SACO, Maine — Maine is experiencing record demand for state park campsites this year.
Demand for the campsites has soared since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said registrations for this year total 9,155.
The number for 2021 was 7,510, and in 2020 it was 5,477. Registrations in the several years before that were around 5,000.
The state opens up reservations at Sebago Lake State Park on Feb. 1 and the others on Feb. 7. Officials said they processed more than 4,200 transactions in the first hour of Feb. 7.