Most recreational activities last year took place outside due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and social distancing rules. Millions of people ventured out of the city and into national parks and recreation areas, but many also visited historic places.
Many of those places are classified as national historic sites and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are cared for by the National Park Service with the aim of protecting the country’s historic and archeological sites.
To identify the most popular national historic sites in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed recreational visits published in the National Park Service’s annual visitation report for 2020, the last year for which data is available.
As of 2020, there were 75 national historic sites managed by the NPS. Depending on when they were officially designated as NHSs, these places are either kept as it or restored to their appearance during the period of their historical significance. These sites range from places dating back to prehistoric Indian civilizations to places from recent American history.
In addition to national historic sites, people love to visit national parks. Exploring the wilderness, hiking through mountains, and sleeping under the stars are just some of the nature experiences these parks have to offer, often free of charge. And these are the national parks that had the most visitors in 2020.
Click here to see the most visited historic sites in the U.S.
To identify the most popular national historic sites in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed recreational visits published in the National Park Service’s annual visitation report for 2020, the last year for which data is available. The NPS aggregates visitation data for various government land designations and visitation purposes. Only national historic sites were considered in our analysis. There are a total of 75 NHSs under the wing of the NPS. We only included the top 19, which are those that received more than 1% of all recreation visits in 2020.
Source: zrfphoto / iStock via Getty Images
19. Carl Sandburg Home
> Recreation visit in 2020: 42,672
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.03%
> Location: North Carolina
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Source: Joel Carillet / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
18. Andrew Johnson
> Recreation visit in 2020: 46,092
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.12%
> Location: Tennessee
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Source: Coast-to-Coast / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
17. Ford’s Theatre
> Recreation visit in 2020: 56,058
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.36%
> Location: District of Columbia
Source: fdastudillo / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
16. Herbert Hoover
> Recreation visit in 2020: 56,270
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.36%
> Location: Iowa
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15. Andersonville
> Recreation visit in 2020: 63,799
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.54%
> Location: Georgia
Source: Woodkern / iStock via Getty Images
14. Manzanar
> Recreation visit in 2020: 65,289
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.58%
> Location: California
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13. Fort Smith
> Recreation visit in 2020: 67,574
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.63%
> Location: Arkansas
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Source: gnagel / iStock via Getty Images
12. Little Rock Central High School
> Recreation visit in 2020: 68,497
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.66%
> Location: Arkansas
Source: Courtesy of Boston African American National Historic Site via Facebook
11. Boston African American
> Recreation visit in 2020: 89,616
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.17%
> Location: Massachusetts
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10. Ninety Six
> Recreation visit in 2020: 95,418
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.31%
> Location: South Carolina
Source: Alextov / iStock via Getty Images
9. Minuteman Missile
> Recreation visit in 2020: 98,908
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.39%
> Location: South Dakota
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8. Sagamore Hill
> Recreation visit in 2020: 105,289
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.55%
> Location: New York
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Source: nationalparkservice / Flickr
7. Salem Maritime
> Recreation visit in 2020: 125,554
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.04%
> Location: Massachusetts
Source: zrfphoto / iStock via Getty Images
6. Allegheny Portage Railroad
> Recreation visit in 2020: 136,029
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.29%
> Location: Pennsylvania
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Source: Wilsilver77 / iStock via Getty Images
5. Fort Raleigh
> Recreation visit in 2020: 153,519
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.71%
> Location: North Carolina
Source: OlegAlbinsky / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
4. Vanderbilt Mansion
> Recreation visit in 2020: 217,231
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 5.26%
> Location: New York
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Source: Courtesy of San Juan National Historic Site via Facebook
3. San Juan
> Recreation visit in 2020: 357,100
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 8.64%
> Location: Puerto Rico
Source: jeffhollettvancouverwa / Flickr
2. Fort Vancouver
> Recreation visit in 2020: 670,111
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 16.21%
> Location: Oregon and Washington
Source: Ramses02 / iStock via Getty Images
1. Fort Point
> Recreation visit in 2020: 884,538
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 21.40%
> Location: California
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