You love NY parks!
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With help from Shawn Ness
Total visits at state parks in 2023 rose six percent from the previous year, setting a new record in attendance. The most visited is Niagara Falls. | David Duprey/AP Photo
From pristine beaches to awe-inspiring waterfalls, New York’s parks have been getting major love — and they’re now in store for some green from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
This past year saw more visits to New York’s parks than in any other year.
In total, there were 84.1 million visits to state parks in 2023 — 4.7 million than the previous attendance record set in 2022, Hochul’s office said this morning. Niagara Falls, the state’s most visited park last year, saw about 9.5 million visitors — almost one million more than second-place Jones Beach on Long Island.
But the successful attendance numbers for New York’s park system was just part of the good news for coming out of Albany this morning.
The outgoing commissioner of parks, Erik Kulleseid, is stepping aside with praise from Democratic lawmakers who applauded recent major proposed investments,
