Vacations and Travel - The Nature Trail

National parks are one of America's biggest tourist attractions. The United States has set aside more than eighty-three million acres of land for national parks. The National Park System includes parks, monuments, historical and military areas, parkways, recreation areas, nature preserves, rivers, seashores, and lakes. For additional information on the U.S. National Parks system, see Chapter Three.

According to the TIA study The National Parks Traveler (2004 edition), in 2002 U.S. households generated eighty-seven million person trips (that is, individuals who traveled more than fifty miles) to state or national parks. Twenty percent of international travelers also visited U.S. national or state parks. Forty percent of U.S. adults had visited a national park at least once during the preceding five years.

Reasons for visiting the parks included experiencing nature, cited by 92% of visitors, educational benefits (90%), experiencing culture and history (89%), and spending time with family (89%). Activities visitors engaged in included outdoor sports (44%), outdoor recreation (39%), tourism and sightseeing (39%), water recreation (17%), and National Park Service programs (11%).

Planning for National Park visits in 2002 was done via the Internet by 38% of visitors, with 47% planning their trip one month or more in advance. One-quarter of visitors did not decide where they would stay before making their visit. Three-fourths of visitors stayed overnight in the parks, or within ten miles, on their most recent trip.

The TIA reported that 7% of U.S. domestic travelers visited a national or state park in 2003, down from 10% in 2001. Participating in outdoor activities, including visits to national or state parks, was the third most popular activity cited by American travelers.