(OAK HILL) WOAY – You may have noticed many more people from out of state here in West Virginia last year.
All three of our national parks here in the Mountain State saw an increase of visitors by 41.8% in 2023!
The New River Gorge Park and Preserve saw a 7.12% increase, marking the highest year of visitors since 1978!
Meanwhile, the Gauley River National Recreation Area saw a 14.5% increase and Bluestone National Scenic River saw a 53% increase in traffic!
The huge visitor jump was due to new trail counters at the Bluestone State Park and Lilly entrances to the park.
Last year was not only big for West Virginia, but for national parks in general.
Nationwide, the parks saw an overall 4% increase in visitors from 2022.
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