Visits to Vermont's 55 state parks are down this summer, and park officials say politics is playing a role.
On a busy summer weekend, Vermont parks can see roughly 65,000 visitors, according to State Parks Director Nate McKeen. But rainy weather at the start of the summer and discord between the U.S. and Canada are driving down attendance.
The rain primarily affected day visits, said McKeen. Much more troubling, he said, is the 70% drop in Canadians camping in Vermont's state parks this year.
“That's a big impact for us," he said. "It's really important to have the Canadians come down and our friends come down and camp, but they also tend to stay a longer period of time when they do come down. So that hasn't helped our visitation at all.”
Some Canadians who have contacted the parks department have expressed anger at how the Trump administration is treating Canada.
"Some of the feedback we've gotten from our Canadian friends when we send out our newsletter — the exchange rate is not in their favor right now, but more importantly, they're just pretty upset with, you know, the tone and some of the rhetoric that happened," said McKeen.
Others said they're staying away because they're worried about encountering problems at the U.S.-Canada border, he added.
It's not just Canadians fueling the lower-than-expected attendance this year. About 4% fewer Vermonters are camping in state parks compared to last year, and there has been an 11% decline in out-of-state campers, said McKeen.
But there is still plenty of summer to go, and with the improved weather, he said visits are already climbing.
