America’s 10 most visited national parks

Nearly 70 million people visited America’s national parks last year.

The one that surprised me on the top 10 list was Olympic National Park in Washington State, sixth with three million visitors even though there are no roads you can drive on through the park.

Even No. 1 surprised me, because it’s the Great Smoky Mountains at 10 million. I thought the Grand Canyon would beat that total, but it’s No. 2 with 4.8 million. Not even close.

The others in the top 10:

3. Yosemite, with almost four million, the California park whose creation was caused after a crusade by naturalist pioneer John Muir.

4. Yellowstone, which is No. 1 on my list of those national parks I have visited, but drew only 3.5 million. It covers  2.2 million acres in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and may be the world’s largest calderon, which means, if it blows, America might be reduced to 40 states.

5. Rocky Mountain in Colorado, which has 150 lakes and 450 miles of streams. Paula and I took in Rocky after a WVU football game against Colorado in Boulder.

7. Zion in Utah’s high plateau country with 3.5 million visitors. I was more impressed with Bryce Canyon, about an hour away from Zion, because it looked like nature sculptured thousands of objects on it.

8. Grand Teton in Wyoming with 2.8 million visitors.

9. Acadia in Maine which has a companion vista in Bar Harbor and the whale-watching ships.

10. Glacier National Park, which covers more than a million acres in Montana and draws 2.3 million people a year.

I’ve been to nine, never visiting Olympic National Park, which is separated by the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, British Columbia, where I have been in my travels to 53 countries and 43 states. So close, but we stopped in Victoria on our way to our Alaska cruises, one by sea and two by sea and land.

By comparison, New River Gorge National River, Gauley River National Recreation Area and the Bluestone National Scenic River combined draw 1.2 million visitors last year. A study showed that 45% of the people visiting those three didn’t know that they were in national parks. The trifecta brought 1.2 million visitors and $60.6 million to the economy of the four surrounding counties. Park tourism supported 670 jobs.

The New River Gorge National River is considered the No. 1 attraction in West Virginia, followed by Seneca Caverns, Blackwater Falls, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (just called Weston’s nuthouse before the politically correct days), Monongahela National Forest, Snowshoe mountain resort, the West Virginia State Capitol with its gold dome and the West Virginia State Museum in Charleston.

West Virginia also has 36 state parks. The most photographed spot is the falls in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis.

Elakala Falls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Elakala Falls are a series of four waterfalls of Shays Run as it descends into the Blackwater Canyon in West Virginia. They are within Blackwater Falls State Park and are quite popular among photographers, with the ease of access for the first waterfall, and the relatively low traffic of the other waterfalls in the series.

The first of the series of waterfalls is 35 feet (11 m) in height and is easily accessible from park trails. It is the second most popular waterfall in the park. From the official Elakala trail there is a bridge over the top of the first waterfall offering easy access and views.

 The remaining three waterfalls of the series are progressively more difficult to access, and have no official marked trails to them.

The gorge is nearly 200 feet deep at this section accounting for the difficulty of the descent to the lower waterfalls of the series.

The second waterfall is only 15 feet (4.6 m) tall and is the smallest in the series, yet remains popular by the well-worn path from the first falls.

The third waterfall of the series is the highest at 40 feet (12 m) tall but is particularly difficult to reach. It has a path worn to it but is very steep and rocky terrain. Traveling beyond the second waterfall should be considered for experienced hikers only due to the danger of descending the canyon without trails.

The fourth and final waterfall of the series is considered quite dangerous to access, with no trails, and should not be attempted by inexperienced hikers.

The name of the waterfalls comes from a Native American legend, although several significantly different versions exist. 

According to one account it involves a princess named Elakala who threw herself over the edge of the first waterfall when her lover scorned her. 

Another account of the legend involves a Massawomee warrior named Elakala who was girl-shy and fell to his death from the falls while being pursued by two women of his tribe.

Similar legends exist for many waterfalls in the eastern United States, and there is, of course, no way to confirm these stories.

Blackwater Lodge getting major re-do

The lodge at Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis is undergoing its biggest renovation in more than 50 years.

The lodge has been closed since March 1 while improvements are being made to the water and electrical system to better handle hair dryers and curling irons, which weren’t that big in the 1960s.

The hot tub and spa are being deep cleaned and the restaurant is adding menu items and services.

The park remains open, but the lodge won’t be until May 1. 

Good advice: Take a hike!

Blackwater Falls State Park, Cacapon Resort State Park, Pipestem Resort State Park and Kanawha State Forest have scheduled New Year's Day hikes to encourage people to get outdoors.

Last year, more than 27,000 people hiked around 66,000 miles on 885 hikes in state parks across the country for national First Day Hikes.

Massachusetts began offering First Day Hikes in its parks more than 20 years ago. This year  50 state parks across the country will participate.