The Grand Canyon: a Popular Place to End it All

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If a friend sends you this post card, find out if he's being treated for depression.

​A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control finds that of all the national parks in the United States, the Grand Canyon is the second- most-popular spot to kill yourself.

The CDC began noticing a trend in suicides at national parks in 2003 and started tracking the numbers. The Grand Canyon beat out every national park in the country except for one: Blue Ridge Parkway National Park in North Carolina.


According to the report, from 2003 to 2009, there were 11 suicides at the Grand Canyon, which is only topped by the 15 suicides at Blue Ridge Parkway.

Turns out, those offing themselves at Blue Ridge Parkway are apparently better at doing it, too.

The study also tracked attempted suicides and found that in addition to the 11 successful suicides at the Grand Canyon, there have been another 10 incidents in which people tried to kill themselves but failed. Blue Ridge Parkway only had six such attempts.

Other popular local spots to end it all include Lake Mead National Recreation Area (3 suicides, 4 attempts), Saguaro National Park (5 suicides, 1 attempt) and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (4 suicides, 1 attempt).

Check out the full report here.