Nearly 8 Million Visits

What New Federal Data Reveals About Recreation in Alaska.: A closer look at where people recreate, what they do, and what the numbers do—and do not—tell us.

by Alaska Outdoor Alliance  |  July 2026

A new federal report offers the clearest combined picture yet of recreation visitation across Alaska’s federally managed lands and waters. In fiscal year 2024, federal agencies recorded 7,853,992 recreation visits in Alaska—nearly eight million entries onto federal lands or waters for the purpose of recreation.

That number is substantial, but it is not a count of unique people and it is not a complete tally of outdoor recreation statewide. It represents visits to the Alaska units included in the federal reporting system. State parks, Tribal and municipal facilities, private recreation sites and many other places Alaskans and visitors recreate are not included.

The headline number: 7,853,992 federal recreation visits

The National Park Service accounted for 44.5% of reported Alaska visitation. The Tongass and Chugach national forests together accounted for another 21.6%.

Where the visits occurred

The National Park Service recorded nearly 3.5 million visits, led by Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, and Kenai Fjords National Park. The U.S. Forest Service recorded 1.69 million visits across the Tongass and Chugach national forests.

Figure 1. FY2024 reported federal recreation visits in Alaska, by managing agency.

Agency	FY2024 visits	Share
National Park Service	3,498,557	44.5%
U.S. Forest Service	1,694,391	21.6%
Fish and Wildlife Service	1,679,717	21.4%
Bureau of Land Management	809,910	10.3%
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	171,417	2.2%
Total	7,853,992	100%

What people did

The report also estimates participation in 11 broad recreation categories. Alaska units reported 16,737,237 activity participations. Sightseeing was by far the largest category, followed by hiking, walking and running; and interpretation, education and nature study.

Activity participation is different from visitation. One visit may include several activities—a single overnight trip could involve camping, hiking, fishing and sightseeing—so the activity figures overlap and should not be added to the visitation total.

Figure 2. FY2024 reported recreation activity participations in Alaska. Activities overlap.

Activity	Reported participations	Share
Sightseeing	7,284,778	43.5%
Hiking, walking and running	3,029,437	18.1%
Interpretation, education and nature study	2,900,266	17.3%
Other recreation activities	1,473,945	8.8%
Camping	602,423	3.6%
Fishing	580,095	3.5%
Biking	309,958	1.9%
Motorized boating*	249,688	1.5%
Hunting	145,020	0.9%
Off-highway vehicle use	85,223	0.5%
Non-motorized boating*	76,404	0.5%
Total activity participations	16,737,237	100%

*FWS generally combines motorized and non-motorized boating in one figure, reported in the motorized-boating column.

Why these numbers matter

Until now, agencies have collected recreation data using different methods and reported it in different places. Bringing the estimates together makes it easier to see the scale and reach of Alaska’s federal recreation system—and where better information is still needed.

The data can help communities, land managers and policymakers make more informed decisions about trails, visitor facilities, maintenance, public access, transportation, staffing and stewardship. It also makes visible activities that are sometimes overlooked in conventional tourism counts, including local use, education, nature study, hunting, fishing and everyday walking and biking.

At the same time, the gaps matter. Some agencies and units do not record every activity, and methods vary across the federal estate. The figures should be treated as estimates—not as a precise census or a measure of economic impact. Future reports required under the EXPLORE Act are expected to improve consistency and transparency over time.

How to read the data

• Visits are not unique visitors. A person may generate multiple visits during the year or visit several federal units.

• Activities overlap. A visit can include more than one activity, so activity participations exceed total visits.

• Missing does not mean zero. “Not recorded” and “not applicable” entries were treated as missing, not as zero. Some activity totals are therefore conservative.

• Coverage is federal, not statewide. The total excludes state, Tribal, municipal, nonprofit and private recreation sites outside this reporting system.

• NOAA is not part of the Alaska total. NOAA does not report total visitation and had no Alaska unit total in the report. The Bureau of Reclamation also listed no Alaska reporting unit.

• 
  

Raw Alaska visitation data by reporting unit

The following are the Alaska-specific total-visitation figures reported in Table A of the federal report. Agency totals below are calculated by summing the listed Alaska units.

Bureau of Land Management — total 809,910

Reporting unit	FY2024 visits
Anchorage Field Office	420,435
Campbell Creek Science Center	9,525
Central Yukon Field Office	165,527
Glennallen Field Office	181,262
Steese National Conservation Area	33,161

National Park Service — total 3,498,557

Reporting unit	FY2024 visits
Alagnak Wild River	278
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve	234
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve	2,642
Cape Krusenstern National Monument	17,784
Denali National Park and Preserve	464,423
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve	11,907
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve	742,840
Katmai National Park and Preserve	36,163
Kenai Fjords National Park	419,335
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Alaska	1,361,213
Kobuk Valley National Park	17,156
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve	18,530
Noatak National Preserve	18,645
Sitka National Historical Park	303,987
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve	81,670
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve	1,750

Fish and Wildlife Service — total 1,679,717

Reporting unit	FY2024 visits
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge	225,722
Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge	6,084
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge	10,000
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge	6,003
Innoko National Wildlife Refuge	700
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge	2,650
Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge	8,000
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge	1,250,000
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge	7,658
Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge	2,500
Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge	300
Selawik National Wildlife Refuge	4,100
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge	25,000
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge	56,000
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge	65,000
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge	10,000

U.S. Forest Service — total 1,694,391

Reporting unit	FY2024 visits
Chugach National Forest	475,802
Tongass National Forest	1,218,589

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — total 171,417

Reporting unit	FY2024 visits
Chena River Lakes	171,417

Source and methodology

Source: Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation, FY 2024 Interagency Recreation Visitation Data Report, June 2026.

Alaska Outdoor Alliance aggregated Alaska reporting units from Appendix Table A and numeric Alaska activity entries from Appendix Table B. Cross-referenced entries such as “See Katmai” were counted only where a numeric figure appeared.

The report defines a visit as the entry of a person onto federally administered lands or waters for the purpose of recreation. Because collection methods vary by agency and unit, the estimates differ in quality and precision.