North Carolina and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway is the most popular national park, drawing over 17 million visitors each year. Located in the southern Appalachian Mountains, the Parkway is a highway through beautiful scenery and includes nearby hiking trails, ranger talks, and bird-watching. The other two most-visited national parks in the United States are Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which gets about 14 million visitors annually, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, with 9.4 million.