A small lenticular cloud hovers over Mount Rainier.
Mount Rainier National Park visitors put millions of dollars into the local economy last year, and visitation to the park is 50 percent higher now than it was at this time in 2014.
Nearly 1.3 million visitors to Mount Rainier National Park spent $45.5 million in communities surrounding the park in 2014, according to a new National Park Service report.
The visitors and their dollars supported about 595 local jobs. That number doesn’t include the approximately 100 permanent and about 180 seasonal staff who work directly in the park and the 450 to 500 vendors who work in or near the park, according to a press release.
Park Deputy Superintendent Tracy Swartout said in the press release that while Mount Rainier attracts visitors from all over, they also enjoy spending time in local communities, including Packwood.
“Mount Rainier National Park is a touchstone for residents and visitors in the Pacific Northwest, and connects people to the land, as it has for centuries,” Swartout is quoted as saying. “The park is also home to a trove of natural and cultural resources that tell an important part of the history of the National Park Service.”
The National Park Service report found that 292.8 million park visitors spent $15.7 billion in communities within 60 miles of a national park and supported 277,000 jobs nationwide. The majority of park visitors’ money went toward lodging followed by food and beverages.
