Each year, America’s 63 national parks and 360 national monuments, parkways, battlefields, and other park units welcome hundreds of millions of visitors. Although these popular natural attractions are generally not dangerous, they still kill an average of more than 300 people each year in U.S. parks. Most of these deaths are due to drowning, car accidents, or falls. However, injuries and deaths from accidents such as grizzly bear attacks and snake bites are rare. Some of the most dangerous areas of national parks are in remote wilderness, where few visitors venture. Other dangerous locations are easily accessible and have heavy traffic.
From Hawaii’s volcanoes to Alaska’s mountains, here are the 10 most dangerous spots to visit in national parks.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
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Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii is home to active volcanoes. The most active and most visited volcano is Kilauea, which has been erupting almost continuously for more than 30 years. It also has a history of more violent eruptions, including one in 1790 that killed hundreds of people.
The park has more than 100 miles of hiking trails, some of which lead visitors past old lava fields and active eruptions. However, one of the biggest dangers within the park is toxic fumes. Vogue, a mixture of sulfur dioxide and other gases emitted by volcanoes that reacts with oxygen, can worsen symptoms in people with respiratory or vision problems.
The park also has mountains over 13,000 feet above sea level, making altitude sickness extremely dangerous, especially for those traveling by car from lower elevations without taking the time to adjust.
Precipice Trail, Acadia National Park, Maine
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A bluff trail follows the flanks of Mount Champlain in Maine’s Acadia National Park. Although Champlain is only the seventh-highest mountain in Acadia, his 4.5-mile path to the summit stands out as a dangerous climb. Steel rungs, handrails, and ladders help you climb the vertical portion of the 850-foot trail.
The National Park Service has issued weather warnings because wind, rain, and snow can make hiking extremely dangerous. Although most people can successfully navigate this route, injuries and fatalities have occurred. In 2021, NPS arranged for a helicopter evacuation of a man who was unable to continue climbing due to ice.
Narrows, Zion National Park (Utah)
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Zion National Park is deep in the heart of Utah’s canyon belt, and the Narrows is one of the park’s most dramatic canyon hikes. The beautifully textured thousand-foot canyon walls attract thousands of hikers each year. Rather than following a set trail, visitors ascend the canyon through the shallow Virgin River. Trips can range from a few minutes to arduous overnight journeys.
A permit is required for the two-day trip through the canyon, but hiking any distance is risky. Slot canyons like the Narrows (narrow, water-eroded canyons that can be just a few feet wide) are prone to flash flooding, where water levels can rise with little warning. Even if the local weather forecast doesn’t call for rain, a storm several miles away can cause flooding. The nuclear power plant has safety measures in place for visitors, including checking flood forecasts.
Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
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Mount Rainier is a 14,411-foot glaciated peak that is climbed by more than 10,000 hikers each year. Less than 1% of these hikers reach the summit. Climbing requires technical mountaineering skills and navigating over avalanche-prone snow fields.
Many visitors instead choose a day hike to Camp Muir, which serves as a base for trips to the summit. This hike is still tough, requiring you to climb 4,660 feet in elevation. Danger arises when hikers and climbers are caught in the sudden storms that are common in this area. Coastal areas are known for rain, but at higher elevations this turns into heavy snow. More than 400 people have died on Rainier Island, most of them due to exposure during the storm and hypothermia.
Mount Rainier is also an active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1894, and is a tall cone-shaped volcano characterized by explosive eruptions. He is one of the 16-year-old volcanoes, which are historically violent volcanoes located near populated areas.
Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
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The Bright Angel Trail is a steep, narrow trail that takes hikers to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The 16-mile journey takes him over 4,000 feet of elevation change along a rocky trail just a few feet wide. Although it is possible to hike this trail, it is more common to descend on the back of a mule. Hikers and mule teams passing each other on narrow trails can be dangerous. NPS has reported injuries to hikers and deaths to mules from these encounters.
Narrow roads can be dangerous, but the real danger in canyons is the heat. Daytime temperatures can reach 120 degrees. From 2011 to 2015, park rangers assisted more than 300 hikers each year, but there was a noticeable increase in accidents when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. In the summer, rangers suggest starting your hike before dawn or after 4 p.m. to minimize exposure to dangerous temperatures.
Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina and Virginia)
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Law enforcement rangers respond to more than 200 traffic accidents each year on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the busiest road in the national park. Approximately half of these accidents result in serious injury or death. Driving on parkways with tight corners and narrow shoulders requires careful driving. NPS has built more than 250 observation decks along the 469-mile parkway to allow visitors to safely enjoy views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Speed limits along the road range from 25 to 45 miles per hour to ensure driver safety.
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park (California)
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Since 1930, 23 hikers, rock climbers, and BASE jumpers have lost their lives at Half Dome, an impressive granite monolith that rises 5,000 feet above the valley in Yosemite National Park. Vertical rock walls, usually only attempted by technical rock climbers, are the most dangerous and account for 36% of Half Dome’s fatalities. Most visitors reach the summit after a strenuous 14-16 mile hike. Although this route is not very difficult, it also resulted in five deaths.
The last 400 feet of the trail climbs up a steep bare rock face. The summit is equipped with cable railings to help hikers ascend. In 2010, NPS implemented a hike permit lottery system for the cable section to alleviate safety concerns due to overcrowding.
Death Valley National Park (California)
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Death Valley National Park is the hottest and driest place in the United States, and is also home to the world’s highest temperature of 134 degrees. The park welcomes more than 1 million visitors each year, and heatstroke is one of the leading causes of death at the park. NPS recommends finishing the hike by 10 a.m. to avoid dangerous temperatures.
Getting lost in the desert is also dangerous. Park rangers recommend following the route on a paper map rather than relying solely on GPS. GPS can negatively impact memory during self-guided navigation. Vehicles should also be equipped with additional water in case of breakdown.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Nevada and Arizona)
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Lake Mead National Recreation Area is home to Lake Mead, the nation’s largest man-made reservoir. Lake Mead is responsible for more drowning deaths than any other location in the park. From 2007 to 2018, there were 89 drownings here, almost twice as many as any other park. Nearly all of these drownings are believed to be caused by not wearing the proper safety equipment, and Lake Mead park rangers have started loaning out life jackets to combat these preventable drownings. The program has started.
Denali National Park (Alaska)
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Mount Denali, the center of Alaska’s Denali National Park, is the tallest and coldest mountain in the United States. Over the decades, more than 100 climbers have lost their lives to the 20,308-foot peak due to avalanches, extreme cold, and snowstorms. Most climbing expeditions last several weeks, exposing climbers to harsh conditions for many days on end. Only 52% of climbers who aim for the summit reach their goal, with the rest turning back due to weather or other hazards.
A weather station installed near the summit in the 1990s revealed frigid conditions. The lowest temperature ever recorded at this location was -75.5 degrees in December 2003, with a windchill of -118.1 degrees.
