New York State Park Attendance Up One Million Visits in 2010

Strong attendance shows popularity of state parks and historic sites

ALBANY, NY (01/11/2011)(readMedia)-- The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation today announced the state park system hosted nearly 57 million visitors last year, an increase of one million visits over 2009.

"The robust park and historic site attendance in 2010 reflects the enduring popularity of the New York state park system," Acting Commissioner Andy Beers said. "With so many people turning to affordable and convenient destinations for recreation and culture in these difficult economic times, New York is fortunate to have such high-quality and inviting state parks and historic sites across the state."

Final attendance for 2010 was 56,962,002, up over a million visits from the previous year's total of 55,930,921. Beers said the attendance was likely bolstered by favorable summer weather and a well-publicized budget agreement that allowed dozens of parks slated for closure to open for the season.

The following are regional park attendance totals:

2009 2010
Allegany Region 1,899,800 1,776,393
Central Region 2,339,726 2,366,592
Finger Lakes Region 2,961,644 3,078,192
Genesee Region 1,183,302 1,226,897
Long Island Region 19,320,666 19,272,465
New York City 5,562,012 5,568,874
Niagara Region 10,122,505 10,137,231
Palisades Region 4,403,053 4,926,957
Saratoga/Capital Region 3,065,580 3,573,262
Taconic Region 3,402,753 3,489,435
Thousand Islands Region 1,669,880 1,545,704

"I encourage all New Yorkers to fully enjoy all that our state parks have to offer," Beers added. "Many parks continue to offer great events and activities throughout the winter, including ice skating, sledding, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing. And it's not too early to begin planning for a 2011 summer getaway at one of our incredible destinations."

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks and 35 historic sites. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456, visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.