If you’ve ever spotted a gray fox on a trail in Yosemite or looked out over the misty fields of Gettysburg National Military Park, you know that a visit to a national park is a priceless experience. But, in addition to preserving natural resources and U.S. history, the parks also serve as valuable assets to local economies. In 2015, the National Park Service generated $16.9 billion in visitor spending, which supported a total of 295,000 jobs in park-adjacent communities. Here are the five parks creating the most economic activity.
Catherine Schuknecht was an editorial assistant at Sierra. You can follow Catherine on Twitter at @catschuknecht.
More articles by this author
- Keywords:
- America's National Parks
- national parks
- green jobs