Smokies have record number of visitors thanks to eclipse viewing
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park had a record number of visitors in 2017, up slightly over visitation in 2016, according to a news release from the park.
The attendance was bolstered by what park officials called the largest special event in park history, the viewing of the total solar eclipse.
For the second consecutive year, the Smokies welcomed more than 11 million visitors. In 2017, a record 11,338,894 people visited the national park, an increase of 0.2 percent from 2016.
The park continued to see the highest visitation in July, followed by October and June, according to the release.
In November 2016, a wildfire burned Gatlinburg, damaging or destroying more than 2,500 structures and killing 14 people. Tourism in the area suffered in the wildfire’s aftermath.
Monthly Smokies visitation records were set in January, February, April, September and November of last year, which the park said follows a pattern of increased year-round visitation.
Smokies Superintendent Cassius Cash said the increase in visitation across all four seasons does present its share of challenges.
“I am proud of the employees who work hard each day to meet these challenges, along with the support of our volunteers and partners who collectively help us care for this incredibly special place.”
ECLIPSE HELPED BOOST NUMBERS
The Smokies hosted the largest special event in park history last year. The western half of the park provided totality viewing during the solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Many events, led by park rangers, were scheduled in the days leading up to the eclipse viewings.
Events at Cades Cove, Clingmans Dome, Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Sugarlands Visitor Center attracted nearly 16,000 people, according to the release.
More than 47,000 visitors came into the park to view the eclipse. That was a 64 percent increase in visitation for that day over 2016.
An additional 26,000 watched the live broadcast of the Clingmans Dome event in partnership with NASA and another 6 million watched the event online from across the world via the NASA 360 broadcast.
PARK VOLUNTEERS WERE A BIG HELP
More than 2,800 park volunteers donated more than 115,000 hours of service in 2017, on such things as trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, and providing visitor information along trails, at visitor centers, and in campgrounds, according to park officials.
Visitors spent nearly 400,000 nights camping in the park, slightly down from 2016, but above the five-year average.
Nine front-country campgrounds and 100 back-country campsites are available in the park.