Visitors spend $371M at Texas' National Parks
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

Heading to one of Texas' national parks this summer? Chances are you're going to buy some jerky, peanuts, gas and, if you're feeling old-school, a compass.
Nearly 6 million visitors traveled to Texas national park properties in 2021, spending more than $371 million, per new data released by the National Park Service.
The big picture: Texas has 14 National Park Service sites. This includes two national parks — Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Park — and 12 national park lands, including national monuments, recreation areas, national preserves and more.
By the numbers: The properties generated nearly $580 million in economic activity last year, the highest the figure has been since officials began tracking the data in 2012.
- At the San Antonio Missions, a national historical park and the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Texas, 1.3 million tourists generated more than $104 million in visitor spending in 2021 — the most of any NPS site in the state.
- Park land in Texas generates 5,410 jobs.
Of note: NPS measures economic output as the total estimated value of the production of goods and services from visitor spending near park lands.
Between the lines: More than 95% of Texas land is in private hands.
- California, 48% of which is privately owned, has nine national parks.
Nicole's thought bubble: Take a day trip to Johnson City, home of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
- The LBJ Ranch driving tour allows you to see the one-room Junction School, which the former president briefly attended as a 4-year-old, the "Texas White House," his airplane hangar and more.
- Pro tip: Stop at a Johnson City winery on your way home.
