\/strong> 11 deaths<\/li>\n<li><strong>Great Smoky Mountains National Park:<\/strong> nine deaths<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blue Ridge Parkway:<\/strong> nine deaths<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yosemite National Park:<\/strong> nine deaths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWhat it really comes down to is accessibility,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cIt\u2019s the parks that are the easiest to access, the easiest to recreate in. Those are going to have the most deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/exploration-survival\/deadliest-national-parks-fatalities-data\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>National Park Service data shows a significant drop in fatalities from the pandemic peak, but one group of people makes up an overwhelming majority of those deaths. Plus, five parks make up one-quarter of all deaths. Yosemite National Park ranked among the highest in death numbers across NPS sites (Photo: Bluejayphoto\/Getty Images) Published June 2,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}