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Rocky Mountain National Park visits down for year |
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Rocky Mountain National Park visits continue to lag behind 2007 numbers.
By John Cordsen of the Estes Park Trail Gazette
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Data for Rocky Mountain National Park September visits was a mixed bag – visitor counts continued to decline but entrance station revenue was similar to last season.
September visits were lagging 4.6 percent behind last year with 443,018 entering the Park this September compared to 464,390 last year.
Year-do-date visitor counts are off even more, down 6.46 percent from the same time last year. Through September, a total of 2,556,604 visitors have been counted. This is down from the 2,733,229 to visit the Park through the first nine months of 2007. Fall colors and the onset of the elk rut helped make Saturday, Sept. 20 the busiest day of the year, according to a Park spokesperson.
The soft Park visits were also reflected in slower activity at the Visitors Center. Foot traffic in the center was off 18 percent through the first nine months of the year. Year-to-date, 226,087 people have been counted at the center. This is down from the 224,924 counted through September 2007. Telephone calls were off three percent, 20,275 compared to 20,995 and Web click-thrus from the Convention and Visitors Bureau site to stakeholders was down one percent to 972,271 from 980,060.
On the flip side, Visitor Guide distribution was up 7.6 percent with 52,067 being distributed as compared to 48,396 last year. EstesParkCVB.com received 2,821,236 page views with 34,199 Visitors Guide and related downloads.
Winter hours
Beginning Monday, Oct. 13, the Estes Visitors Center began operating on its off-season schedule. The lobby will be open for visitors’ services on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
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