The Trump Administration’s Devastating Impacts on Outdoor Recreation

June 2, 2025—I try not to get political when it comes to outdoor recreation, partly due to the fact that people from all political parties enjoy recreating outdoors. However, there is no denying that recent decisions by President Trump have direct impacts on outdoor recreation and businesses and communities that rely on it. Those decisions include funding and staffing cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and tariffs of 40%, down from 145% recently, applied to goods imported from China.

Trump’s tariffs

Much of the camping gear American families purchase is manufactured in countries like China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, cooking gear and utensils, lanterns, and headlamps are commonly produced in China and Taiwan. Even some high-end outdoor recreation gear like Osprey, Kelty, Big Agnes, The North Face, Marmot, GSI Outdoors, and Black Diamond is manufactured in China and other overseas countries. Much of the camping gear Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods sells is manufactured overseas.

Many top-end bicycle brands like Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant market bicycles manufactured in China and Taiwan.

Manufacturing outdoor recreation gear in China and other countries overseas is popular due to lower labor costs, relaxed or non-existent environment laws, and established manufacturing infrastructure. And it’s not just low-end camping gear manufacturers who have their products manufactured overseas. It’s often cheaper for high-end outdoor recreation companies to mass produce their products overseas to keep production costs low while maximizing profits.

When it comes to hiking boots, many brands are manufactured overseas: Keen in Thailand, Oboz in Vietnam, Vasque in China. Even outdoor clothing companies like REI, Patagonia, and The North Face manufacture some of their clothing in China and Vietnam.

There are companies, however, that have chosen to produce their products in the United States. One such company is MSR. However, even if the products are manufactured in the U.S., components and metals used in the products might come from China—one example being steel and aluminum used in the manufacture of cookware and snowshoes.

The bottom line is this, if you’re an outdoor recreationist, somewhere in your closet or garage sits some camping gear that likely was made in China or another Asian country. Eventually that gear will need to be replaced. Perhaps you’ll want a warmer sleeping bag, a larger tent for your growing family, or a backpack with a greater volume to go on extended backcountry treks. Trump’s tariffs will make it more expensive to replace or upgrade that gear. The higher cost of equipment may dissuade some from getting into outdoor recreation or prevent some from updating their equipment, forcing them to continue using worn-out, outdated, and perhaps unsafe gear.

The other impact Trump’s tariffs will have on outdoor recreation is the cost foreigners will have to pay to visit the national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, and other popular tourist locations. Tourists staying in hotels and eating at restaurants close to popular vacation spots, including national parks, will pay higher prices due to tariffs on fruits and vegetables coming from Mexico and Canada. Hotels purchase many supplies like towels, linens, slippers, bathrobes, and hair dryers from China. This will require them to raise prices.

One possible benefit of the tariffs is the reduction the number of visitors from places like Canada and Mexico to our national parks, monuments, and forest lands. This could reduce overcrowding that’s taking place in the parks. This reduction is partly due to Canadians and Mexicans snubbing American tourism because of Trump’s trade war and tariffs being levied on their countries. Canadians and Mexicans feel insulted, and many from those countries have chosen to boycott tourism in the U.S. as a form of protest. However, the U.S. is most popular destination for Canadians, and the loss of their tourism dollars will hurt businesses in and around national parks and museums that rely partially on their dollars.

International tourism plays a pivotal role in the visitation dynamics of U.S. national parks. Approximately one-third of visitors to national parks are international tourists. While precise figures for 2023 are pending, historical data indicates that approximately 14 million international tourists visit national park sites annually. This figure represents a substantial portion of the total international arrivals to the United States, which totaled 66.5 million in 2023, reflecting a 31% increase from 2022. The loss of tourism dollars from international visitors who choose to skip a visit to national parks due to tariffs and VISA concerns can have a serious impact on park infrastructure and maintenance. (How Overseas Visitors Can Help Steward Our National Parks - PERC, NTTO Releases International Travel Statistics for 2023).

The following countries have consistently ranked among the top sources of international tourists to the United States and, by extension, to our national parks. Due to its proximity and strong bilateral relations, Canada has traditionally been the leading source of international visitors to the U.S., with many Canadians frequenting national parks, especially those near the border. As a neighboring country with deep cultural and economic ties, Mexico remains a significant contributor to international visitation in U.S. national parks. The U.K. has consistently been among the top European sources of tourists to the U.S., with its citizens showing a keen interest in exploring America's natural landscapes. German tourists are known for their enthusiasm for outdoor activities and have historically been substantial visitors to national parks. French travelers have shown a growing interest in the diverse offerings of national parks, contributing to the international visitation numbers.

