There are a variety of different parks in the United States. They can range from awe inspiring national parks that can span over hundreds of thousands of kilometers to adrenaline boosting amusement and theme parks. Also included are the less thrilling but perhaps more beloved public parks that provide a casual outdoor space for all ages to relax and have fun. Public parks are mostly maintained by city park agencies. In 2021, the
was New York, at approximately 1.41 billion U.S. dollars. This spending has not gone to waste as the
was Central Park in New York with around 42 million visitors in 2021. This was not-so-closely followed by Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, which accounted for 24 million visitors in that year.
National parks in the U.S.
National Parks under the administration of the National Park Service
drew around 297 visitors in 2021. This figure saw significant growth over the previous year, which was impacted by park closures due to the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. When looking at the
average visits per day (by month) to U.S. National Park Service sites, this downward trend in visitation can also be seen, especially in spring of 2020. Regardless of the pandemic, average daily visitation consistently peaked in the summer months, July in particular, likely due to a combination of school vacation and good weather. The
expenditure of visitors to U.S. national parks also fluctuated as a result of the pandemic, dropping to around 14.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. However, this figure grew to pre-pandemic levels again in 2021. In that year, the
most visited national park in the U.S. was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border.
Amusement and theme parks in the U.S.
While the U.S. may not be home to the
oldest amusement park worldwide, many of the most popular global amusement and theme park companies today, like Disney, Universal, and Six Flags, are based in the United States. Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World), located in Florida, U.S., was the
most attended amusement park in the world in 2021, with approximately 12.7 million visitors. Second in the ranking was Universal’s Islands of Adventure, also located in Florida. One of the main thrills of going to an amusement or theme park is the roller coasters. The U.S. may have taken second place in the ranking of the
fastest roller coasters worldwide, but it is home to the
oldest functioning roller coaster in the world, located in Lakemont Park, Altoona, showing the long lasting relationship between Americans and amusement parks.
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