The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) announced Wednesday that state campgrounds had their busiest year on record, while more than 60.1 million people visited New York state parks and historic sites in 2013.
This marks the second straight year that visitation has topped 60 million.
“It was a banner year for many of our popular upstate tourism destinations,” State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said.
“It’s wonderful to know that so many people are taking advantage of this scenic and beautiful system year after year,” she said.
Continuing an upward trend, attendance of 60.1 million visitors in 2013 was second best of the past decade.
Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds operated by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation were the highest on record.
State Park campsites were occupied for 583,016 nights in 2013, surpassing 2012’s record of 578,428 overnight stays.
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 179 state parks and 35 historic sites.
A recent study commissioned by Parks & Trails New York found that New York State Parks generates $1.9 billion in economic activity annually and supports 20,000 jobs.
Governor Cuomo’s administration has taken a number of recent steps to improve parks and connect them to New Yorkers.
