National Park Service spokesman Bob Miller said the jump was fueled by a 27.2% increase at the Gatlinburg entrance to the Smokies - mainly due to the major rock slide that has closed Interstate 40 just inside North Carolina.
The number of visitors entering through Townsend and Cherokee remained unchanged for the month.
The count at the 13 outlying entrances was off by 6.3%, but that was mostly because the traffic counter at Cosby was removed for a month of paving work.
The number of visits to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on track to finish at 9.4 million by the end of the year, which tranlates into a 4.7% year-to-date increase over 2008 levels for the Park, said Miller.
So the increase in November was fueled by the closure of I40. Are these really visitors? No, these are people simply passing through to their destination. So, in effect, the park service is essentially padding the numbers - not that it makes a whole hill of beans in the grand scheme of things.
Jeff
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