What Is Georgia's Favorite National Park?

ATLANTA, GA — An ancient river in a modern city — those are the words used to describe Georgia's most popular national park.

According to a new report from financial news site 24/7 Wall Street, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is the most visited national park in the Peach State. Last year, more than 2.7 million people visited the Chattahoochee, which originates in north Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains and empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

The website studied data from the National Park Service for the past decade to compile the report.

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is a 48-mile stretch of the river from Atlanta to Lake Lake Lanier. It was established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter.

The park's headquarters are in Sandy Springs, but it's entire span draws visitors for fishing, hiking, camping, rafting and other outdoor activities in the busy metro Atlanta area.

Cochran Shoals, near Marietta, is the park's largest and most popular unit. It features hiking, biking and running trails, as well as popular bird and wildlife-watching destinations.

According to 24/7 Wall Street, interesting in national parks in the United States is growing. The number of people who visited the parks in 2016 was 331 million — up from 275 million in 2006.

The Chattahoochee park's visitation stayed roughly flat during that span, down 0.1 percent over the past decade. The website list's an improving economy and trends toward healthy living and environmentalism as possible factors in the increase in visits.

In his eight years in office, President Barack Obama placed 548 million acres of habitat under protection and created 22 new national parks. The only other president who did more in that regard was Theodore Roosevelt, who protected nearly 290 million acres of public land and signed into law the 1906 American Antiquities Act and the Organic Act of 1916, which created the National Park Service.

Can you guess the most popular national park in each state? Take a look at 24/7 Wall Street's list here.

Photo via National Park Service