Google has released its search data on the top queried national parks of all time, and the winner comes as no surprise to us. Of the 433 that exist, Americans seem to be obsessed with Yellowstone, and pop culture might be to blame.
The “Yellowstone effect” is real, Lucy Guthrie Beighle, director of communications at Western Montana’s Glacier Country, recently told Outside. Yellowstone, the wildly popular neo-Western that premiered in 2018, has been luring in large numbers of tourists since. The fictional Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is set in and filmed in Darby, Montana. The state saw a massive boom in 2021 when 2.1 million outsiders poured in bringing the local economy $730 million in spending. “People saw Yellowstone, and wanted a little piece of it,” Beighle said. There’s been a huge interest from travelers seeking a taste of the West and cowboy culture.
Montana isn’t the only state that Yellowstone National Park exists in. Most of the park (95%) is situated in Wyoming. Only a fraction is located in Idaho and Montana.
Google’s recently released data was pulled from a time span of January 1, 2004, to August 13, 2025. Here’s what was found.
Other Winners Are Location-Specific
Yellowstone is unique in that the interest is country-wide. It is the most-searched national park in 32 of 50 states, while the other winners are location specific. For example, Alaskans search Denali National Park the most, Washingtonians and Oregonites search Mount Rainier National Park most, queries around the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains hail from Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado, and Acadia National Park, is being sought out by those in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Most Searched Does Not Equal Most Visited
Yellowstone may be the most-searched national park, but it isn’t the most visited. The most recent number coming from Yellowstone is 4.1 million visitors last year, Outside previously reported, but Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw 12.1 million, The Grand Canyon attracted 4.9 million, and Yosemite National Parks drew in around the same as Yellowstone.
Yellowstone is home to the world’s tallest active geyser and America’s biggest supervolcano. As iconic as that is, the trend of cowboy core travel— wide-open landscapes and small-town vibes, matched with the fantasy of living out your personal episode of Yellowstone, may also be driving the lure.
