For 16 days in October, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) was relatively empty. The park’s numerous waterfalls still fell, local businesses remained open, and several staffers remained on-hand to oversee routine operations at Ohio’s only National Park, but sites under the jurisdiction of the CVNP were closed. Now, over a month since the shutdown began, park officials are recognizing the toll that the shutdown took on the park and its surrounding communities.

After the first 10 days of the shutdown, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that the CVNP lost out on over $1.5 million in revenue and was forced to turn away close to 70,000 visitors. On a national scale, the numbers were even more staggering, with USA Today reporting a daily loss of $450,000 in entrance fees and park activities alone for national parks around the country. After it was all said and done, the National Park Service placed total economic losses at $76 million per day—a figure that coincides with the experiences of park officials like Deb Yandala, CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

According to Yandala, part of the reason the parks lost out on so many visitors was an issue of timing. With fall color in full swing, thousands of autumn park goers were turned away, particularly at forested parks like Cuyahoga Valley.

“The park had nowhere near its usual visitation, especially for October,” Yandala said. “I don’t know if our numbers will ever quite hit normal for the rest of the fall, mostly because we lost those two beautiful weeks.”

Local businesses felt the impact of the shutdown, too. Boston Trail Mix, a popular tourist stop operated by the Conservancy for CVNP, had to close its doors due to the low volume of visitors. The shop reopened along with the park on October 17, but the damage had already been done.

“People reopened very quickly, and our park staff were just terrific,” Yandala said. “They got back in here early on Thursday and got everything opened up, but numbers just are not what they were before the shutdown.”

Another popular park feature, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, was forced to cease operations for the entirety of the shutdown. Hundreds of visitors who had booked tickets in advance to take in the historic park by train had to cancel or reschedule their visits, which was a disappointment for customers and staff alike.

“We called over 300 people each day,” said Kelly Steele-Moore, director of marketing for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. “It was exhausting having to tell that story and then hear how tickets were purchased to celebrate a dad’s 80th birthday or an anniversary. It broke our hearts each day but made us realize how many lives we touch; how important this National Park is to people.”

Undoubtedly, the significance of the National Parks as both economic and recreational resources for the American public was recognized throughout the country, prompting some states and local governments to fund temporary openings themselves. As Deb Yandala put it, the enthusiasm that local citizens demonstrated for their National Parks was the brightest silver lining to come out of the fiasco.

“I think if there’s any sliver of good to be taken out of this, it’s a reminder to everybody how beloved our national parks are,” Yandala said. “We love our parks and our parks are important to our quality of life. They deserve to be open and funded and accessible to all people.”

Images by Jeff Waraniak