It’s summer vacation time, when families hit the road and see some of the nation’s most treasured places — national parks. While stimulus funds help keep the parks ready for visitors, many who live near these well-preserved areas are facing hard times.

In Flagstaff, Arizona, near the Grand Canyon, nearly one in three people need government assistance each month, NPR station KNAU reports. Many residents come to Flagstaff from the surrounding Navajo reservations because the city has better resources, but it’s hard to stay.

““We have single parents working two jobs…sometimes these families are just one paycheck away from being homeless.”

Listen to “Poverty With a View”

In Montana, Yellowstone Public Radio’s series on economic hardship in the region last year examined homelessness and job loss in the Yellowstone National Park area. Their reports also addressed “big Sky Grants” given to laid-off local residents and a bill that protects the residents of mobile home parks.

At the same time, federal funds are being freed up to keep park rangers employed so the parks run smoothly all summer long.

WNYC and PRI’s The Takeaway reports on a project that will put a new roof on the visitors’ center at the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

Do you plan to visit a National Park this summer? How are the parks in your area weathering the economic climate? Share your national parks stories here.