Date: March 16, 2017
March 16, 2017
For Immediate Release
Jared Low 360-565-3005
Olympic National Park Sees Rise in Visitation During 2016
Port Angeles, WA – In 2016 Olympic National Park saw an increase in visitation with a total of 3,390,221 visits. This is a 3.87 percent increase from 3,263,761 visits in 2015 and 4.5 percent increase in visits from 2014. Olympic National Park was the seventh most visited park in the country during 2016. One of the most notable changes in visitation trends is the number of backcountry campers with an increase of 13.3 percent from 88,587 in 2015 to 100,347 in 2016.
Campaigns like Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque launched with the National Park Foundation, introduced new audiences to the breadth of the national park system. The National Park Services’ centennial combined with other popular programs, such as the Centennial BioBlitz and “Every Kid in a Park” helped drive the increase in visitation as well. “I continue to be inspired by the number of people from across the country and around the world that visit Olympic. We are pleased to share the story of this special place and the experience it offers.” said Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “The visitors coming to Olympic play an important role in contributing to the local economy and we are happy to have the partnership and support of our neighbors.”
The National Park Service also reported record-breaking visitation in 2016. The national parks system received 330,971,689 recreation visits in 2016—up by 23.7 million visits (7.7%) over 2015. 382 of the 417 parks in the National Park system count visitors and 77 of those parks set a new record for annual recreation visits.
--NPS—
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 417 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
