GLEN JEAN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – During the month of January, the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve saw a 20.5% increase in visitors compared to January of last year.
According to data from the National Park Service, 38,149 people visited the park in January compared to 31,656 visitors in January of 2022.
Overnight stays also jumped significantly from 229 overnight stays last year, to 557 in January of this year making for a 143.2% increase. Visitor centers within the park also stayed busy as Canyon Rim saw a 20.6% increase in visitors going from 11,675 visitors last January, to 14,083 to kick off 2023.
Sandstone saw the same amount of visitors as last year and the Grandview Visitor Center only saw a few fewer.
Campgrounds within the park witnessed a 229.4% increase in overnight tent stays going from 85 in January 2022, to 280 in 2023.
Other than the visitor centers, Long Point Trail and Fern Creek Climbing were the most popular destinations in the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve in January.
During this fiscal year to date, the park has seen a total of 325,951 visitors.