TOWN OF DIANA, New York (WWNY) – The north country is known for its nature and outdoor activities, and according to a report by the state, that’s one sector that generated billions of dollars during the pandemic.
Heavy rain will keep most people away from a hiking trail, like Baker Woods Preserve the town of Diana. But a pandemic might actually draw people to scenic spots.
“There was at least triple or quadruple the number of visitors,” said Matthew Carney, a volunteer steward at Baker Woods Preserve.
That falls in line with a report out by the State Comptroller’s office. The report reveals that outdoor recreation activities – like hiking, camping, boating, and fishing generated $21.1 billion in economic activity in 2020, supported 241,000 jobs, with $13.1 billion in compensation for those jobs.
Carney believes people were looking for ways to get outside and explore local spaces.
“A lot of first time hikers, people who found us either on the internet, or through word of mouth, or on hiking apps,” he said.
Outdoor recreation did take a hit, like any other sector of the economy during the pandemic, but it didn’t decline as much as other industries.
Carney said he slowly started to see more traffic on the trails during the height of the pandemic, and it took him by surprise.
“One day,” he said, “We just woke up and said, is there some event happening at Baker Woods that we didn’t know about?”
Carney says the small parking lot out front quickly became overwhelmed throughout 2020, something that was not a problem before.
He said the traffic on the trail has subsided since the height of COVID, but he’s still seeing more people than pre-pandemic.
“I guess it was kind of a silver lining that it brought a lot of people here that may not ever have discovered us,” he said.
What was once off the beaten path, became a convenient getaway for people during the pandemic.
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