Table 1

Descriptive Statistics for 44 Oregon State Park Locations

VariableN (1)Mean (2)SD (3)Min. (4)Max. (5)
Panel A. Visits per Month
Pre-Instagram
(Jan. 2002–Sep. 2010)4,34229,86233,45930305,112
Post-Instagram
(Oct. 2010–Aug. 2019)4,50133,39137,67042297,668
Panel B. Full Data (Jan. 2002–Aug. 2019)
Visits per month8,84331,65835,70630305,112
Mean precipitation (in.)8,8430.1490.15801.285
Max temperature (°F)8,84360.6212.0524.8197.96
Unemployment rate (%)8,8436.8412.1433.30011.30
Average housing price ($)8,843221,76938,889154,082299,160
Gas prices ($)8,8432.990.7421.234.42
Oregon population8,8433,829,000210,1803,472,0004,215,000
Panel C. High-Activity Parks: Post-Instagram Launch (Oct. 2010)
Visits per month42666,21648,4963,874288,414
Geotagged content uploads426387.962903,845
Influential posts top 90th426501000573
Cumulative top 90th4261,2372,689013,516
Influential posts top 95th42627540344
Cumulative top 95th4266801,46207,351
Panel D. Low-Activity Parks: Post-Instagram Launch (Oct. 2010)
Visits per month4,07529,96034,60642297,668
Geotagged content uploads4,07531780876
Influential posts top 90th4,075270117
Cumulative top 90th4,0754714101,426
Influential posts top 95th4,07514071
Cumulative top 95th4,07521710698
Panel E. Park Amenities
NAmenitiesaActivity AmenitiesbScenery Amenitiesc
High activity411.86.52.5
Low activity4011.87.51.6

Note: High-activity parks include Smith Rock, Oswald West, Ecola, and Silver Falls.

  • a These include bathrooms, vault toilets, a dump station, portable water, and scenery- and activity-based amenities.

  • b These include camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing, wind surfing, climbing, surfing, swimming, horses, a playground, a boat ramp, picnicking, a cabin, yurts, yurts with dogs, exhibit information, tepees, an amphitheater, disc golf, and tours.

  • c These suggest scenic views and photogenic locations that are listed as viewpoints, beach access, wildlife, and waterfalls. Park-specific summary statistics pre- and post-Instagram are shown in Appendix Tables A1 and A2.