DALLAS - The summer is chock full of vacation possibilities, yet last year nearly 293 million travelers chose U.S. national parks for their getaways. With the National Park Service centennial in 2016, there will be an even larger lens on these outdoor sanctuaries. Based on search data, Hotels.com found the most popular parks in the first half of 2015 and identified suggested gateway cities to book hotels when visiting.
"The surging popularity of national parks shows they are becoming travel destinations in and of themselves," said Taylor L. Cole, APR, Hotels.com travel expert. "We've seen a high volume of searches for stays in and around national parks, so we've made it easier to stay right on national park grounds with added accommodation options such as lodges, cabins and even treehouses. These rooms were previously hard to find online, so now travelers can book an entire trip on one site and earn Hotels.com Rewards nights on stays in these unique hotels."
Below are the most popular national park areas based on searches from January 1 to June 15, 2015, along with the gateway cities and hotel pricing from the most recent Hotel Price Index
| Ranking | National Park | City + State | Average Hotel Price Per Night |
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Pigeon Forge, TN | $97 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | Grand Canyon Village, AZ | $103 |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | Mariposa, CA | $119 |
| 4 | Yellowstone National Park | Cody, WY | $138 |
| 5 | Grand Teton National Park | Jackson, WY | $191 |
| 6 | Zion National Park | Springdale, UT | $157 |
| 7 | Arches & Canyonlands National Parks | Moab, UT | $132 |
| 8 | Rocky Mountain National Park | Grand Lake, CO | $140 |
| 9 | Acadia National Park | Bar Harbor, ME | $180 |
| 10 | Joshua Tree National Park | Twentynine Palms, CA | $89 |
