Economy slows traffic on Blue Ridge Parkway

As the economy decelerated and gas prices soared, annual visitation to the Blue Ridge Parkway dropped by more than a million motorists in 2008.

The 469-mile scenic highway drew 18.25 million visitors last year, down from 19.29 million in 2007, according to statistics from the National Park Service.

The 2008 visitation was the lowest in the past eight years and the first time below 19 million during that span.

Parkway officials have not traced a cause for the decrease in visitors, and Scott Bell, the Park Service official who tallies visits, declined to speculate.

Campgrounds along the parkway’s first 106 miles — which includes Bedford, Amherst and Nelson counties — saw fewer out-of-state visitors last year than normal, said Randy Sutton, an interpretive ranger for the parkway’s Ridge District.

Bikers along the East Coast usually flock to the ridge-top road, he said, but 2008 saw less motorcycle traffic, leading to a reduction in accidents.

The decline in visitors couldn’t be blamed on scenery, according to Sutton.

“We had pretty good color in the mountains,” he said. “A large part of (the decline) can be attributed to the economy and the price of gas.”

Despite those factors, Sutton said visitation at Humpback Rocks near the 5-mile marker increased in 2008 because more locals from Staunton, Richmond and Harrisonburg poured in.

Several campground owners in Central Virginia also have said that they saw a rise in local visitors as people stayed closer to home for vacations.

Parkway visitation reached an all-time high at 23.5 million in 2002, but has gradually declined since. Just more than 2 million visitors were on the parkway in October 2008 at the height of fall foliage, down 7.5 percent from the previous October.

In November 2008, the parkway drew 1.5 million visitors — a drop of 11.6 percent from November 2007. Parkway visitation for recreational use took a sharp turn also, dropping from 17.35 million in 2007 to 16.25 million in 2008.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is still the most visited national park in the country.

Planning is already under way for its 75th anniversary in 2010.

Phil Francis, the parkway’s superintendent, said in early 2008 that its 50th anniversary drew about 5 million more visitors than usual in 1985 due to special events, particularly at the Virginia and North Carolina border.

Media General News Service contributed to this story.