The best states for national park trips
spotlight AP
Outdoorsy, LatticePublishing.com
Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
With air travel down, many Americans are hitting the roads during COVID-19. Assuming local regulations allow for it, exploring the outdoors can be a good way to vacation safely during this turbulent time. Fortunately, many National Park System parks remain open with fewer visitors than during a normal year.
The National Park System is managed by the National Park Service (NPS), which oversees 422 different parks that span over 80 million acres across all 50 states. While some of the most visited parks are recreational areas, parkways, and national parks, the National Park System is comprised of many different types of parks, including monuments, memorials, battlefields, and historic sites. In fact, less than one-third of annual visits are visits to the 62 parks with "national park" in their name.
In a typical year, there are over 330 million visitors to parks in the National Park System. Last year, travel to these parks netted over $40 billion in economic benefit across the U.S. and supported over 340 thousand jobs. This enormous amount of tourism and travel helps to support many "gateway towns" near parks throughout the country. Money spent by tourists at hotels and motels, restaurants, RV parks, campgrounds, and gas stations is often the lifeblood of these small economies.
During 2020, there's been almost a 25 percent decline in visits to the National Park System, which will impact these communities and their economies. However, even with social distancing orders in place, outdoor recreation and visiting these areas can be a COVID-safe activity.
To find the states that offer the best access to the National Park System, researchers at Outdoorsy looked at data from the National Park Service's National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics. They ranked states based on the number of NPS-managed parks that are partially or fully contained within the state. They also included the annual visits to the NPS parks in each state, a measure of the economic benefit from NPS park tourism, and the name of the most visited park in each state.
Here are the states that offer the best access to the National Park System.
The 15 States With the Most National Park System Parks
Number of NPS parks: 12
Annual visitors to NPS parks: 9,979,139
Economic benefit from NPS park tourism: $995,900,000
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Great Smoky Mountains NP (7,026,734)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Rocky Mountain NP (4,670,053)
Annual visitors to NPS parks: 15,285,200
Economic benefit from NPS park tourism: $1,868,700,000
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Zion NP (4,488,268)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Lake Meredith NRA (1,328,340)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): White Sands NP (608,785)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Olympic NP (3,245,806)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Cape Cod NS (4,096,104)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Chesapeake & Ohio Canal NHP (3,888,758)
7. Pennsylvania
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Independence NHP (4,532,459)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Grand Canyon NP (5,974,411)
5. Virginia
Most visited NPS park (& visits): George Washington MEM PKWY (7,487,265)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Klondike Gold Rush NHP (1,116,161)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Gateway NRA (7,803,348)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Lincoln Memorial (7,808,182)
Most visited NPS park (& visits): Golden Gate NRA (15,002,227)
Methodology & Detailed Findings
The data used in this study is from the National Park Service's (NPS) National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics. The study includes all 422 NPS-managed parks, including 19 different park types, such as national parks, national battlefields, national monuments, national memorials, national historic sites, and national parkways, among others.
States were ranked based on the number NPS parks that are partially or fully contained within the state. Some parks are listed in multiple states. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater number of annual recreation visitors to its NPS parks was ranked higher. The economic benefit from NPS park tourism "is a measure of the total estimated value of the production of goods and services supported by NPS visitor spending. Economic output is the sum of all intermediate sales (business to business) and final demand (sales to consumers and exports)."
Outdoors commentary: Cross country skiing a good workout
It's triggered by sound, as once you lock your boots onto those long narrow skis it's a queue that you are about to enter a different world. O…
Outdoors commentary: Dulek scores Trophy Trifecta
DAKOTA, Minn. — Kyle Dulek, who freely admits he thinks about white-tail deer hunting 365 days a year, imagined that someday, somehow, he woul…
Outdoors commentary: Ralph Elliott, Pat Kennedy not so grumpy in their fishing shack
Seemingly countless topics are tossed around, chewed on, and sometimes resolved during their daily rendezvous in the dead of a Wisconsin winte…
States with the most extreme weather
What to do if you're heading back to the gym during COVID-19
Five healthy and delicious alternatives for unhealthy snacks
Try this to help you accomplish your goals