Peaks-Kenny, Lily Bay help break Maine state park visitation record

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff

The increased use of two popular Piscataquis County locations helped Maine break the record for visits at its state parks in 2020.

Day use at Peaks-Kenny State Park on Sebec Lake in Dover-Foxcroft increased by 20 percent while camping visits experienced a 6 percent gain, according to year-end statistics compiled by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands.

At Lily Bay State Park on Moosehead Lake just north of Greenville, day use grew by 15 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 while camping visits increased by 16 percent.

The combined visitation totals for day use and camping overall at Maine state parks exceeded 3 million for the first time in 2020, totaling 3,067,112 despite pandemic-related spring closures and capacity limitations.

The Bureau of Public Lands reported 2,786,750 day-use visitors, 74,532 or 3 percent more than during 2019. State park camping visitors for 2020 stood at 280,362, up 21,871 or 8 percent from a year earlier.

While the individual totals for Peaks-Kenny and Lily Bay were a modest amount of the statewide total, the rate of increase for each park was greater than the percentage growth for all of Maine’s state parks.

Peaks-Kenny welcomed 18,571 day-use visitors during 2020 compared to 15,474 in 2019 while camping visits grew to 13,452 in 2020 compared to 12,666 a year earlier.

In contrast to the statewide totals, Lily Bay State Park had more camping visits than day-use visits in 2020, but both uses experienced significant increases.

Camping visits at the Greenville park rose from 24,322 in 2019 to 28,175 in 2020, while Lily Bay’s day-use numbers increased from 16,745 in 2019 to 19,301 last year.

“Everyone wants and needs to get outside, and Maine state parks are some of the best destinations to relax and reinvigorate,” BPL director Andy Cutko said. “In particular, with various travel limitations in place, it was great to see so many Maine families discovering our state parks for the first time.”