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National
Park Visitation Record Expected in 2015
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Washington,
DC – December 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / As the National
Park Service (NPS) looks to its 2016
centennial year, visitation to America’s 409 national parks is on pace
to set a new record in 2015.
More
individuals, families and groups have visited NPS sites in the first 10
months of the year than ever before. The NPS’s Public Use Statistics Office
estimated 272.5 million recreation visits to the parks through October,
the latest month for complete, though unofficial statistics are available.
That compares to 262.7 million visits in the same period of 2014, an increase
of 3.7 percent which will mean 300 million visitors in 2015.
“With
every visit to national parks, people write themselves a prescription for
the health benefits that come when enjoying these natural and historical
wonders,” said NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Americans have loved the
national parks for a century and more. Our aim now is to help the next
generation become not only visitors but park supporters and advocates,
too.”
The
NPS centennial is expected to extend the visitation surge, bringing even
more people to America’s parks. As families gather over the holidays and
consider vacation time together, planning ahead for a national
park visit in 2016 is essential.
The
increased visitation is not confined to one region or type of park. Parks
across the U.S., from iconic “crown jewel” sites to lesser-known gems already
exceed prior records for visitation. By the end of October 2015, the world’s
first national park, Yellowstone in Wyoming and Montana, had smashed its
previous annual high (2010) with more than 4 million visits, which represents
a 17 percent increase over last year’s visitation to date. Rocky Mountain
National Park in Colorado, which is celebrating its own park centennial
this year, also may pass 4 million visits in 2015. It already has broken
the mark it set last year, with more than 3.9 million visits through October
2015. Each of Rocky Mountain’s 10 busiest days this year saw more than
10,000 vehicles enter the park.
At
the same time, tiny Golden Spike National Historic Site in northern Utah,
which marks where the first transcontinental railroad was completed in
1869, had 32 percent more visits through October than in the same period
last year. And visitation increased almost every month this year. In southern
Utah, Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks also have set new visitation
highs this year.
Despite
difficult winter conditions earlier this year, several East Coast locations
have posted significantly higher visitor counts including Blue Ridge Parkway
in Virginia and North Carolina, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
in New York, Federal Hall National Memorial in New York and Independence
National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Great Smoky Mountains National
Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, perennially one of the most visited
NPS sites, is also on track to break its visitation record.
Recognizing
the importance of providing visitors with great experiences, the NPS is
working to meet the challenges that come with increasing visitor numbers.
Yosemite National Park has lowered entrance fees in the fall and winter
to ease summer congestion. Zion and Arches National Park in Utah both are
engaged in careful, public processes to find ways to accommodate visitors
and preserve enjoyment of the parks. Yellowstone National Park has held
listening sessions with staff and surrounding communities to brainstorm
short-term ways to ease vehicle congestion, pedestrian crowding and long
lines at some park facilities next summer.
The
National Park Service’s 100th birthday is Aug. 25, 2016, but parks across
the country are planning hundreds of centennial events throughout the year.
The Find Your Park campaign,
which rolled out last April, has sparked fresh excitement with thousands
of people are sharing stories of their favorite outdoor destinations. Another
centennial initiative, Every
Kid in a Park, now offers every fourth grader in America a free family
pass into federal parks and public lands that collect entrance fees.
About
the National Park Service
More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 408 national
parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local
history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at
www.NPS.gov,
on Facebook Facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
Twitter Twitter.com/natlparkservice,
and YouTube YouTube.com/nationalparkservice.
Media
Contact:
Jeffrey
Olson
National
Park Service
202-208-4863 |