How People Show Their Love for Parks Apparel at Public Lands Partner Stores

As Americans have flocked in record numbers to national parks, demand for souvenir apparel has reached new heights. “Site specific clothing has become its own sort of fashion statement as people travel around the parks,” observed Matthew White , retail operations manager for Black Hills Parks & Forests Association, which partners with seven national parks, monuments and forests.

“I would say 75 percent of our visitors wear apparel from other parks. It’s something simple to remember where you’ve been, and other people will ask you about it, which helps more people learn about our parks. So it really is a win for everybody, especially the smaller locations, like Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.”

Best-sellers across the 16 Black Hills partner stores, which average 300 to 600 square feet, include name-dropped T-shirts and hoodies. Many, like a top selling shirt featuring bison graphics, are from the Wild Tribute brand. “People really like their styles, and they’re popular throughout the public lands stores,” said White. Another customer favorite is a line of shirts made in the USA from recycled materials — so-called “cause marketing,” White explained, that resonates with socially conscious consumers.

At the Lewis and Clark National Park Association, Executive Director Cynthia Thompson’s number one tip for selling apparel is intuitive: “Pick images that resonate with what people are actually seeing in your park.” Best-sellers at the 700-square-foot Fort Clatsop bookstore in Astoria, Ore., are tees and sweats featuring park landscapes: huge trees, the Pacific coastline and the store’s namesake fort. “People look at them and say, I saw that on my visit there!” observed Thompson, explaining that the shirts become a conversation piece. “We specialize in super duper local graphics.”

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