Visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on a record pace this year/NPS
Great weather and wonderful scenery combined to produce a record visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September, and the park seems on its way to a record turnout for the year.
Visitation was up 5.5 percent through September. More than 8 million visitors have come to the park so far this year. The increase has led to record months of visitation in both May and September, with visitation surpassing 1 million visitors during each month. In September, the park welcomed 1,081,773 visitors, the most ever since the park began recording monthly visitation in 1979, a park release said.
With more than a million visitors during each of these shoulder-season months, the park is well above the ten-year average of 750,000 visitors during May and 900,000 visitors during September. The increased visitation has also led to increased use of the park’s two main visitor centers, campgrounds, and backcountry campsites. Overall, overnight camping in the front-country is up 8.7 percent in 2015, while backcountry camping is up 11.4 percent.
“The Smokies continue to be one of the premier destinations in the southeastern United States,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “This record setting visitation on our shoulder seasons reminds us that no matter when you come to the Smokies the opportunities for exploration, relaxation, and discovery are endless whether you’re on one of our busy scenic roadways or less traveled areas.”
This year’s record setting visitation follows the park’s busiest year in 14 years. In 2014, 10,099,275 visitors came to the national park, an 8 percent increase over 2013. The numbers were spurred by strong July and August visitation as well as the highest October visitation in 27 years.
Comments
Again, visitation numbers in the Smokies should be treated as suspect. External audits by watchdog groups have shown that actual visitation for the backcountry in no way correlates with stated visitation by the NPS. Of course, the NPS pads numbers to justify increased funding and unpopular fee schemes and media outlets take their word as gospel. Because newfound gap road is a vital artery between North Carolina casino and Gatlinburg buffets, the NPS gets to count each car coming and going. The actual number of folks who step out of those cars is not even a fraction. But padding numbers gets them more CASH. ANd Ca$$iu$ Ca$H knows how to milk it. It is a prerequisite for the NPS managers.
Wow, another year, another record fall crowd in the Smokies, and another year of whining and crying foul from the resident whiner. Yeah, I got to admit, I don't like driving the traffic this time of year either... but hiking into those forests will land one awe inspiring solitude. Instead of whining about it, you should learn to enjoy it. Life is passing you by quickly.
Spoken again, like a true NPS employee. Anytime you guys are called on your bs, your start the attack machine on personalities. Guess it beats actually having to refute date, doesn't it Gary?
Backpacker, you've made such a classically sour and cynical personality so omnipresent in everything you post - with a distinct lack of actual substance - that, frankly, it is difficult to avoid ad hominem 'attack the personality' comments. You might honestly do your cause more benefit if you avoided posting anything at all.
[I'm guessing that you meant 'to refute datA', not 'datE'?]
Ok, friends, let's not get carried away. Please move on to more serious discourse. For instance, you see the Death Valley story today? There's a massive, expensive, cleanup coming to that park.
You know what's funny about "Backpacker" is that he claims he's part of some big "watchdog group", but it's actually more like that yippy little toy lapdog that barks a lot, really just a neighborhood nuisance, and if you left it outside for longer than an hour unattended it would be snatched up by a blind old owl.
I'm not an NPS employee, but I can tell you for a fact that September was a extremely busy month. And yes, I have access to way more insight and data than you. And since i'm in the park everyday, and not just weekend warrioring it, I think I can say that yes September was very busy, and so was October..
Ohh well...not that this yippy little loud poodle ever has a clue.