OCR Text |
Show 313,383 visitors enjoyed Arches during a big 1977 travel year Both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Natural Bridges National Monument reported that December visitation to those areas showed a decrease in numbers compared to December of 1976. Of the same three park areas, Canyonlands also showed a slight decrease in visitors for the year 1977 compared to 1976. Last month Arches recorded 4,344 visitors, a decrease of 8 per cent from the previous December's total of 4,722. Ovemighters numbered num-bered 308 in December of 1977, down 26 per cent from the 414 who 'camped in the park that month the year before. Regardless of the slight decline in December visitor numbers, num-bers, Arches National Park showed an overall increase of 6 per cent in visitation and in overnight stays for the year 1977. A total 313,383 persons passed the gate last year compared to 294,779 in 1976. During 1977, 41,908 ovemighters were recorded while 39,420 stayed overnight during the previous year. Canyonlands National Park showed a quite substantial decrease de-crease in visitor numbers, 31 per cent, for the month of December compared to that month in 1976. Total visitors to all districts of Canyonlands was 774, with 1121 recorded in December, 1976. Figures for 1977 and 1976 show 75,621 and 80,006 visits respectively, respect-ively, indicating a 5 per cent decrease in visitation to Canyonlands Canyon-lands National Park in 1977. By district, all areas in Canyonlands had a decrease in visits for December 1977 compared to December 1976. Island in the Sky showed -55 per cent, the Needles, -9 per cent, and the Maze, -47 per cent. For the entire year of 1977, all districts except Island in the Sky reported a decrease in visits compared to the year 1976. Overnight visits were generally down in the park both for December and the year overall, except in the Island in the Sky area. Although Natural Bridges National Na-tional Monument showed a 26 per cent decrease in number of visits for the month of December this past year, for all of 1977, 75,193 visited compared to 71,865 in 1976 for a 4 per cent increase. Overnight stays were also up 21 per cent comparing the month of December in 1976 and 1977. |