How much do national parks boost local economies? A lot. One exhaustive study (46 page pdf) found that national parks generate four dollars for every one dollar spent by the federal government. Obviously, parks provide jobs, not only in the park but in the adjacent T-shirt shops, motels, fast food joints, and fudge shops that sprout like weeds near most parks. Recently, a Utah study attributes 2500 jobs and $107 million to Arches National Park.

(Photo credit NPS.) Ken Salazar and the owners of the West Yellowstone Ye Olde Grizzly Bear & Tourist Trap are both hoping that you'll drive to Yellowstone this weekend, save $20, and spend it on a T-shirt that says "I spent $100 on gas to drive to Yellowstone and all I got was a bunch more carbon on my footprint."

However, there's a less obvious component of national park economics that indirectly leads to better jobs than those selling T-shirts. National parks create infrastructure that people consider desireable in locating businesses and families, e.g., good roads, upgraded airports, sewer lines and cel phone coverage. In the long run, national parks create reasons for people to want to live near national parks. A Bozeman, Montana economist has noted three Wests: urban, rural-and-declining [or "bad"], and rural-but-connected [or "good"]. It's no coincidence that national parks are near many rural-but-connected regions. A list of desireable rural Western areas correlates with a list of national parks: Jackson Hole (Grand Teton/Yellowstone), Moab (Arches), St. George (Zion), Flagstaff (Grand Canyon). The economic benefit of the parks goes well beyond one weekend and a T-shirt.

If you can afford $20 admission and T-shirts for the whole family, consider buying an America the Beautiful pass for $80 instead of the T-shirts, which gives admission to all national parks, monuments, forests, and BLM lands for one year. Here's two examples showing how the pass pays for itself on one summer road trip:

Road trip from Los Angeles to Rogue River, OR:

--stop at Yosemite National Park, 20 bucks free!

--stop at Lassen Volcanic Park, 10 bones free!

--stop at Oregon Caves Nat'l Monument, take cave tours 34 clams for four people free!

--stop at Crater Lake National Park, 10 bills free!

--on the way back, visit Redwoods National Park, free free! (Redwoods is always free)

--visit Yosemite next winter, 20 shekels free!



Road trip through Northern Arizona and Southern Utah:

--stop at Grand Canyon, 25 greenbacks free!

--stop at Zion, 25 George Washingtons free! (photo credit NPS)



--stop at Bryce, 25 ducats free!

--stop at Pipe Spring National Monument, in a blatant effort to match your diarist in national park nerdiness, 5 duckies free!

If you're still planning your vacation, RandySF's I Miss Those Great American Vacations might bring back nostalgia for road trips...or, if your brother was as car-sick and bratty as mine, not! And if you're on the East Coast, most of the national parks in the Washington area have always been free, even if there's Disrepair on Washington Mall, as DJ ProFusion has correctly noted.

Of course, once you get to your selected national park this weekend, reduce your carbon footprint: get out of your car and on to the trails. Take a hike! Your body and your mind will thank you. The vast open spaces, bison, waterfalls, redwoods, canyons, wildflowers, dark skies, and sheer jaw-dropping awesomeness of our national parks are dulled and filtered by automobile windshields. And -- way cool special DailyKos event! -- after you return from a national park this weekend, if you're a fitness buff, if you care about what goes in your body, or if you're otherwise interested, please stop by next Fitness Monday at 8 AM PDT, for a very special livechat with author Dr. David Kessler, who will be discussing The End of Overeating. In the meantime, hike on!