National Parks of Boston Economic Report 2022

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park | credit: NPS

A new National Park Service (NPS) report offers insights into the economic benefits of the National Parks of Boston.

Approximately 2.5 million visitors to National Parks of Boston in 2022 spent $167.3 million in communities near the park.

That spending supported 2,090 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $255.4 million.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.

The report is available at the U.S. National Park Service website (nps.gov).

The National Parks of Boston is a collection of three National Park Service sites – Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site, and Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.

For more information on the National Parks of Boston, visit: www.nps.gov/bost, www.nps.gov/boaf, and www.bostonharborislands.org.

source: National Park Service

Related Information

Massachusetts

Boston Lighthouse Webcams

Boston Lighthouse Webcams

Boston Lighthouse - Little Brewster Island | credit: NPS

Four new webcams have been installed on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor. Viewable by the public, the cams provide panoramic real-time views from Boston Lighthouse of the island and surrounding areas.

The cameras enhance maritime safety by providing a picture of real-time sea conditions and visibility at the outer reaches of the harbor, allowing mariners to make informed decisions about their trip prior to leaving the dock.

The webcam’s installation is the result of cooperative efforts between the U.S. National Park Service, Hull Lifesaving Museum, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston and Aids-to-Navigation Team Boston.  

Originally built in 1716, Boston Light is the nation’s oldest lighthouse station. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and is still an active aid-to-navigation.

The lighthouse casts a 27-mile light beam through a second-order revolving Fresnel lens that was installed in 1859.

Looking North

Looking northward from Boston Light, the camera displays the northern approaches into Boston Harbor, with Graves Light visible into the distance. The smaller Brewster Islands, Middle and Outer, are in the midground, with the Shag Rocks on the near right.

Looking East

Looking east from Boston Light, the camera captures Massachusetts Bay.

Looking West

The westward view shows downtown Boston in the distance, with several islands including Great Brewster and Georges Island in the midground.

Looking South

 The southern view captures the town of Hull across the Nantasket Roads shipping route.

Free public access to the webcams is available at:

www.nps.gov/boha/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

Related Information

Massachusetts

New England Facts

Cape Cod National Seashore Winter Film Festival 2020

Nauset Lighthouse Eastham MA | credit: NPS

Cape Cod National Seashore Annual Winter Film Festival
January 26th thru February 23rd, 2020
Cape Cod National Seashore
Salt Pond Visitor Center
Eastham, MA

Cape Cod National Seashore’s Annual Winter Film Festival kicks off on Sunday, January 26 at 1:30 pm at Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham.

This year's festival explores the power of the human mind in overcoming extreme obstacles. Films show on Sundays at 1:30 pm on the theater-size screen in surround sound.

The auditorium is wheelchair accessible, and the movies are free, thanks to generous licensing funding provided by Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

January 26: A Beautiful Mind--135 minutes. 2001 biographical drama based on the life of John Nash, Nobel Laureate in economics. The story follows Nash from his days as a graduate student through his fall into delusion and schizophrenia. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress.

February 2: Gravity--91 minutes. 2013 sci-fi thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts stranded in space after a mid-orbit destruction of their space shuttle. Selected for American Film Institute's Movies of the Year List.

February 9: The Theory of Everything--123 minutes. 2014 biographical drama about theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease and being given two years to live, Hawking had a long career as a researcher and is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.

February 16: Apollo 13--140 minutes. This 1995 film dramatizes the aborted 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission. En route to the moon, an on-board explosion deprives the spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electrical power, forcing NASA flight controllers to abort the landing and get the three astronauts home safely.

February 23: In the Heart of the Sea--121 minutes. 2015 adventure-drama based on Nathanial Philbrick's nonfiction book about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, an event that inspired the novel Moby-Dick.

Salt Pond Visitor Center is located at 50 Nauset Road, at the intersection of Route 6 in Eastham, MA.

Acadia Annual National Park Pass December Special Pricing

Acadia National Park Annual Passes will be on sale for $28 during most of the month of December. Passes must be obtained in person. No phone orders will be taken.

On December 6, during Bar Harbor’s Midnight Madness event, passes will be available at the Village Green from 8 pm to midnight.

There are several locations to purchase your Acadia Annual Pass for “almost-half-price.” Local Chambers of Commerce will be selling the “almost-half-price” passes at Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, and Southwest Harbor/Tremont (sold at Harbor House, Southwest Harbor).

Local Town Offices will also be selling the half-price passes at Gouldsboro, Mount Desert, Tremont, and Winter Harbor. The Schoodic Institute, located at the Schoodic Education and Research Center will have passes for sale at the Rockefeller Hall Welcome Center.

Shoppers are advised to check individual hours of operation on websites or by calling ahead to ensure these independent businesses are open when planning a visit. Methods of payment may vary by business, some may only take cash while others may accept check or credit card.

Also, note the Acadia National Park Headquarters contact station on Eagle Lake Road (Route 233) closed permanently on May 1, 2017 and will not be open for information, pass sales, or restrooms.

Through the authority of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the National Park Service retains 80 percent of the fees collected from annual pass sales to invest in critical improvements that directly benefit visitors at Acadia National Park, including maintaining and enhancing visitor facilities.

Entrance pass revenues are essential for funding the operation of the Island Explorer bus system, which serves Acadia and its surrounding communities.

The National Park Service uses the remaining 20 percent to benefit other sites in the National Park System.

source: National Park Service