‘COVID was a huge boom for us’; Shenandoah National Park official talks about how they are moving forward

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. (WHSV) - Shenandoah National Park saw more than 1.4 million guests in 2022, according to the National Park Services.

With that, the park is back to pre-pandemic guest numbers which are significantly lower than what they’ve seen the past two years. The park saw nearly 1.6 million visitors in 2021 and more than 1.66 visitors in 2020.

“COVID was a huge boom for us in terms of visitation because it was an outdoor activity, so people were looking for those kinds of activities. Plus, we were not charging fees. I think a lot of people found a great refuge in SNP,” Interpretive Specialist Claire Comer said.

She said she did not expect to maintain the large number of guests once things started to open back up.

Even though fewer visitors are coming to the park, SNP has continued to provide ways for people to enjoy it at their convenience.

”We have virtual tours of our Visitors Center, so even though they couldn’t get to the Visitors Center, they could go on our website and take a virtual tour on that... we’ve learned that digital content continues to be really popular,” she said.

Now that pandemic-related concerns have started to slow down, she said the park will begin having events again like Wildflower Weekend and Night Sky Festival.

To learn about all SNP’s upcoming events and more, click here.

Copyright 2023 WHSV. All rights reserved.