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Posted: February 13, 2008

State Parks Set Tourism Record

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Prepare for Take Off! Jockey's Ridge, NC
Prepare for Take Off! Jockey's Ridge, NC

Raleigh, N.C. — Dry weather didn't keep people from heading to North Carolina state parks last year, where more than 13 million visitors set a tourism record, officials said.

The most popular spot was Jockey's Ridge State Park, which about 1.5 million people visited. Other state parks that saw the biggest increase in visitors included Hammock's Beach on Onslow County, Fort Fisher in New Hanover County, Gorges Park in Transylvania County and the Cliffs of the Neuse in Wayne County.

The number of visitors for the year was up 6.5 percent from 2006, officials said, noting that the record came despite the closure of several lakes and recreational swimming areas because of the drought.

RELATED TOPICS: Wayne County, Transylvania County, New Hanover County, Onslow County

Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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3 Comments


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Latest Comments
It's not terribly surprising that Gorges set a record considering it's a relatively new state park.
Voice_0f_reason
February 13, 2008 4:55 p.m.
I sure agree with you, ratherbnnc. I too am proud of our state parks and the folks who run them. Let the rangers and the folks in the know run them and keep politics out.
Click to view my profile Huey
February 13, 2008 2:29 p.m.
State Parks are a great place to visit with some new parks opening soon at Dismal Swamp in Northeastern NC and Chimney Rock in the mountains. The staff at the parks make it a great place to visit with their programs. The so-called political Director of State Parks sure had nothing to do with it. He definitely needs to go and let the State Superintendant run the State Parks. Makes no sense to have a Director also. It would be nice to keep the politics out of state parks.
Click to view my profile ratherbnnc
February 13, 2008 1:27 p.m.
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