Minnesota State Park Visitation Numbers See Steady Growth

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – More people are getting outside to check out state parks in Minnesota. Visitation has increased by 22% since 2003.

Take Gooseberry Falls as an example – 750,000 people visited the park last year alone.

Park visitation has increased twice as fast as the state's population has grown, and revenue from state park permit sales has jumped more than 80% in the past six years.

Part of that is because the cost of those permits went up, but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources thinks more people are going to state parks because of investments from the Legacy Fund.

The Legacy Fund consists of the sales tax increase voters approved in 2008, which has paid for millions of dollars in park improvements.