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It's not the heyday of the '80s, but it's close.

For the sixth consecutive year, the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area saw an increase in total visitor spending, job creation and economic output. There's a direct correlation between the amount of people coming to the park and the amount of water in the lake, said Paul Jones, chief park ranger.

Last year, 1.329 million people came to the lake to boat or fish or camp, according to a new report from the National Park Service. Jones, who has worked at Lake Meredith for 20 years, said, "back in the '80s, it was rockin'." He said it was common for 1.5 million visitors to trek to the lake annually.
Then the droughts started, water levels dropped and crowds dried up.

But Lake Meredith has made a resurgence. The water level is up to about 75 feet -- the normal pool level is 88 feet -- and people are taking notice.

In 2012, visitor spending, which measures the amount of money people spend within the gateway regions surrounding each National Park Service site, was $20.1 million. It grew to $22.8 million the next year, $28.9 million in 2014, $35.3 million in 2015 and $44.4 million in 2016. Last year it hit $56.5 million.

That figure is more than the state's two national parks combined and second only within Texas to San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, which includes The Alamo.

Big Bend National Park's visitor spending was $37.3 million, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park's was $13.6 million. People spent almost $79 million at San Antonio Missions.

Gateway regions are the areas directly surrounding National Park Service sites. Gateway economies include the cities and towns where visitors typically stay and spend money while visiting park sites, which would include Amarillo. The city is a little less than an hour from Lake Meredith.

A family spends a day boating and fishing at Lake Meredith or taking a ranger hike at the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, which is just south of the lake.

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