Montana state parks post record visitors

Montana’s recent strong year for tourism was felt beyond its national parks — Montana’s 55 state parks saw 2.255 million visitors in 2014, record high visitation numbers for a second straight year.

Montana State Parks reported Jan. 8 that from January to December last year, the state parks system’s 75th anniversary year, statewide visitation numbers showed a 3 percent increase over 2013. The busiest month was July, with more than 516,000 visits, a 9 percent increase over 2013.

The North Central Region saw the highest annual numbers, with 593,000 visits. Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls had the highest visitation of all state parks, with more than 316,000 visits.

Locally, Wayfarers State Park in Bigfork ranked fifth with 133,473 visits. Other top-5 state parks included Lake Elmo State Park in Billings, Cooney State Park in Roberts, and Spring Meadow Lake State Park in Helena.

Statewide, park visitation is up 14 percent over the past five years and up 29 percent over the past 10 years. Visitation numbers took a dip in 2010 and again in 2011 before making a steady climb to its current record numbers. Visitation by residents slightly increased last year from 80 to 81 percent of the total.

State parks in Northwest Montana saw 566,946 visits, a 4.5 percent increase over 2013. About 84 percent were day-use visits. Five of the region’s 14 state parks, however, saw a decrease in visits — Les Mason, Thompson Chain of Lakes, Thompson Falls, West Shore and Whitefish. Logan State Park, west of Kalispell on U.S. 2, saw the largest increase at 30 percent, followed by Yellow Bay on Flathead Lake at 18 percent.

Montana State Parks also experienced increased participation in volunteerism in 2014. Volunteers dedicated nearly 43,000 hours to state park operations and programs — the equivalent of more than 20 full-time employees. The volunteers provided much needed support to the division’s limited paid staff.

“The growth in our visitation and volunteer support is very exciting,” Montana State Parks administrator Chas Van Genderen said. “Since 2002, annual park use has increased by a million visits. This trend has led to greater demands for staffing and services in our parks. Our volunteers are vital to meeting those demands. We thank the public for their ongoing support, and look forward to continued growth for years to come.”

For more information, visit online at http://stateparks.mt.gov.