10 most popular national parks by Facebook check-ins

It used to be so laborious to tell friends and family where you were traveling. Schlep an address book on the trip, buy postcards and stamps, find a mailbox. Ditto for photos, where you were always many steps away from showing off a prized picture.

No more. Social media sites and location-based services offer instant gratification, and few groups take better advantage than travelers.

To mark Earth Day, Facebook looked at check-ins from its users in all national parks in 2013. You'll find no surprises among the top three: The Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone are among the gems of America's awesome national parks system.

But lest you think only intrepid travelers make it to "national parks," witness the fourth-ranking spot on Facebook's list. Wolf Trap, an outdoor concert venue in Virginia administered by the National Park Service, is a great place to see an aging rock band while sipping chardonnay under the stars, but it's clearly not comparable to the Everglades.

The rest of the list is made up of national park all-stars, with Great Smoky Mountains, the park system's most-visited venue, coming it at No. 5. Here are the top 10 most-checked-into national parks:

1. Grand Canyon

2. Yosemite

3. Yellowstone

4. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

5. Great Smoky Mountains

6. Zion

7. Rocky Mountain

8. Everglades

9. Acadia

10. Joshua Tree

There are more interesting tidbits in Facebook's data:

• 91% of all users who checked in only did so at one national park.

• 88% of check-ins were by Americans. Among foreign visitors checking in, the top five countries of origin were the U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia and France.

• Residents of Washington, D.C., were the most likely to check in at a national park in 2013. But most didn't have to travel far — in addition to the aforementioned Wolf Trap in its suburbs, the city is home to Rock Creek Park, a massive urban national park frequented by cyclists and runners, and several other NPS historic sites.

Lastly, while travel writers love this kind of real-world data about where people actually go, this must be said: You'll have plenty of time to post to your favorite social media sites from your hotel room. In the meantime, put your devices away and enjoy the view!