A record number of people visited national parks and recreation areas across the Mountain West last year. This comes amid budget trimming by the Trump administration just before this year’s busy season.
More than 330 million people visited a national park in 2024. Among the most popular destinations in our region were Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada (6.4 million visits), Zion National Park in Utah (4.9 million), Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (4.7 million), and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (4.1 million).
Tourists are also a boon to local economies near those parks, said Neal Desai, with the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association.
“The national parks are one-fifteenth of 1% of our federal budget. They’re very efficient and they provide tremendous benefit, including economic return on every investment that we put in,” said Desai.
And national parks deliver a $15 boost to the nation’s economy for every dollar invested, according to NPCA.
Desai said recent Trump administration cuts to the National Park Service come at a critical time as people plan their spring break and summer vacations.
The NPCA and other advocates are monitoring cuts for potential impacts heading into the busy season. Desai is critical of the administration’s government-trimming efforts, saying the National Park Service already is underfunded and “indiscriminate cuts” will be damaging. He advises people to take action.
“This is self-inflicted harm to the American people by the administration and public outcry and political pressure is really the way that this is going to turn around,” Desai said.
The Mountain West News Bureau reached out to the NPS about its cuts and plans for the year ahead, but did not get any comment.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
