Press Release
January 11, 2011
Eileen Larrabee
Dan Keefe
518-486-1868
New York State Park Attendance Up One Million Visits in 2010
Strong attendance shows popularity of state parks and historic sites
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.