Attendance at Ohiopyle State Park soared in 2020
OHIOPYLE – Attendance soared at Ohiopyle State Park last year as visitors sought to enjoy the outdoors while the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the region.
While 2020’s attendance wasn’t officially a park record, it was significantly higher than previous years, and one of the busiest in the past two decades, according to longtime workers.
“It’s actually busier still (in the winter),” said Ken Bisbee, the operations manager at Ohiopyle State Park. “The big unknown for us in state parks (is) will there be some residual higher visitation even after the vaccination? We see that as a good thing. People either discovered us for the first time, or rediscovered us if they haven’t visited in a while.”
According to automated traffic counters placed at parking lot entrances across the park, 1,367,153 people visited the park in 2020. That attendance figure is significantly higher than the 868,618 people who visited in 2019 and 989,856 in 2018. But the highest recorded attendance Bisbee could find was 1,548,057 visitors in 2010.
Last year’s official attendance figures, however, are likely lower than the actual number of people who came to the park since the main parking lot near the visitor center and falls was partially closed due to reconstruction and realignment of Route 381 through the heart of Ohiopyle. Bisbee said many people who explored the park likely found alternative parking in the borough or private lots.
“Anecdotally, our workers here say we’re busier than we’ve ever been,” Bisbee said. “Visitors are staying longer. They’re parking and going to other places in the borough.”
Source: DCNR Bureau of State Parks
Ohiopyle State Park attendance
2020 – 1,367,153
2019 – 868,618
Total state park attendance in Pa.
2020 – 46,910,544
2019 – 37,046,442
That is also true at other state parks in Pennsylvania. Attendance at state parks increased by more than 26% in 2020, up from about 37 million in 2019 to nearly 47 million last year, according to official statistics from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. DCNR spokesman Terry Brady said people continued to explore the outdoors even as colder temperatures set in.
“What we saw in December was a continuation of what we have been seeing at both our state parks and state forests ever since the pandemic began. People need an outlet to exercise; enjoy outdoors activities; and get away from other people,” Brady said. “Our open space has been a magnet, and warm winter weather has increased that draw. We expect spring will bring another strong surge of visitors.”
That’s what Bisbee is expecting this year with construction completed on an expanded parking lot and a tunnel that allows visitors to walk below Route 381 to see the falls.
“It’s beautiful, especially if people know construction is over,” he said. “It’s nice to have all of our parking lots open.”
At more than 19,000 acres, Ohiopyle is one of the largest state parks out of the 121 in the DCNR’s system. While most of its attractions are centered around the Youghiogheny River and its picturesque falls and rapids, people are now venturing farther into the park than usual, finding remote trails that were rarely used in the past as they try to distance themselves from other visitors.
That means more work for the staff as they try to protect the park’s precious resources, although Bisbee said the state has provided ample support during the pandemic.
“That’s the challenge for us, so it works well and we protect the resource at the same time. The state has recognized the greater stress placed on the park,” Bisbee said.
“I’ll tell you what, it’s been great to have that recognition that the parks are what people are coming for during the pandemic, and be able to keep the staff for most of the pandemic to keep the park open for the visitors,” he added.