A new report finds that visitors to national parks in South Carolina spent almost $80 million and the parks supported 1,100 jobs last year.
The report by economists with the U.S. Geological Survey found that more than 1.5 million visitors went to National Park Service sites in the state during 2013.
The national park sites in South Carolina include the Congaree National Park south of Columbia and the Fort Sumter and Charles Pinckney national historic sites in the Charleston area.
In the Upstate, sites include the Cowpens National Battlefield, Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Ninety Six National Historic Site.