State park attendance up

PARKE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - State park attendance up, but for some parks that may be a problem.

A down economy could be forcing Wabash Valley residents to enjoy the outdoors closer to home in 2009.

Revenue at all local state parks is up in the first five months of 2009 compared to the same time of 2008.

Shakamak State Park - up 2.3-percent.
Turkey Run State Park - up 11.5-percent.
Shades State Park - up 12.5-percent.
Raccoon State Recreation Area - up 17.6-percent.

"I have been hearing a lot about it," said visitor James Grover. "Just figured we'd come down and check it out and explore. It's just something to do, definitely cheaper than going to Disneyland, that's for sure."

Interpretive Naturalist Barbara Cummings said a lot of parks can handle the extra visitors, but Turkey Run is already over capacity.

She said some good news can be found in that nature center visitors are up 24 percent so more people are learning how to protect the fragile environment.

She added that Shades is the best-kept secret in the state with rustic beauty similar to Turkey Run but a lot less crowds.

Annual permits to get in state parks are up more than 12 percent statewide.

State officials say while that's a good sign, they're hoping that increase is a result of new buyers. Otherwise, it could hurt their bottom line at the end of the year.