State parks system reports record number of visitors

The North Carolina state parks system last year saw a record 22.8 million visitors enter its 41 parks, recreation areas and natural areas, according to data provided Monday by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The visitations represent a 15% increase from the 19.8 million park guests in 2020, when visits surged as more people sought outdoor activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jockey’s Ridge State Park was again the most visited park in 2021, with more than 1.8 million guests, about 100,000 fewer visitors than 2020. Jordan Lake State Recreation Area was the next most frequented park. It saw the largest year-over-year growth, up 84% from the nearly 877,000 visitors in 2020, when it was the 9th most visited park.

Falls Lake State Recreation Area saw 46% growth last year, making it the third most frequented park in North Carolina. Nearly 1.5 million people traveled to the Wake Forest location, up from the 1 million visitors in 2020.

The 2021 numbers reflect even greater interest among the public to visit even after Covid-19 vaccines had become widely available.

When the pandemic hit, many North Carolinians turned to exercise at state parks they had not previously explored. When the state reported its 2020 records, Gov. Roy Cooper said the figures showed “our outdoor spaces hold even greater value than we could have imagined before the challenges of the last year.”

Among the 41 park system facilities, 29 units reported increases in visitation in 2021. Ten units saw at least 1 million guests. They include Jockey’s Ridge, Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Pilot Mountain State Park, Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, Carolina Beach State Park, Fort Macon State Park, William B. Umstead State Park and Eno River state parks.

Umstead, the lone state park within Raleigh city limits, saw a 2% rise in visitations; nearly 24,000 more people visited in 2021.

Singletary Lake State Park, which is located between Fayetteville and Wilmington, again saw the fewest visitors, although it reported a 50% increase from 20,000 visitors in 2020 to 30,000 in 2021. Pettigrew State Park and Elk Knob State Park were the second and third least visited sites.