In the waning days of summer, people are flocking to area parks.
On afternoon of August 30, Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge and Great Falls National Park in McLean were at the capacity that day and visitors who didn’t make it there early were being turned away.
Chris Alford, chief of Prince William Forest Park near Dumfries, said the park has seen increased visitors as well. “At this time we are on a trend to be about 10 to 15 percent higher than last year’s visitation,” Alford said in an email to Potomac Local News.
Alford said this is likely due to the coronavirus. “Due to COVID there has been a big push for people to get out of their homes and get some fresh air. This drive has opened new visitors up to the outdoors and the value of recreational opportunities for health and wellness,” Alford said.
Alford said that he has heard that other parks are also experiencing this issue.
“At this time there are no plans to alleviate visitation at Prince William Forest Park. Our visitation regularly goes up and down due to the weather and time of year. Our peaks are usually holiday weekends between mid-May and November,” Alford said.
People have also been flocking to parks in Stafford County, too. County leaders are exploring the possibility of charging users of two popular riverside parks — Historic Port of Falmouth Park on the Rappahannock River and Aquia Landing Park on the Potomac River — $10 per car to enter the parks.
