GasBuddy: Cheap Gas Will Bring Many Americans To National and State Parks Over 4th

For large numbers of Americans the Independence Day weekend is an opportunity to take a mini-vacation.

This year, according to community-based gas price comparison app, GasBuddy, more of those mini-vacations will take place in state and national parks.

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Credit Cheap Gas

Thanks to some of the cheapest gas prices since 2009, state and national parks are anticipating record numbers of visitors over the 4th of July holiday.

According to Indiana Dunes Tourism promotions director, Ken Kosky, July 4 weekend is the busiest of the year.

“The low gas prices have played a huge role in the increased amount of visitors we’ve experienced,” Kosky said, adding, ”We are showing an increase of six percent so far this year, so an increase of 5-10 percent for the holiday is anticipated.”

Parks Are Ideal Vacation Spots

According to a recent GasBuddy summer travel survey, 26 percent of respondents said the ideal summer vacation spot would be a state or national park where they could camp and enjoy the great outdoors.

GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst, Patrick DeHaan said, “With gas prices the lowest they’ve been in years, this is the time to visit a place that is a little off the beaten path.”

Midwest Winners

Great Lakes states offering the greatest gas savings compared with last year, along with desirable parks to visit include Michigan where gas prices are $1.06/gallon lower than June 2014; Indiana, with prices $1.04/gallon lower and Ohio where gas prices are $1.04/gallon less.

Travel destinations in or near those states include Indiana Dunes State Park, Devils Lake State Park in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

The Northeast

Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, Adirondack Park in New York and Burton Island State Park in Vermont top the list of destinations in the Northeast.

Gas prices in Connecticut are $1.01 less than last year with New York ($0.97/gallon cheaper) and Vermont ($0.96/gallon less) not far behind.

The South

Kentucky and West Virginia show an average savings of $1.00/gallon over last year. Travelers from those states can either visit the Great Lakes region or slide a little more to the south.

Southern state park destinations include Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee; Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, West Virginia; and Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee.

(Far) West

GasBuddy notes that although all states have cheaper gas prices than last year, when it comes to states on the western side of the Mississippi, only Hawaii made their “best of” list.

Gas prices in the Aloha state are $1.02/gallon cheaper than last year.

When it comes to travel destinations, Koke'e SP & Waimea Canyon State Park, Iao Valley State Park and Diamond Head State Monument are top spots to consider.

Related: GasBuddy: It's All In The (Price) Spread

Save More With The App

Using GasBuddy’s “Trip Cost Calculator” and entering the make and model of the car plus the start and end points, consumers can find the location of cheapest gas stations and even get a summary of the total cost of gas for the trip.

Along the route, the GasBuddy app will help pinpoint precise gas station locations and help travelers get updated prices during the trip.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco  had no position in any mentioned securities.