Where Business Is Blooming Selling Souvenirs at State Park Stores

State park retailers have one word to describe the 2021 season: crazy. As in really, really busy, with many parks breaking attendance records. After a year cooped up during the pandemics, Americans have been eager to get out and explore nature — and splurge on all manner of park souvenirs.

“It’s been crazy around here,” said David Townsend, manager for Partners in Palo Duro, the foundation whose retail outlet supports Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas. The 500-squarefoot gift shop is mostly staffed with volunteers. “I tell them all, just take a deep breath,” Townsend said. Foot traffic has been intense all year, boosted by the store’s strategic location — at the rim of the canyon, in the same building as a popular museum.

The Palo Duro shop does a brisk business in Southwestern souvenirs. “We’re kind of higher end,” Townsend noted. He turns to local artisans and auctions for authentic Navajo rugs, turquoise and silver jewelry, and handmade ceramics crafted by members of six local native American tribes. “We also have a great selection of regional books, and Oklahoma bead work from the Comanche and Cheyenne Nations,” Townsend noted.

The two gift shops at Franconia Notch State Park in Lincoln, N.H., have been so busy, Retail Manager and Buyer Katherine Crowe was hard pressed to name a top item. Name-dropped apparel and plush are always strong categories at the medium-sized outlets. “But this year it’s really everything,” Crowe said. “Customers aren’t holding back! Obviously the North American animals are traditional, but we’ve even brought in marine plush this year, and they’re selling just as well. It’s insane.”

Like many retailers, Crowe has struggled to keep staffing consistent with demand. She’s lucky to have been able to pay overtime. But the stores are still understaffed — so Crowe herself has spent more time than usual in the stores, recruiting other park staffers to pitch in when the register is especially busy. As she put it: “It’s been about survival, about teamwork.”

Even under stressful conditions, Crowe’s team em- phasizes strong customer service. “We really, really try to make that connection before they get to the register,” the retailer noted. “We ask them what they’re looking for, what brought them to the state park. And we make sure they’re sent home with what they came in for.”

With souvenirs flying off shelves, park retailers said they emphasize a pleasant demeanor rather than specific selling techniques. “I just want my staff to be friendly and welcoming, really,” said Julie Berg , manager of the Salt Fork Lodge Gift Shop. T-shirts are the

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