Annual Use Estimates

Tracking visits to the regional parks and trails

Children swimming at a pool.In partnership with the regional park implementing agencies, we have produced regional parks and trail use estimates annually since 1995. These data estimate visitation to each regional park facility in the jurisdictions of the 10 park agencies.

The results are used in formulas to calculate each agency’s share of Met Council-awarded grant program dollars. The estimates also allow us to monitor trends over time. The annual use estimates represent true collaborative interagency work, including staff from the Met Council’s Community Development Research unit.