Press release from the National Park Service:
Blue Ridge Parkway managers announced today that 14,976,085 visitors came to the Parkway in 2019. Despite extended weather-related closures in multiple sections of the Parkway in Virginia, recreation visits to the Parkway in Virginia saw a 4.4% increase over visitation to the same area in 2018. Likewise, visits to the North Carolina section of the Parkway continue to hold steady at over 10 million visitors annually.
Parkway visitation is a driving factor in many local tourism economies along the route. “Parkway tourism across Virginia’s Blue Ridge is a mainstay to our local economy,” said Catherine Fox, Vice President of Public Affairs & Destination Development of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, the Roanoke Valley region’s official destination marketing organization. “Tourism leaders in this region are pleased to see that Parkway tourism in Virginia continues to grow.”
While the Parkway remains open, weather permitting, year-round; the traditional visitor season begins in the spring and continues through fall. July and October are historically the highest visitation months on the Parkway. Information to help plan your Parkway visit and 2020 facility opening dates are available at www.nps.gov/blri.
For an in-depth look at 2019 visitation to the Blue Ridge Parkway and across the National Park Service, visit the NPS Social Science website.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.