Although parks faced COVID-19 restrictions all year, Maine’s State Parks saw record breaking numbers in visitation in 2020.

A little over 3 million people visited one of Maine’s state parks in 2020, and the majority of their guests were Maine residents.

“We had some capacity limitations in place at some of our parks throughout the season to prevent overcrowding,” Jim Britt, Director of Communications for Maine’s Department of Agriculture said. “So, to have achieved a number like that during a pandemic year, pretty outstanding.”

“I think with the travel restrictions in place last year, that certainly contributed to the fact that we saw fewer out of state folks at the parks throughout the year, but we absolutely saw an increase in Maine people visiting parks,” Britt said.

Maine parks aren’t as busy in the winter but are still open for winter activities.

“I think everybody wants to get out and do something,” Park visitor, Kirk Coopers said.

Britt says as parks continue seeing an increase in visitors, safety is still key in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Now as the pandemic continues, the Department of Agriculture is preparing for another busy year, and we were told to make reservations sooner than later if you would like to visit.