Woodbridge, Va. –– Leesylvania State Park last year helped to inject more than $8 million into the local economy last year, according to state figures.
In a year when state parks across Virginia saw near record attendance, and hosted more overnight campers than any other year in their 75-year history, park officials are taking a bow.
“Hurricanes and tornados briefly closed a number of parks, in some cases for several weeks, and yet our daily attendance was the second highest in history, only a modest decline from 2010,” said Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation State Parks Director Joe Elton in an email statement. “In fact, our daily attendance increased in nearly half of our 35 parks. Virginia State Parks remain a primary vacation destination for millions of people looking for affordable opportunities to enjoy Virginia’s great outdoors.”
Leesylvania on the banks of the Potomac River in Woodbridge doesn’t host overnight visitors, but it did welcome 503,000 visitors in 2011, according to Virginia State Parks figures.
The park often offers living history events, and last fall year took advantage of the much celebrated 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
The records were also set during a year when Virginia State Parks were celebrating their 75th Anniversary.
First Landing State Park outside Virginia Beach was said to have the most economic impact, injecting nearly $32 million into the state’s economy in 2011.
