State park attendance jumps by nearly 6 percent year to date

Visits to New York’s state parks and historic sites increased 5.6 percent in the first eight months of 2012.

Almost 43.7 million people visited the state’s 178 parks and 35 historic sites from Jan. 1 through Aug. 26, according to New York’s Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. That’s 2.3 million visits more than in the same period last year.

Good weather drove many people to parks and historic sites, State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said in a news release. She also chalked the high park utilization up to events like sold-out concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Nik Wallenda’s June tightrope walk across Niagara Falls.

The park system anticipates busy parks over Labor Day weekend. Over 90 percent of its campsites have been booked in advance.

“We’ve had a tremendous season so far, and we hope that our visitors enjoyed their time swimming, camping, golfing, hiking, and sightseeing at our parks and historic sites,” Harvey said. “But the year is far from over, and fall is one of the best times to get outside in New York. We look forward to welcoming millions more visitors to our properties for fall camping, leaf-peeping festivals, historical reenactments, and more.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com