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BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. -- More than 40,000 people flocked to Smith Mountain Lake State Park’s beach in 2011, a record number of visitors for the site, Brian Heft, SML State Park manager, told the Smith Mountain Eagle.

“Although our overnight visits (including the park’s campgrounds and housekeeping cabins) went down by 3 percent (39,208 visits), overall, our number of visitors went up 19 percent,” said Heft, who is marking his 20th year at the facility on the Bedford County side of Smith Mountain Lake.

The newspaper points out overall, more residents and tourists stayed overnight in Virginia state parks than ever before last year -- overnight attendance in the state park’s cabins, lodges and campgrounds grew 3  percent in 2011.

To read the complete report in the Smith Mountain Eagle, click here.