Facebook honors most popular national parks on Earth Day

MENLO PARK, Calif., April 22 (UPI) -- All 401 of the the National Park Service's (NPS) properties -- national parks, monuments, nature preserves, trails, battlefields, rivers, and more -- have something unique to offer visitors. But some national parks are more popular than others.

In honor of Earth Day, Facebook revealed which of the nation's parks were most frequented in 2013 according to Facebook "check-ins" -- the method employed by many Millennials and other avid social media users to communicate their geographical exploits.

Last year, the following parks were most popular with Facebook users:

1. Grand Canyon 2. Yosemite 3. Yellowstone 4. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts 5. Great Smoky Mountains 6. Zion 7. Rocky Mountain 8. Everglades 9. Acadia 10. Joshua Tree

Of course, NPS keeps its own stats on park visitation. According to the National Park Conservation Association, the following parks were the most visited:

1. Great Smoky Mountains 2. Grand Canyon 3. Yosemite 4. Yellowstone 5. Olympic 6. Rocky Mountain 7. Zion 8. Grand Teton 9. Acadia 10. Glacier

The two lists are dominated by the natural beauty and geological splendor of the West, attracting both outdoor enthusiasts and, apparently, plenty of social media savvy visitors.

[USA Today] [NPCA]