It's been a record year for the number of visitors to North Carolina's state parks. Park officials cite new trails, improvements, and social media efforts as reasons for the increase.
Half a million more people visited the parks in 2017. This is the fourth year in a row of record-breaking attendance.
Jockeys Ridge State Park in Dare County had the highest attendance at 1.5 million. It's one of six state parks counting more than a million visitors.
Officials say they're proud of the numbers, but they're focused on the quality of the parks, not the quantity of visitors. As improvement efforts continue, they've recently acquired nearly 2,100 acres of land that will be added to existing parks, including the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
State Parks were included in the Connect NC Bond initiative which was approved by voters in March of 2016. The Division of Parks and Recreation plans to use those funds to add new campgrounds, visitor centers, and to obtain new lands across the state.