Three suicides last year were enough to put Grand Canyon National Park [right, credit NPS] at the top of the list, according to a National Park Service report. Saguaro National Park listed one. In 2007, there were 26 suicides or probable suicides in the parks. Park Service search-and-rescue records show 18 suicides in 2006, 18 in 2005 and 16 in 2004. Grand Canyon averages two suicides per year.
I've read speculations that the beauty and solitude of the parks are attractive to suicides or is it like Golden Gate bridge - dramatic and prominent? Is the big increase in numbers in 2008 over previous years a trend, or perhaps an anomaly related to the economic turmoil?