LOCAL STATE PARKS THRIVE

Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

09-02-10 - The county's state parks are thriving, posting significant increases in tourists in excess of the state average this summer and bolstering the county's economy.

State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Dan Keefe said tourism is up at all four of the state parks, even the Olana and Clermont state historic sites, which were predicted to have been troubled by the closing of state Route 9G between the two sites. The closure has left it virtually impossible for even the most experienced local drivers to commute between the attractions without going miles out of the way or getting lost.

"I have been on more back roads in Columbia County (since the road closure) than I ever cared to be," said Olana State Historic Superintendent Linda McClean.  "But we have worked very hard with our website and with phone calls pointing out the problem on 9G and getting people through it and around it."

Olana has posted a 10.7 percent increase in tourists from last year, with 55,660 visitors to the site through July 29 of this year (the most recent data available), Keefe said. Meanwhile, Clermont has drawn 16 percent more visitors than last year, with 42,232 people entering the site on the Dutchess County border.

Still, McClean said, "I think we would have done much better with attendance had 9G been open."

While the state average has seen a five percent increase in attendance this summer, Keefe said, Copake Falls State Park - also known as Bash Bish, has seen a 23 percent increase in visitors, with 88,055 people having entered. At Lake Taghkanic State Park, 96,803 people have entered the park, a 1.1 percent increase over last year. Lake Taghkanic is the only state site locally to have its entrance fees increased this year as part of a state plan that boosted the fees at "flagship" state parks. The fee increased $1 to $8 per car load at Lake Taghkanic.

"We have had some very good weekends," said Arnold Feller, owner of the Taconic Orchards Farm Store, which is located near the Lake Taghkanic State Park. "But it really been an up and down summer.”

“Some days we are off (in sales), some days we are way ahead. It’s up and down like a see saw,” he added.

McClean noted the benefit of the increase in tourism to the county's economy, which is increasingly reliant on visitors, especially in light of the closings recently of the major manufacturers in the county – Kaz Inc, L&B and even Chatco.

“We are really, really pleased about the increase, not just for us but for the impact it has on the community," she said.
Keefe said the state parks been benefited from a combination of good weather and excessive press coverage during the spring, when a dispute between state lawmakers and the governor led to a brief closure of several state sites.

“The parks have been in the forefront of peoples’ minds, given all of the discussion earlier this year,” he said, adding “we have also had a dry summer.”

McLean said all of the press coverage over the fate of state parks wasn’t all beneficial.

“In the beginning people weren’t sure we were open,” she said, noting that Olana wasn’t even on the planned closure list. “Our group tours and public tours - we were getting phone calls because they weren’t sure whether we would be open. There was a lot of uncertainty and uncertainty isn’t good for anybody.”