It appears for the second year in a row, North Carolinians escaped the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic at state parks and recreation areas.
New attendance figures show it wasn’t just wildlife, flora and fauna filling North Carolina’s state parks and recreation areas in 2021.
Visitors did their part as well.
The 41 sites in the system welcomed a record 22.8 million visitors. That’s three million more than any other year on record. The previous record year for visitation was 2020, despite the pandemic and several weeks of closures.
Ten state parks reached one million visitors in 2021.
"We’re fortunate to live in a state with beautiful natural resources and our 41 state parks saw more visits than ever last year," said Governor Roy Cooper. "We must maintain and improve these amazing parks so millions more people can enjoy all North Carolina has to offer.”
28 of the state’s 41 state parks and recreation areas reported increases in visitation last year. Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Dare County reported the highest visitation with 1.8 million visitors last year, and was among ten state park units that welcomed more than a million visitors. The others were Carolina Beach, Eno River, Fort Macon, Pilot Mountain, and William B. Umstead state parks, and Falls Lake, Fort Fisher, Jordan Lake, and Kerr Lake state recreation areas.
“North Carolinians in 2021 showed us how much they value state parks and trails to enhance their physical and mental health,” Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson said. “Fortunately, the new state budget invests heavily in new state and local parks, trails, and greenways to meet growing public demand.”
The 2021-22 state budget allocated an additional $91 million for state and local parks and trails and beach access, plus $29 million for state trails projects. The Division of Parks and Recreation will also receive 30 new permanent field positions, $10 million to create park facilities for veterans and those with disabilities, and $40 million in water and sewer upgrades.
“This record visitation year shows us that people need new space to recreate and learn outdoors,” said State Parks Director Dwayne Patterson. “People clearly value not only having more space to roam and explore but also revitalizing and caring for them.”