1:06 p.m. January 9, 2013
Visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park increased in December

GATLINBURG, TN -- Traffic into Great Smoky Mountains National Park was up 7.5%, or 676,997 more visitors than recorded during 2011. Visitation for the 2012 year totaled 9,685,828 compared with 9,008,835 in 2011. This is the highest number of visitors since 2000 when the park saw 10.1 million people.

The park attributes the mild weather experienced during the winter and spring of 2012 to the increased visitation for the year. More people were able to travel into the park and be outdoors due to the lack of ice and snow on the roads and trails. The mild weather in the colder seasons and warm summer set the tone for visitation as every month of 2012 saw an increase of visitors over those recorded in 2011.

Visits to the National Park were up in December 2012 in spite of Newfound Gap Road being closed 6 days due to ice and snow. Image by Jeaneane Payne.

December 2012 Park entries were 480,527 compared with 471,603 as seen in December 2011. This is a 1.9% increase over December 2011. Newfound Gap Road between Gatlinburg, TN and Cheorkee, NC was closed due to ice and snow on all or part of 6 days during December, but the holiday season brought a large number of visitors to the park during the latter part of the month.

Park Entrances December 2012 visitation:

Gatlinburg: 175,205 visitors
Townsend: 65,156
Cherokee: 111,574
13 Outlying Areas: 128,592

Published January 9, 2013