OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Often called one of the “crown jewels of the National Park System,” Olympic National Park remained one of the 10 most visited national parks in 2015, according to the National Park Service.
The official visitor count for 2015 was 3,263,761, making it the seventh most visited national park in the U.S.
Totals do not include non-recreational visits, which include contractors or employees, which add another 819,374 visits, according to the Park Service.
Olympic National Park computes visitation through a formula, using traffic counters to figure the number of vehicles and multipliers of numbers of people per vehicle to determine the total visitors, park officials have said.
Visitor counts are determined via traffic counters located on park public access roads, and there are people counters at each visitor center, said Jared Low, spokesman for Olympic National Park.
According to park statistics, in 2015, Olympic National Park had 122,579 tent camping visits, 88,587 registered backcountry overnight hikers, 65,516 recreational vehicle campers and 85,362 visitors stayed in lodging in the park.
Top 10
The 10 most visited national parks in 2015, according to the National Park Service, were:
■ Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee, 10.7 million.
■ Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 5.5 million.
■ Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 4.1 million.
■ Yosemite National Park, California, 4.1 million.
■ Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, 4 million.
■ Zion National Park, Utah 3.6 million.
■ Olympic National Park, 3.2 million.
■ Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 3.1 million.
■ Acadia National Park, Maine, 2.8 million.
■ Glacier National Park, Montana, 2.3 million.
Statewide, a Park Service report said 7,674,513 visitors to national parks spent $470 million in Washington state in 2015.
The report said 31.1 percent of park visitor spending was for lodging, 20.2 percent for food and beverages, 11.8 percent for gas and oil, 10.2 percent on admissions and fees, and 9.8 percent on souvenirs and other expenses.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
