Acadia was the 10th most visited park last year

AUGUSTA — U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says Acadia National Park was the 10th most heavily visited national park in 2009.

Salazar said Tuesday that 2.2 million people visited the coastal Down East park last year. That followed a national trend.

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File Photo: Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, Maine. AP

Across the country, 10 million more people visited the national parks last year than in 2008, a 3.9 percent increase.

Salazar said people recognize the national parks are America’s best idea, even during an economic downturn. He said more than 285 million people visited national parks and other units of the National Park System during 2009, up from just under 275 million in 2008.

The most visited national parks were Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone.

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