Cabin fever and the coronavirus combined to drive people outdoors and into public parks as the number of visitors and campers across the region hit record highs in 2020.
Little River Canyon Natural Preserve near Fort Payne, Alabama, notched a record-high number of visitors in 2020 with more than 800,000 people taking in the sights there last year, park spokesperson Matthew Switzer said. There were 649,986 visitors to the park in 2019, compared with 802,375 in 2020 – a 23.4% increase.
Switzer said that trend has continued into 2021 with a 44% jump in visitation in January, and visitation in February is on track to exceed 2020 figures, too.
“We absolutely attribute the jump in visitation, especially in March and May through September, to COVID. As the pandemic began to hit and schools and businesses were closed, one of the only things remaining open was outdoor recreation,” Switzer said Friday.