Sharp drop in visits for Smokies in November

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported a sharp decline in visitation for the month of November. Overall, the number of visitors dropped 12.4% for the month, with Gatlinburg reporting the largest decline, a drop of 25.3%, when compared to November of 2009.

The Townsend entrance was down 12.3%, while the Cherokee entrance saw a decline of 2.5%. Fortunately the park's 13 outlying entrances reported an increase of 5.3%.

For the year-to-date, through the end of November, visitation to the Smokies is up 1.7%.

Comparatively, recreational visitation on the Blue Ridge Parkway was up 0.7% for November, but is down 8% for the YTD.

Shenandoah National Park is having a great year. Visitation was up 20.3% for November, and 11.1% for the YTD.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com