Acadia, Yellowstone, and Yosemite are some of the most adored units of the National Park System, but they don't show up in the top 10 list of most-visited parks during 2012. They're quite a ways from the top 10, actually.

Not entirely surprisingly, topping the list of most-visited units of the National Park System are parks in some of the most populated areas of the country. Places such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, which ranked No. 1 among all units thanks to the 15.2 million visitors who spent time on some section of the 469-mile-long parkway that gracefully meanders from Shenandoah National Park down to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

And places like the Golden Gate National Recreation Area that is surrounded by the San Francisco Bay area. That unit counted 14.5 million visitors in 2012 to rank No. 2 on the top 10 list, according to the National Park Service's official tally.

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2013/04/can-you-name-most-visited-units-national-park-system-201223021