Montana’s state parks had the highest overall summer visitation on record and sites near Kalispell remained the most popular, according to the state’s parks department.
Nearly 1.3 million people visited state parks between May and August, a 7 percent increase over last year and a 16 percent increase over the five-year average. That’s the highest visitation total on record for the Montana State Parks. Overall visitation for the calendar year is on pace to match or exceed the 2009 record of more than 2 million visitors.
“We’ve just concluded our best summer season yet. The numbers tell us how much Montanans and out-of-state visitors value state parks as a place to spend time with family and friends camping, fishing, swimming, hiking and enjoying Montana’s outdoor heritage,” Chas Van Genderen, administrator for Montana State Parks, said in a statement. “These visitation numbers are great news for our communities and local economies.”
Kalispell area sites in Region 1 saw the highest overall visitation for the summer season with 303,135 visitors, collectively. Wayfarers State Park had the highest individual visitation with nearly 80,000 visitors. From 2011 to 2012, Lake Mary Ronan and Les Mason State Parks had the largest increases in visitation at 27 percent.
Helena/Bozeman/Butte in Region 3 saw the largest increase in overall visitation for the calendar year, up 22 percent. Lake Elmo State Park in Billings had the highest visitation of all 54 state parks at 153,000 visitors.
The season peaked in July with more than 445,000 visitors. August was the second busiest month, followed by June.