National Park Service Releases 2012 Attendance Numbers

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday the National Park Service released the official attendance numbers for each of the parks in 2012. The list gives us some insights into the most popular destinations with travelers in the U.S. park system with some very well known and iconic parks earning the top spots. The numbers also indicate that travelers don’t seem to be growing tired of the parks either, as more than 282 million people visited a national park last year. That’s up from 2011 and the sixth highest total of all time.

Of the 59 park units that fall under the jurisdiction of the NPS, the top ten most popular, along with their attendance numbers, are as follows:

  1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (9,685,829)
  2. Grand Canyon National Park (4,421,352)
  3. Yosemite National Park (3,853,404)
  4. Yellowstone National Park (3,447,729)
  5. Rocky Mountain National Park (3,229,617)
  6. Zion National Park (2,973,607)
  7. Olympic National Park (2,824,908)
  8. Grand Teton National Park (2,705,256)
  9. Acadia National Park (2,431,052)
  10. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (2,299,722)

These parks are all certainly deserving of being amongst the most visited. Each of them is a spectacular environment in their own right and it is completely understandable why they are chosen by millions of visitors on a yearly basis. The Great Smoky Mountains in particular have been on top of this list for years and the park remains a mainstay for backpackers, hikers, campers and other travelers.

If you’re a fan of the national parks and haven’t been to each of these yet, you could easily spend several vacations exploring each of these destinations. These are some of the most amazing landscapes in North America and the perfect settings for outdoor enthusiasts and adventure travelers alike.

[Photo Credit: National Park Service]

Yellowstone Avoids Delayed Opening Thanks To Efforts Of Wyoming Town

by Kraig Becker on

Over the past month or so we’ve all heard stories about the impact of sequestration on America’s national parks. Severe budget cuts, brought on by Congress’ inability to come to a fiscal compromise, have resulted in a loss of services in a number of parks across the country. In order to operate within its revised budget, this year the National Park Service has been forced to close visitor centers, cut back on staff and even delay the opening of some of the parks. One of those parks is Yellowstone, where the NPS decided to delay the spring opening by two weeks. That decision was made when park officials realized they could save as much as $100,000 by not having to plow snow from the roads following the scheduled May 3 opening. But thanks to the determination and generosity of one Wyoming town, the park will now open on schedule.

The town of Cody sits 52 miles outside of Yellowstone and serves as an access point for the park’s East Gate. As you can imagine, the sleepy little village sees a lot of traffic during the summer travel months with travelers stopping by on their way in or out of the park. Last year, over 11,000 visitors passed through the East Gate in the first two weeks of the season alone. The loss of that early season traffic this year was estimated to cost Cody more than $2 million in revenue.

Cody Chamber of Commerce executive director Scott Balyo saw the delayed opening as both a potential crisis and a major opportunity. He challenged the local citizens and businesses to raise the $100,000 necessary to pay the road crews to plow snow from Yellowstone’s highways, setting a deadline of April 1 to reach their goal. The response was overwhelming with contributions ranging from as little as $10 all the way up to $10,000. Together the citizens of Cody managed to complete their fund raising efforts well ahead of schedule.

Working in conjunction with Yellowstone superintendent Dan Wenk and officials from Wyoming, the town of Cody has now arranged for state vehicles to plow the roads inside the national park. The $100,000 raised will completely cover the costs, allowing the East Gate to open on schedule. That means anyone planning a visit to Yellowstone in early May will still have access to the park despite all of the on going sequestration drama.

This is good news for fans of Yellowstone and a job well done by the citizens of Cody.

Statue Of Liberty To Reopen By July 4

by Kraig Becker on

Earlier this week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Statue of Liberty will reopen to visitors this summer just in time to celebrate America’s birthday. The iconic statue, and the island it sits on, suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy in October but is now on track to return to service by July 4, 2013.

During the mega-storm that engulfed the East Coast last year, Liberty Island suffered considerable amounts of damage due to the high winds, excessive rain and flooding. Salazar indicated that Sandy managed to not only destroy the docks that grant access to the island, but also knocked out the security screening system and power grid as well. And while damage to the statue itself was minimal, railings and sidewalks crumbled, buildings were submerged under water and boilers were destroyed.

Finding sources of funding to make the repairs has become a bit of a challenge, especially in the wake of sequestration budget cuts. But the Statue is one of the top tourist attractions in all of New York City, attracting 3.7 million visitors in 2011. That means it is a revenue generator that the local economy will be happy to have back in operation for the busy summer months.

The exact date of the reopening hasn’t been determined yet, but Salazar said more information will be coming soon. He did want to stress, however, that Statue will be in tip-top shape in time for annual Independence Day celebrations. Nearby Ellis Island won’t quite be so lucky, however, as there has been no time table set for its reopening at this time.

[Photo Credit: National Park Service]

VIDEO: Prehistoric Art Of Panther Cave Reproduced In 3D

by Sean McLachlan on


Panther Cave in Seminole Canyon, Texas, has some of the country’s best-preserved prehistoric cave paintings. A colorful frieze of leaping panthers, feathered shamans and strange abstract shapes have puzzled researchers for decades. It appears to be telling a story of some sort, but what does that story say?

Now this new 3D video allows you to study it for yourself. Color enhancement brings out details hard to see with the naked eye. It also brings the cave (really a rock shelter) to the general public. Panther Cave is only visible from the opposite bank of the river or by a specially scheduled boat trip with a park ranger.

The paintings date to the Archaic period, a vague label stretching from 7,000 B.C. to 600 A.D. Judging from the condition of the paintings and the relatively shallow depth of the rock shelter, this former archaeologist thinks they must date to the last few centuries of that period. Take that with a grain of salt; my specialty was the Anglo-Saxon migration period.

The site is managed by Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site and Amistad National Recreation Area. Sadly, Past Horizons reports that the site is now endangered by flooding related to the construction of Amistad Reservoir. As prehistoric art across the nation falls prey to “development,” vandalism and time, these detailed videos become important records of our past.

For a look at some cave paintings from the opposite side of the globe, check out my post on the painted caves of Laas Geel in Somaliland.

Mammoth Cave Surpasses 400 Miles In Length

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced that the official length of Mammoth Cave now surpasses 400 miles as ten miles of newly mapped chambers and passageways were recently added to the cave complex. Park officials say that these additional miles were the result of a series of smaller, more incremental finds, and were not the result of a single major discovery. Exploration and mapping of these new areas were conducted in partnership with the Cave Research Foundation.

Carved out of the central Kentucky limestone, Mammoth Cave was already the longest cave system in the world prior to the addition of these new discoveries. In fact, it is so large that it is more than twice the size of the next longest cave. Mammoth’s massive underground complex attracts thousands of visitors on a yearly basis ranging from curious travelers to full-fledged explorers and spelunkers. Some of its more famous locations even have names, such as the massive Grand Avenue and the aptly named Fat Man’s Misery.

The Park Service conducts daily tours of Mammoth lasting anywhere from one to six hours in length. Some of those tours are along relatively easy-guided paths while others venture far into the darkness to decidedly more challenging and cramped places. The popular Grand Avenue tour for instance is a 4-mile, four-hour trek that is physically demanding, while the hike to the beautiful Frozen Niagara is a much easier quarter-mile walk that is safe enough for both children and older visitors. Both provide fantastic views of the interior of the cave that simply must be seen to be believed.

If you’re looking for a destination for an upcoming trip to a national park this summer, Mammoth Cave National Park is one of those places that will delight and amaze the entire family.

[Photo Credit: The National Park Service]