Visitors to Little River Canyon increase sharply in 2020
If 2020 was the Year of COVID, then it was also the year Americans rediscovered their love for nature. Visitation to the Little River Canyon west of Rome on Lookout Mountain reached an all-time high, with more than 802,000 people visiting the national preserve over the course of the year.
Overall, visitation was up 23.4% in 2020 as compared to the previous year.
Visitation to the canyon was up in 10 of the 12 months, with only April and December showing decreases from 2019. The April numbers were off by less than half a percent while the December numbers were down 16%.
Matthew Switzer, the public information ranger with the park, said 2021 is on track to do even better — with a 44% increase in January.
By the time the second spike in the pandemic started last fall, folks across the region were really ready to get outside, he said. October visitation at the canyon was up by 67% while November visitors increased by a whopping 79%.
Switzer said many visitors in the spring and summer last year were frustrated by the limited amount of parking that was available
“Park staff were seeing an average of 2,500 visitors every Saturday and Sunday vying for the 174 parking spaces at Little River Falls and Blue Hole,” he said in a press release.
While there is plenty of room to roam at the canyon, Switzer said it is the responsibility of visitors to practice social distancing and, if that should not be possible, face coverings are required to be worn.