BLAIR COUNTY, Pa (WTAJ) — The Fourth of July weekend is quickly approaching, and local attractions and businesses are gearing up for the busy weekend.
According to AAA, around 47.9 million Americans are expected to travel over the weekend. Canoe Creek State Park in Hollidaysburg is expected to see one to two thousand visitors walk through the park.
According to park manager Joe Basil, that’s much higher than a typical weekend. Canoe Creek has multiple activities, including swimming, picnicking, boating and hiking. Basil expects all parts of the state park to be busy.
“Canoe Creek has a good visitor ship,” Basil said. “The beach will be busy. Hiking trails will be busy. People always find something fun to do.”
However, the visitors this year may be local to the area. Since Canoe Creek is a state park, almost all its activities are free to visitors. Gas prices in the state are averaging close to the $5.00 mark; folks may travel locally to save a buck on travel costs.
“I think people enjoy coming out to the state park and the free parking,” Basil said. “Coming out and doing some hiking. Bringing their food and saving costs that way, not going out to eat, and just having a good old-fashioned barbeque.”
Mac’s Market in Tyrone also sees a similar trend within their store for the holiday. The store has been open for over 40 years and has a loyal customer base.
Owner Brian McManigal said that business has been steady this year regarding the number of customers and orders. However, he said this year; he’s noticed fewer customers from the nearby counties. He believes the reason for that trend is also higher gas prices.
“I would say I’m seeing a little bit less of that and a lot more walking the neighborhoods, people that are very local. That’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m not going to drive to Altoona. I’ll just walk down to Mac’s and scoop it up’ It’s just a little easier that way and a lot less costly in the end.”
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McManigal said that meat prices had not been anything crazy different for beef and steak prices within the past year. Although prices for poultry are still higher, coming at around 75 percent higher.
“And over the course of the years, I can tell that this year everyone is like, it’s a long weekend,” McManigal said. “Let’s do this!”