Travelers Dropped $26 Billion on US Parks in 2023. Here's Where They Went.

A fascinating interactive data table is available here.

How much did park visitors spend in 2023?

According to the report, visitation to NPS sites in 2023 was up four percent over 2022, totaling 325,498,646 visits. The report estimates that these visitors had an economic impact on local gateways towns of $26.4 billion. Lodging was the largest share at $9.9 billion, followed by restaurants at $5.15 billion, gas at $2.79 billion, recreation industries (like guides and gear rentals) at $2.22 billion, and retail, at $2.14 billion. The rest of the spending was a mix of other transportation costs, camping fees, and grocery costs, totaling $4.17 billion. It’s more than a 10 percent increase over spending in 2022, thought the report notes that inflation could be driving some of that increase.

When it comes to lodging — the lion’s share of the economic impact of National Park Service sites — the largest section of guests stayed in lodging outside the park (38.5 percent of visitors). Only .7 percent of visitors stayed in lodges inside NPS-managed sites, though 2.5 percent of visitors camped inside NPS-managed borders. Another 8.1 percent camped outside the NPS sites. Roughly 12 percent of visitors reported their lodging as “other, and 37.5 percent of visitors were daytrippers who didn’t spend on lodging. Visitors who stay in lodges drive spend the most money in local economies, with the report calculating that parties who stay inside NPS-managed sites spend roughly $516.42 per group, per day, while parties that stay outside NPS borders spend roughly $403.56 per group, per day.

Jobs and income created by NPS-managed sites

NPS-managed sites also support thousands of jobs in gateway towns, most of which tend to be on the smaller side. In 2023, NPS estimates that sites it manages created or supported 415,400 jobs (247,300 directly and another 168,100 indirectly), which created a spend of $19.4 billion in labor income. Most of those jobs were in hotels and lodging, followed by restaurants and guiding. Interestingly, 13 percent of the jobs directly created were in the recreation industry, but it only accounted for $2.2 billion, or roughly eight percent, of the total money spent by visitors in 2023. This could indicate that recreation guides are underpaid, and/or that for visitors, hiring guides or taking tours is still a relatively well-priced option.

At what national parks do visitors spend the most?

When comparing spending, it’s important to consider several factors. Some destinations are inherently more expensive than others. And the more people visit a specific national park or NPS-managed site, the more money will enter the economy — but that doesn’t necessarily mean each individual visitor spent more money. Other factors that influence each site’s economic influence are limited visitation seasons, the size of each site, the accuracy of guest data reporting and data collection, and the number of in-park hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants. That’s why some of the most popular locations managed by the National Park Service, like Yosemite National Park, aren’t the top drivers.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: $2.2 billion

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, split between North Carolina and Tennessee, drove the most money into local economies. It’s one of the most-visited national parks in the US, which likely explains part of the reason it took the top spot. There are multiple nearby gateway towns, including Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Townsend. And as the park’s own website acknowledges, it’s an incredibly convenient destination. “It lies within a day’s drive of more than half the U.S. population and thus offers the opportunity for tens of millions of people to have a national park experience close to home,” writes the park description.

Grand Canyon National Park: $768 million

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Visitor spending was second-highest at Arizona’s iconic Grand Canyon National Park, at $768 million. That’s likely not only because it’s a destination so intrinsically tied to America as a country, but because of the multitude of activities. Though it offers plenty of hiking, it also has an extensive menu of options for visitors who aren’t up for much walking, including whitewater rafting, mule trekking, observation decks, train tours, and more. It’s also an extremely popular overnight trip from Phoenix, which is the fifth-largest city in the US.

Grand Teton National Park: $738 million

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It may not be suprising to see Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park come in third, especially as it has several in-park hotels. But it’s not in the top five most visited parks in the US, and sometimes, it’s not even in the top 10. So the massive economic impact can probably be explained by its proximity to Jackson, Wyoming, one of the most expensive tourist towns in the United States. Jackson is the only gateway town for Grand Teton (the next closest is Driggs, ID, at more than an hour away), so guests who want to visit the park have no choice but to shell out. Luxury hotels can easily be well over $1,000 a night, with even basic motels asking close to $300 per night in August.

Zion National Park: $676 million

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Ever-popular Zion National Park in Utah brings in close to $700 million for gateway towns, but likely, almost all of of it goes to Springdale. The town sits at the entrance to the park’s popular Zion Canyon, where the vast majority of park visitors spend their time. It’s so popular, in fact, that cars are banned in the busy season.

From Springdale, it’s easy to walk into the park, and Zion’s extremely popular Watchman Campground is just a few minute’s walk from restaurants and shops. So it’s likely campers at Zion spend more money than campers in other parks. And “The Narrows,” one of the most famous hikes in the park, is through a water-filled slot canyon — meaning many of the hundreds of thousands of people who hike it each year likely rent waders, waterproof boots, and hiking sticks from the many outfitters scattered around the park entrance.

Yellowstone National Park: $623 million

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It would be surprising not to see Yellowstone on this list, as the park has several popular gateway towns known for sky-high prices in the popular summer months. With five entrances, hundreds of companies offering single-day and overnight tours, and more than a dozen places to stay within the park, it’s no wonder it drives more than $600 million into economies for towns like Gardiner and West Yellowstone, MT, and Cody, WY.

Rocky Mountain National Park: $569 million

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Rounding out the top five is Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, one of the most-visited national parks every year. The park has hundreds of miles of hiking trails, and sits just 90 minutes from Denver, making it a popular day trip for city visitors and residents. Many park gateway towns like Estes Park have massive guiding and recreation communities, and the surrounding landscape is filled with pricey wilderness and glamping lodges, all of which offer day trips to the park. RMNP is also accessible year-round, with backcountry skiing and snowmobile tours driving winter spending.

The numbers above represent the national parks that generated the most income for local communities. But other NPS-managed sites that aren’t national parks also drove plenty of money into local economies. Golden Gate National Recreation Area spurred $1.5 billion in spending in 2023, potentially because it’s in the middle of the extremely expensive San Francisco Bay Area. Next was the Blue Ridge Parkway at $1.4 billion in visitor spending, likely because there are so many towns spread along the parkway’s 469 miles in Virginia and North Carolina. Visitors also spent $644 million around Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, $540 million around Glen Canyon Recreation Area in Arizona and Utah (home to the famous “The Wave”), and $534 million at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Which NPS sites generated the least income?

The parks on the list below generated the least income for gateway towns, but that’s not reflective of their beauty or appeal. Most likely, it’s because they don’t have nearby towns, they’re near other NPS sites and income is counted toward that site, admission is free, or they’re very undeveloped. For some travelers, those may be strong selling points.

• Carter G. Woodson National Historic Site in Washington, DC: $0 in visitor spending (and temporarily closed)
• Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah: $10,000 in visitor spending
• Alagnak Wild River Alaska in Alaska: $13,000 in visitor spending
• Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington, DC: $44,000 in visitor spending
• The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in California: $51,000 in visitor spending

You can search every park’s spending my category on an interactive map on the National Park Service website.