Even as temporary closures and other pandemic-related restrictions largely were responsible for an overall drop in visitors to National Park Service sites in 2020, Colorado National Monument was among the numerous exceptions that saw visitor numbers jump. The Mesa County attraction, which stayed open unlike some Park Service sites that closed during COVID-19âs initial spread last spring, tallied 435,625 recreational visitors last year, up from 397,032 in 2019, a nearly 10% increase. That contrasts with a 28% decrease nationally in visitors last year to parks, monuments and other sites managed by the Park Service, with total visitor numbers falling to 237 million. According to the agency, as many as 66 of the 423 parks, monuments and other sites in the National Park System were fully closed for two months or more last year. While Colorado National Monument took measures that at times included closing its campground, picnic areas and visitor center, it also temporarily waived entrance fees, based on a directive at the time from David Bernhardt, then secretary of the Interior, to Park Service sites that remained open.