Impact of COVID-19 on Ohio\u27s National Parks Visitation

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way in which society operates in order to get the novel disease under control. Businesses throughout the United States have had to close or reduce provided services, stay at home orders have secluded many people, and social distancing limits contact between others so many are turning to the parks system to cope with these changes. This study aims to find how the visitation of national parks in Ohio have been affected through the first six months of the pandemic. Visitation statistics were compared from March to August of 2020 to those same months of 2019 to investigate whether or not the pandemic has caused a statistically significant change in visitors. Seven of the eight parks saw statistically significant decreases in visitation. Further investigation into local, state, and national parks during the pandemic can provide a clearer idea into the use and importance of this system