The National Park Service calls Mammoth Cave National Park a wondrous underground world. The park has done wonders as well in helping local communities and businesses keep their budgets above ground for many decades.

While this extraordinary system of caves covers nearly 285 miles of surveyed passageways, its economic reach expands across a wider swath of southcentral Kentucky. And as the coronavirus pandemic eases, the park is again providing waves of economic benefits for its neighbors.

In 2021, 516,000 Mammoth Cave visitors spent $47.9 million in communities near the park, according to a recently released National Park Service economic impact report.

Mammoth Cave’s total economic output in local gateway communities also got a boost in 2021. Its $69.2 million total economic output, a combination of direct and secondary spending, doubled 2020’s $34.5 million and surpassed all previous years, the Daily News’ Sarah Michels reported.

The report, which was conducted by NPS economists and the U.S. Geological Survey, said direct spending consists of the sales, income and jobs resulting from visitors’ activities within 60 miles of the park.

The benefits of such increases in our region cannot be overstated. As Mammoth Cave visitor spending nearly halved from 2019 to 2020 as the pandemic erupted, businesses near the park that count on those visitors’ dollars felt the impact.

Some closed.

Others barely survived.

Calvin Durham, who owns Smiths Grove’s Porky Pig Diner with his wife, Ramona, said they had to spend some of their savings and part of their retirement checks each month just to stay afloat during those dark days.

“When the pandemic hit, it destroyed everybody,” he said.

Now, they are hoping to bounce back. And with Mammoth Cave topping its pre-pandemic numbers, we are hopeful all of its neighbors will thrive as well.

Molly Schroer, the park’s public information officer, understands the importance of the entire ecosystem surrounding the park. Every player has a key role, she said.

“The community impacts us. We can’t provide a great service for people if we can’t accommodate for all those people,” she said. “We’re all working together and dependent on each other.”

It’s a partnership that has worked well for generations, and we are glad to see that brighter days are apparently ahead.