Hard times force people back to living a simpler existence, and that includes how they choose to spend their free time. It seems that the recession has created a situation in which a camping trip to places like Yosemite are affordable and popular destinations.

Yosemite National Park received 3,866,970 visitors in 2009. This marks the highest level of visitation in the park since 1996. Visitation to the Park peaked in 1996 with 4,190,557 visitors. Since 1996, the Park has experienced a downward trend in visitation.

This trend continued through 2006, with the park receiving 3,366,500 visitors. Since 2006, the visitation trend continues to increase. Yosemite’s Chief of Media Relations Scott Gediman said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the visitor number surpass four million in 2010.

Yosemite’s Media Relations spokesperson said it may be the recession or a combination of circumstances that are bringing more people to the Park. “Although there is no definitive explanation of the increase in vistitation, we speculate it is because of several factors,” Kari Cobb said.

The National Park Service instituted three free weekends during the summer, helping promote visitation. Cobb also knows that people are vacationing closer to home. For people in the Bay Area, Central Valley and even Los Angeles, Yosemite is a “short drive and a very economical vacation,” Cobb said.

The Ken Burns film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” has reached some people that may not have previous exposure to Yosemite and other parks. “Burns’ film has helped give individuals new ideas for future vacations that they may have never thought about before,” Cobb said, noting that visitation in other national parks is also up.

Visitation to Yosemite National Park first hit the one million mark in 1954. The park saw two million visitors for the first time in 1967. In 1987, the park hit the three million mark with 3,266,418 visitors.

Locally, transient occupancy tax is holding steady or increasing. Overall, California occupancy rates are down, as are hotel rates as facilities try to attract visitors. Yosemite-Mariposa Tourism Bureau Director Jeff Hentz recently said, “Bus business is coming back significantly.” It had been down since the Ferguson Rockslide.

Hentz said he will continue to use a multimedia approach to reach visitors. He believes the tide is about to turn. “2011 will be one of our better years,” Hentz told the board recently.

Of his department’s $1.4 million budget, Hentz said some 77 percent is spent on marketing and advertising. The department’s goals continued to be to put “heads in beds,” increase the area’s market share and develop new sales channels.

Park officials know that the increase can only help the gateway communities struggling through the effects of the recession. “We know that with increased visitation, there is an economic benefit to the surrounding communities,” Cobb said. “This is great news for everybody.”