Matthiessen State Park came close to record in 2023

Matthiessen State Park narrowly missed setting an attendance record in 2023, accordingly to data released Wednesday, while Starved Rock State Park clinched its 10th best year on record.

Final attendance records for 2023 have been issued, revealing Matthiessen welcomed 523,845 visitors. That’s the second-highest yearly visitor total on record. The park missed the all-time mark by fewer than 20,000 visitors.

Nevertheless, last year was only the fourth time attendance has exceeded a half-million.

Starved Rock, meanwhile, finished with 2,275,945 visitors. Attendance was solid throughout 2023, although no monthly records were broken, and attendance was below average across most of the warm weather months except May.

Sources have said Starved Rock visits have leveled off a bit since the pandemic ended. Matthiessen’s totals have climbed in part because of tandem visits. A growing number of tourists visit Starved Rock in the morning and Matthiessen in the afternoon.