285 million visitors made their way to US National Parks in 2009, representing a nearly 4% year-over-year increase and nearly eclipsing 1987′s record attendance.

According to Ken Salazar, the economic downturn helped drive tourists to locations closer to home, and there’s simply no better value in terms of culture, beauty and fun than our country’s National Parks. In contrast, European tourists were lured to the US by the relative strength of the Euro to the dollar, making trips to this side of the pond quite appealing.

Of course, the parks got some help from good ol’ publicity, too. There was Ken Burns’ National Parks tv series and President Obama’s family trips to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. In addition, the National Park Service waived admission fees three weekends last summer, a move that particularly helped Blue Ridge Parkway area parks Shenandoah in VA and Great Smoky Mountain along the TN/NC border.

(via MSNBC/AP)

image: flickr / James Gordon

It’s 18 degrees here in PA — 13 w/ wind chill — so I got to thinkin’ about my recent  trip to (relatively) warm Joshua Tree National Park last December. Enjoy the vid. My glass of wine and I just got done viewing #3 of the evening. I’ll be back soon, ol’ J-Tree.