File Photo | Williston Herald A record number of regular visitors and overnight visitors enjoyed this view at Lewis and Clark State Park southeast of Williston during the 2009 season.
The official visitation total for 2009 came to 1,059,021, the first time the state's parks registered over a million total visitors since 1,045,390 were recorded in 2004.
Greg Corcoran, park manager at Lewis and Clark State Park, said the numbers for 2009 statewide were incredible. He said the numbers at Lewis and Clark were for the record books.
Corcoran said they recorded a total of 3,200 camper nights at Lewis and Clark last summer, which is the total number of campers and nights that campers were hooked to utilities and on site.
"I looked back through our records and going back as far as I could go, we've never had as many campers as we had last summer," said Corcoran. As for total visits from the public, he said last year also was a record year.
"We keep count at the gate, and we had a little over 60,000," said Corcoran.
Corcoran feels there were several factors that accounted for the large increase of visitors. One of the main reasons he believed was what may have been the end of a decade-long drought in the region.
Heavy snowfall resulted in Lake Sakakawea's water level to rise nearly 20 feet from the previous year, which made for far more opportunities for people to enjoy the lake.
Another reason was the weather over the summer.
"The weather was just great. Except for a bit of a storm, actually a pretty severe storm on the third of July, the weather was just phenomenal. It just got busier each weekend; and we had people from South Dakota, Montana and Minnesota coming here," said Corcoran.
He said with the right combination of weather and lake levels, Lewis and Clark State
Park is simply an appealing place for people to come, relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature.
Looking ahead to this summer, Corcoran said "it's looking to be an even bigger year."
During the next 90 days, he said they'll begin to get an idea of how busy this summer could be. Reservations for North Dakota State Parks begin Sunday morning at 7 a.m.
"They start to trickle in in February and March and it'll pick up throughout the reservation period," said Corcoran.
To handle a high volume of traffic, he said they might hire some additional help for the summer.
Reservations may be made at all state parks between May 14 and Sept. 6 except for Fort Ransom State Park, which will have reserved sites through Sept. 30. Reservations are limited to stays of 14 consecutive days.
To make a reservation at Lewis and Clark State Park, visit www.parkrec.nd.gov or call Lewis and Clark State Park at (701) 859-3071.
Lewis and Clark State Park is located 19 miles southeast of Williston, just off of North Dakota Highway 1804.
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