State park reaches all-time high

WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen State Park set an all-time record for visitors in 2013.
The popular state park attracted 632,140 visitors for the year. This was a 7 percent increase over the previous high of 590,129 visitors in 2012. Comparing 2013 with 2003 the park has experienced a 72 percent increase.
Randy Simons, spokesperson for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said their recent press release covers park attendance for 2013 back to 2003. In 2003, Watkins Glen’s state park had 367,132 visitors. Simons added the new 2013 number of 632,140 is an all-time high for Watkins Glen.
“It’s a lot to do with the international tourism that comes to the area,” said Park Manager Ron Roney. “I think we are attracting more and more tour bus groups. And I think the other side of that are the events that are held in town. I think a lot of that seems to surround and enhance what we do at the park here as well.”
“We are weather dependent here at the end of the day with the park, but I think what we are surrounded by really enhances our attendance figures,” Roney said. “Other than having a total washout summer season, we seem to make out even toward the end of the year when the weather could turn nice. It seems we could make numbers up in quick fashion toward the end of the year.”
Roney attributes the consistent increases in visitor numbers to the high traffic through the village. He said while camping numbers have remained somewhat consistent, the day visitors are what really grow their attendance numbers.
“The tour bus groups that are coming in are one of the ones we see a really steady increase on,” Roney said. “I think the other part of it is the event traffic that’s here. Those are the two largest ones. Camping seems to be steady across our figures with slight increases, but day use is really where we have seen as of late our strong increases here.”
“I think part of it is our location,” Roney said. “I think it’s different amenities that people are looking for, that type of thing. We are in the direct line of the New York City to Niagara Falls bus traffic. I think that is what kind of puts us ahead of it. All of our facilities are beautiful facilities and they have all their own uniqueness to them, but I think the one advantage in Watkins here is just the traffic we have coming through here being on a main route. There are not many state park facilities that are right in the middle of a very active village like Watkins Glen. We have a very unique opportunity here.”