By Tom Gilbert
President, Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Anyone who doubts the economic importance of outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania should visit rural Huntingdon County, home of Raystown Lake. Thousands visit the Army Corps of Engineers-operated recreation area each year to boat, fish and camp, leaving behind tens of millions of dollars spent at local businesses. Or rather, they used to.
On a typical Memorial Day weekend, Raystown Lake would be packed. But this year, in the wake of federal staffing cuts and the resulting closure of a major campground, normally thriving operations near the lake are struggling to stay afloat. One proprietor told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the campground closure has cut their business in half. Another described the scene to WJAC-TV as a “ghost town.”
Compare Raystown with any of Pennsylvania’s 124 state parks, where business is positively booming. Earlier this year the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, or DCNR, reported a nearly 30% increase in state park campground reservations, and with vacation season now fully underway, tourist dollars are pouring into communities with open public lands.
Already a $19 billion industry, Pennsylvania’s outdoor sector is only getting bigger as financially-pinched vacationers across the northeastern U.S. increasingly seek out adventures closer to home, and people everywhere turn to the outdoors for peace and relaxation.
DCNR is working hard to maintain its spectacular resources while meeting growing demand, but new opportunities also await. In May, state lawmakers got a peek at one of those opportunities on a tour of what could soon be the commonwealth’s first underground state park: the sprawling 4-mile cave complex known as Laurel Caverns. The Cale family has stewarded the privately owned site in Fayette County for almost a century, welcoming visitors since 1964, and this year owner David Cale is ready to realize his lifelong dream of making the site a free, public amenity.
Acquiring Laurel Caverns won’t cost taxpayers a dime, since the Cales intend to donate the 400-acre property. All that’s required is a modest investment to update and staff the facility, which — judging from the nearly $2 billion spent annually by visitors to the Laurel Highlands — will soon deliver big returns in economic activity and community benefits.
That investment is part of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-2026 budget proposal, which includes funding for trails and public lands statewide. Among them is the popular Glen Onoko Falls hiking trail near Jim Thorpe, which would reopen as a state park site after being closed to hikers since 2019. Like Laurel Caverns, Glen Onoko is already an established attraction with a proven record of drawing visitors who spend money locally, not to mention a spot beloved by generations of Lehigh Valley residents.
Just as important as opening new parks, the Shapiro budget increases funding for DCNR to manage and improve our existing public lands across the state. These funds support everything from trash removal and picnic shelters to resort-class amenities enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, such as the golf course and swimming pool at Caledonia State Park in Franklin and Adams counties.
As lawmakers hash out the state budget in the coming weeks, they would do well to consider Raystown Lake, and what happens when we fail to support the outdoor assets that give back so much to our communities and the businesses that sustain them.
The good news is that leaders in both parties understand why investing in public lands and outdoor recreation is an easy win for the economy, the environment, and all Pennsylvanians. Present and future generations of Pennsylvanians will thank the governor and state legislators for making our communities more livable and prosperous.
Source: Berkshire mont
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