How they count

2008 National Park visitation statistics were released last week.

"Visitation statics for 2008 are out. Overall, there were approximately 275 million visits Servicewide, about the same as last year. Since 1916, there have been 11.7 billion visits to the National Park System.

The top ten most visited areas in the NPS last year were:

1. Blue Ridge Parkway – 16,309,307
2. Golden Gate National Recreation Area – 14,554,750
3. Gateway National Recreation Area – 9,431,021
4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park – 9,044,010
5. Lake Mead National Recreation Area – 7,601,863
6. George Washington Memorial Parkway – 7,009,630
7. Natchez Trace Parkway – 5,747,235
8. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area – 5,127,074
9. Lincoln Memorial – 4,678,861
10. Cape Cod National Seashore – 4,644,235

The ten most visited national parks were:

1. Great Smoky Mountains NP – 9,044,010
2. Grand Canyon NP – 4,425,314
3. Yosemite NP – 3,431,514
4. Olympic NP – 3,081,451
5. Yellowstone NP – 3,066,580
6. Cuyahoga Valley NP – 2,828,233
7. Rocky Mountain NP – 2,757,390
8. Zion NP – 2,690,154
9. Grand Teton NP – 2,485,987
10. Acadia NP – 2,075,857"

(from http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/morningreportold.cfm)

Not a lot of surprises on the list, but it got me wondering how the good folks at the park service determine these figures. After only a few keystrokes, I found this URL: http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/index.cfm, a goldmine of NPS stats.

One could wander these pages for quite some time -- there's a ton of interesting info, including how NPS determines the number of recreation visits for each park or area. Here's the page for Point Reyes:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/CountingInstructions/PORECI1994.pdf,
revealing that pneumatic tube traffic counters are placed at:
visitor center
entrance lane to Limantour Road
entrance lane to Five Brooks
entrance lane to Palomarin
entrance lane to Pierce Point Road
entrance lane to Sir Francis Drake (I'm guessing that means at the Pierce Point/SFD split)

In addition, visitation to Bolinas Ridge, Commonweal, and Tocaloma is determined by trailhead vehicle count.

The traffic count is multiplied by the persons-per-vehicle (PPV) multiplier of 2 for all the above except the visitor center, Pierce Point Road, and Sir Francis Drake, all of which get a PPV of 4. An estimatation of non-recreation visitor vehicles is then subtracted.

Similar information seems to available for all the NPS sites (I didn't check them all), with additional visitation comments such as dates a park was closed due to weather, malfunctioning pneumatic tubes, and even when counting equipment is stolen.

While I was poking through the stats I looked up the 2008 visitor counts for some of my favorite California national parks, and here's how they stacked up:
GGNRA 14,554,750
Point Reyes 2,248,203
Joshua Tree 1,392,446
Sequoia 930,011
Death Valley 871,938
Muir Woods 838,292
Kings Canyon 574,870
Redwood 396,899
Lassen 377,361

Definitely some surprises. Joshua Tree's visits are nearly double Death Valley, and Lassen, wow, that's a low figure.

Here's a photo from one of my favorite California national park campsites. Anyone know where it is?

Bay Area budget-friendly hikes

With the economy suffering and folks losing their jobs, just about everyone is looking for money saving ideas. While hiking is just about free, there are costs associated with it -- most notably gas, bridge tolls, and day-use fees. So it makes good sense to consider each potential hike for recreation and monetary value. For example, I would think twice about making a day trip to Wilder Ranch. This state park just a bit north of Santa Cruz is about 120 miles round trip from San Francisco and the day use fee is a whooping $8 -- altogether too much money.

Here are some budget ideas to ponder when you want to hike as inexpensively as possible.

1) Stay in the City. Two weeks out of the month, hike in town. Mount Davidson, Lands End, and the Presidio are best bets for 2-3 mile hikes and you can reach all these trailheads by Muni or park for free at the trailheads. No, you won't have the same wilderness experience as Big Basin or Tomales Point, but you can hike some very pleasant easy trails without leaving town.
2) Take the bus. A round trip to Point Reyes from San Francisco via Golden Gate Transit and West Marin Stagecoach starts at $12. Or try a San Mateo County park accessible by bus such as San Pedro Valley Park.
3) Look for free trailheads. While I am a firm believer in always paying day use fees (our parks need the money), fees are often avoidable. At Mount Tamalpais, park for free at Mountain Home or Rock Spring instead of paying at Pantoll. You can park for free along the side of the road outside the parking lots at Samuel P. Taylor and Castle Rock. Just be sure to park legally and obey all posted requirements -- gamble for one of these premium parking spots by arriving as early as possible in the morning.
4) Go south and not very far. Bridge tolls make hiking trips north and east spendy. Instead, drive down the peninsula about 40 minutes to a free trailhead such as Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, Edgewood Park and Preserve, or Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.
5) Splurge occasionally. It's worth every penny to travel to Mount Diablo, Henry Coe, Castle Rock, and Sugarloaf. Consider car pooling with hiking buddies to save gas money and trailhead fees.
6) Get a parks pass. San Mateo County Parks pass is $60; California State Parks pass is $125. These passes are a big hunk of change, but use them regularly and save money in the long run. Consider asking for passes for birthday or holidays gifts.

Hiking is still a great bargain. You don't need fancy clothes or even boots. Don't let a light wallet keep you from hitting the trail.