Deadliest National Parks

[agesilaus]

And these are not the ones you would expect, warning this is on FoxNews so avoid reading if that is a problem for yoou:

Deadly Parks

We have been to number four and five neither of which impressed us as having any major hazards, Traffic deaths was the number one cause, medical was high but animal attacks not on the list. Neither YNP or GCNP in the top five.

[Kirk W]

The story actually comes from the publication The Hill.

These are America’s deadliest national parks: data

Despite the proximity to wildlife and overall freedom to traverse sometimes dangerous terrains, the leading cause of death – with the exception of fatalities deemed “undetermined” – was motor vehicle crashes, which accounted for 415 deaths over eight years. Following crashes were drownings (402) and medical-related deaths (385).

It seems to me that the information points up just how safe the national parks are, in spite of the stupidity of some visitors.

Quote

Parks with Highest Number of Fatalities

For 2014-2021

MISSING: summary MISSING: current-rows.

National Park	Total Deaths	Leading Cause of Death (Total)
Lake Mead National Recreation Area	145	Drowning (47)
Grand Canyon National Park	97	Medical (48)
Yosemite National Park	94	Medical (33)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park	80	Motor Vehicle Crash (29)
Natchez Trace Parkway	74	Motor Vehicle Crash (62)

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Kirk W

[RV_]

7 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Despite the proximity to wildlife and overall freedom to traverse sometimes dangerous terrains, the leading cause of death – with the exception of fatalities deemed “undetermined” – was motor vehicle crashes, which accounted for 415 deaths over eight years. Following crashes were drownings (402) and medical-related deaths (385).

It seems to me that the information points up just how safe the national parks are, in spite of the stupidity of some visitors.

Thanks Kirk you beat me to it.

[Vladimir]

10 hours ago, Kirk W said:

............It seems to me that the information points up just how safe the national parks are, in spite of the stupidity of some visitors.

Yeah, that pretty much is the story.

Before I retired I got the crime reports for both the NPS and FS. 

People do need to remember that on NFS lands, you have the god given right to kill yourself and the local county Sheriff will take care of it.

BUT, for those folks camping outside of National Parks and Forest Service campgrounds, there are lots more mentally ill, and folks down on their luck camping on public lands. 

Practice situational awareness.

 

[2gypsies]

One year when we volunteered at Rocky Mountain National Park within a few months time there were two suicides and three homicides plus drownings (one tragic one of a 12-year-old boy slipping on a rock and getting caught underneath the water in swift current and lodged at a huge boulder.  His father had to watch.  We also listened to a lot of BOLO alerts... be on the lookout.  Also, a scout group just returned from a hike and a girl left a candy bar and chips in her tent.  A bear very shortly came out of the woods to the tent and tore it open from the rear.  The girl got out. The bear was killed, unfortunately The ranger thought she had blanks in her gun.    That really opened our eyes to the dangers in the national parks.

Here's a better link giving numerous charts:

https://www.psbr.law/nevada/deaths-in-us-national-parks/

[Tulecreeper]

17 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

One year when we volunteered at Rocky Mountain National Park within a few months time there were two suicides and three homicides plus drownings (one tragic one of a 12-year-old boy slipping on a rock and getting caught underneath the water in swift current and lodged at a huge boulder.  His father had to watch.  We also listened to a lot of BOLO alerts... be on the lookout.  Also, a scout group just returned from a hike and a girl left a candy bar and chips in her tent.  A bear very shortly came out of the woods to the tent and tore it open from the rear.  The girl got out. The bear was killed, unfortunately The ranger thought she had blanks in her gun.    That really opened our eyes to the dangers in the national parks.

Here's a better link giving numerous charts:

https://www.psbr.law/nevada/deaths-in-us-national-parks/

That is a ranger that absolutely needs remedial trailing.  As retired LE, there was never a time in 30 years when I did not know whether or not my weapon was loaded.

[2gypsies]

7 hours ago, Tulecreeper said:

That is a ranger that absolutely needs remedial trailing.  As retired LE, there was never a time in 30 years when I did not know whether or not my weapon was loaded.

Exactly..... she was let go.

[agesilaus]

I heard at Yosemite that they lost want-to-be rock climbers who thought clothes line would substitute for the very price real climbing rope. And they lost hikers who would be hot and sweaty in summer and when the ran into a mountain stream jumped in. Only to discover that the stream ran off the 600 foot cliff not far away. That was decades ago, I'm sure people are more intelligent now days.

And when taking a cross country skiing class the instructor said that that they found lost skiers occasionally when the snow melted. They had made the unhappy discovery that you can ski 20 miles in the deep snow, but after breaking a ski tip, you could not walk back that far. I always carried a emergency ski tip in my pack after hearing that.

That was in the days of wooden skies tho.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by agesilaus

[Ray,IN]

Accompanying this thread is the 16 deadliest lakes in the U.S.A.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Ray,IN

[2gypsies]

2 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Accompanying this thread is the 16 deadliest lakes in the U.S.A.

We've been on some of those lakes... and survived!  😊  We gave lighthouse tours on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan and part of our spiel was to tell of all the shipwrecks that happened. It's also a great place to scuba and while we were on top of the lighthouse one day we saw the Coast Guard pull up to an exposed shipwreck.  Turns out a woman was scuba diving around the wreck and died.

[Kirk W]

31 minutes ago, 2gypsies said:

We've been on some of those lakes... and survived! 

We have visited 5 of them but only been out on 2 of them. 

[amarie1]

I just watched this well-done docu/drama from the I Shouldn't Be Alive series about 5 scouts and 3 scoutmasters who ran into trouble in a week-long expedition in the Grand Canyon. You can watch it on YouTube: 

 

[bruce t]

Deadliest is a bit of a catch all phrase. How many times have you heard the world's deadliest snake? World's deadliest car? Now that would be an interesting statistic. 

A NP 'may' be the "deadliest" simply because it's the most visited.

 

[RV_]

5 hours ago, amarie1 said:

I just watched this well-done docu/drama from the I Shouldn't Be Alive series about 5 scouts and 3 scoutmasters who ran into trouble in a week-long expedition in the Grand Canyon. You can watch it on YouTube: 

Wow!