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Flathead Valley's state parks see record-setting visitation numbers

Lone Pine State Park
Posted at 3:37 PM, Dec 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-30 20:38:16-05

KALISPELL — While normal day-to-day activities were severely impacted in 2020 due to COVID-19, Montana State Parks in the Flathead Valley saw record-setting visitation numbers.

Flathead Lake State Park -- which consists of six unique park units -- was the most visited park in Montana in 2020 with more than 439,000 visitors. It also saw a 33.5% increase in visitors between January and September.

Meanwhile, Les Mason State Park in Whitefish saw a drastic increase in visitors reporting a 38.7% jump. Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell was the state’s seventh most visited park in 2020 seeing a 17.5% in visitors through September.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) spokesman Dillon Tabish says visitors seeking positive mental and physical health opportunities during the pandemic was a big reason for the jump in numbers.

“A huge spike in use this year and I think that really goes to show that during this difficult year where folks were cooped up inside a lot,” Tabish said. “I think it was a really nice mental health break and exercise opportunity to go out and enjoy our public access sites.”

In total, Montana State Parks hosted three million visitors from January through September.