Why don't African/Arabic/Indian - Americans visit US national parks?

If you tell more brown people about these places, trust me, they will go there.

"what? a place where there aren't other desis? Kids, pack your things."

That being said- I've been to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. However, we didn't have tents and stuff (which is actually something that almost NO brown people do), we stayed in those cabins and stuff. and prayed that a bear wouldn't destroy our car for the tootsie roll that may be wedged in between the seats. There were other brown people there, like every other tourist attraction in the world.

 

Go to Niagara Falls, and tell me you don't see any South Asians there. White people are almost outnumbered there (I'm guessing because of the Falls' proximity to the GTA).

 

Brotha here. Speaking from my own experiences, my friends and I never had the $$ to go on those kinda trips when we were growing up. Most of our trips were to like our grandmothers house, or something like that. I don't think it's a race thing...moreso a $$ thing....but since the minorities ya listed usually have less $$, maybe that's why....

 

D'oh! I thought he came up with that by himself. I'm the moron who gave him a rep point for this. Sorry to the BBS!

 

White guy here. Been to the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Yosemite, and a bunch of other places. Couldn't tell you anything about other folks there.

I hate camping. Always have. I'm good with the drinking beer around a fire part, but when it's time to go to bed, I want a BED.

 

I'm south Asian, I've gone to Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park, Smoky Mountain National Park, Grand Canyon and Denali National Park!!

Plan on going to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national park next summer!!

 

This dynamic has been evident to park managers as well as on other public lands like the Forest Service for decades. There have been countless efforts to connect with minorities, particularly blacks and Hispanics. Of greater concern is the drop off in youth visits across the board. Parks are in danger of becoming like baseball... reliant on an aging demographic (and now Ken Burns is coming out with an epic doc on National Parks).

Recently, there seems to be a slight change in the dynamic and for some reason, visitation was up in parks the last couple of years... probably due to the recession which made places like Cabo and Disneyworld less likely destinations.

 

Rimrocker, I figured as much that attendance was down across the board. that's kind of what i'm getting at, our society is more materialistic. they want bright lights and the city when vacationing

 

I don't know if I can quite explain why the French would be different from other European peoples about visiting parks. I think America has a rep for its natural wonders, so the French I know that come visit want to see those. They could visit bustling cities or nice beaches, I guess, but they have those in France. And, while they have beautiful countryside, they don't have a Grand Canyon or a Niagara Falls or a Death Valley. But that doesn't explain why they might outnumber Germans or Italians or whatever. It could be simply that you're more familiar with French among foreign langauges so you more readily identify Frenchmen over all the other random gibberish-speaking visitors.

 

Been to most of Americas major national parks but have never really camped in them. In June of 1994 I went on a family national park vacation. The night the Rockets won their first championship I was in Glacier National Park Montana. Our cabin had all the comforts of home except a TV or radio! My Dad slowly drove us around in the car as we tried to pick up a faint radio broadcast of the game...found a strong signal by the 4th quarter.

 

i just went to yosemite for 3 nights 4 days with a dozen friends... it was an amazing trip. We rented a jet ski, patio boat, a huge cabin at bass lake and had tons of food and alcohol, all for the price of about 160$ per person! At Yosemite we all noticed that none of us had seen an African american and very few Hispanics in the park, asides from the two in our group. I dont know the reasons why this is, but its definitely not a monetary problem as this was one of the cheapest getaway I've ever had.

I think everyone should go to yosemite or yellowstone or their national parks, its such a great experience, whether its camping or renting a cabin, hard core backpacking or simply hiking and taking beautiful photographs of your friends/family amidst the natural wonders. Although I'm still in pain and sore from the 12 hour hike, the memories and bonds from the trip, will last looong after the pain fades away.

 

When I lived in Moab, Germans overwhelmed the French and all other international tourists... they would mountain bike all day and drink all night. There were times you couldn't go to the store without having to say "Entschuldigen Sie bitte!" after you bumped into one.

 

In answer to a previous question, here's a rundown on various NPS units with a few added comments...

 

I'm Hispanic and I'd have to say it all boils down to money. Not all, but a large portion of minorities are in the lower/middle class. When you don't have much money and you do not get to go on vacation very often generally your going to want to be pampered. I would say most Hispanic and Blacks in the country don't see camping or national parks as being pampered.