PERCEIVED CROWDING AT BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK AREA

Abstract: The increasing popularity of outdoor recreation has led to concerns about the level and types of visitor use that can be accommodated in parks and related areas without causing unacceptable impacts to the recreation experience. Such impacts represent the social component of carrying capacity, and include perceived crowding. Crowding within recreation environments has received substantial research attention. However, most studies have been in wilderness or river recreation settings. Perceived crowding is not free of physical settings. Research indicates that perceptions of crowding do in fact differ by site and therefore exploring crowding perceptions in a diversity of recreation areas. This study focuses on perceived crowding at Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, a new unit of the national park system in the Boston metropolitan area. During the summer of 2000, randomly selected visitors at the Boston Harbor Islands completed an onsite survey. Results indicate that most visitors to the islands do not feel crowded. However, a number of other impacts that affect the recreation experience were identified. Several management implications are apparent