These rankings are based on overall international arrival data and historical visitation patterns to national parks. Specific figures for 2023 may vary and will be available upon the release of detailed NPS visitation reports.

Loss of funding

Trump’s budget proposal seeks to eliminate more than $1.2 billion from NPS funding. Such a cut would have devastating consequences to park staffing, infrastructure repair, and maintenance and amount to the largest cuts in the Park’s history.

Even though park visitation has seen a steady increase since COVID-19, park funding has seen a decrease. This has led to staffing cuts and deferred maintenance and a reduction or elimination of ranger programs. The Trump Administration budget proposal calls for laying off an additional 1,500 staff in addition to the 1,000 already laid off in the Park Service. Full-time rangers are being replaced by seasonal rangers who don’t enjoy the same benefits or job protections full-time employees enjoy.

Visitor centers are being forced to cut back on their hours of operation, and tours are being canceled. Carlsbad Caverns National Park has eliminated both its ranger-led and self-guided tours. Staffing cuts at entrance booths are leading to long lines at park entry points on weekends. Staffing cuts will negatively impact school field trips to national parks, the Junior Ranger Program, community outreach, and research.

I witnessed the impacts of the funding cuts firsthand on a recent visit to Pinnacles National Park in central California. I had called the park a week prior to my visit to get information on trails suitable for my 10-year-old granddaughter to hike. I was greeted by voicemail asking me to leave my name, phone number, and a brief message, which I did. The day came for me to drive down to my daughter’s house in Modesto and still no return call from the Park Service.

The day my family and I arrived at Pinnacles National Park, we were treated to some spectacular scenery. We were also treated to an overflowing trash can and no running water in the men’s bathroom sink at the nature center parking lot.

How the loss of park visitors affects gateway communities

Many gateway towns around national parks, like Jackson near Grand Tetons NP, Gardiner near Yellowstone, Springdale near Zion NP, and Bar Harbor near Acadia NP, rely at least part of the year on the tourists visiting national parks near gateway towns. While towns like Bar Harbor have seen a rise in congestion from park visitors and have had to start charging for parking, tourism dollars have brought much-needed direct, indirect, and induced dollars into local communities. Visitors pumped $20.2 billion into local gateway communities in 2018 alone.

Losing visitor dollars can negatively impact snowmobile and snowcat tourism dollars in Gardiner, climbing gear sales and rentals in Yosemite Village, kayak rentals in Bar Harbor, fishing gear sales and guide services in Jackson, and camping supplies sales in Springdale. Many of the towns are exceedingly small, and the loss of tourism dollars could spell financial hardship or ruin for some of the towns. For instance, Springdale’s population was only 416 in 2023. The town relies heavily on Zion National Park visitation.

In conclusion

While I focused on national parks because they are the most visible and most-visited natural areas, Trump’s tariffs and funding cuts to national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas will have devastating consequences to these natural areas and the communities that rely on them. The tariffs can spell trouble for outdoor retailers forced to raise prices to compensate for the tariff costs of the products they import. Rising prices could reduce participation in outdoor recreation activities and tourism.

Just recently, the owners of Next Adventures in Portland, Oregon, cited uncertainty as one reason for deciding to retire and shutter the business. What that uncertainty is the owners would not say, but others in the sporting goods industry say the uncertainty of the tariffs and the soaring prices that will result are a major issue. Many in the outdoor recreation industry worry about the impacts tariffs and what rising costs associated with them will have on sales.

Cuts to funding for national parks will likely negatively impact visitor quality and satisfaction. Visitor satisfaction is a key metric the National Park Service uses to determine maintenance and infrastructure needs and visitor programs like guided ranger talks. Funding cuts to national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands could create major hardships for gateway communities that rely on outdoor recreationists’ dollars for their survival.

Now is the time for you to reach out to your federal politicians to express your concerns about the tariffs and funding cuts to public lands. Let them know you’re not happy with rising tariffs or funding cuts to the National Park Service. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so the saying goes. Once national parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and other natural areas are gone, there is likely no getting them back.