Rising gas and airfare prices may be causing Texans to trade cross-country road trips and overseas flights for camping, hiking, swimming and exploring at state parks closer to home.
Texas state parks have seen a 22 percent increase in camping reservations for the Memorial Day weekend compared to the same period in 2007, said Tom Harvey, spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Harvey and other state park officials said a possible reason for higher visitation rates is gasoline prices approaching $4 per gallon over the holiday weekend.
Ray Sierra, park manager for the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, located an hour and a half outside of Austin, said visitation rates increased only slightly from the same period last year. He said that during the summer, 100 people visit the park on weekdays and about 600 to 800 people visit on the weekends. Sierra said visitation tapers off in July and August due to extreme heat.
The state debt in 2004 resulted in funding cutbacks for state parks, said Rep. Mike Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, who chairs the House of Representatives' Natural Resources Committee.
"It took awhile before we got the money to get back into the parks system," Hamilton said.
Two House bills passed during the 2007 Texas legislative session appropriated an additional $25.6 million for state park operations for 2008 and 2009. A state-wide proposition approved by Texas citizens allocated $52 million for landmark preservation and park infrastrcture repairs. According to park officials, area parks, such as the McKinney Falls State Park and Enchanted Rock, are using the increased funding to make infrastructure improvements that range from plumbing and sewage-system repairs to lodging additions.
Harvey said the department is constantly looking for ways to attract city dwellers to state parks.
"We are increasingly urban denizens of the concrete jungle. We're losing our historic connection with the landscape and with the world of nature and the outdoors," Harvey said. "State parks are one good, low-cost, nearby way that people can reconnect with nature and the outdoors."
Harvey said students looking to avoid overcrowded state parks should seek out some of the Austin area's undiscovered gems.
Daily entrance fees range from $4 to $15, and a Texas State Park Pass can be purchased for $60.
For more information on park locations, visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's state park Web site at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/.
