Visitation increases for all three national park sites in southern West Virginia in 2023
GLEN JEAN, WV (WVNS) — All three national park locations in southern West Virginia saw an increase in visitation in 2023.
According to the National Park Service, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve had 1,709,623 visitors in the park in 2023, which is a 7.12 percent increase over 1,595,923 in 2022. That made 2023 the park’s highest recorded year since it was created in 1978, with April, May, June, August, and September topping the charts for the park’s highest months on record.
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The Gauley River National Recreation Area saw 187,223 visitors in 2023, a 14.5 percent increase from 2022 which had 163,510 visitors.
The Bluestone National Scenic River saw a 53 percent increase in 2023 with 21,592 visitors over 14,113 in 2022. New trail counters at the Bluestone State Park and Lilly entrances to the park helped contribute to the increase in visitors.
While our annual increase has slowed since the initial 30% jump in the year immediately following the redesignation. The fact that it continues to rise speaks to the value of these three national park sites to the national and international communities who’ve discovered us.
Eric Laprice | Deputy Superintendent
The three park sites in southern West Virginia saw an increase in visitors since the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was reclassified from national river to national park and preserve. Visitation for the three park locations in 2023 totaled 1,918,438, which is a 41.8 percent increase over 1,352,666 visitors in 2019.
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National parks across the United States saw an increase in visitors with 325.5 million total visits in 2023, which is a four percent or 13 million increase over visitor totals in 2022.
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