How we compile city attractions and nearby-NPS data
We build one honest planning page per city from public-record facts — Census metro identity, real NPS visitation, and cited attraction names — then we are explicit about the one thing we never publish: a pass price. This page explains how, and what we deliberately do not do.
Who’s behind this site
Attraction Pass by City is an independent publisher operated by VentureCorp, Inc. We are not a pass provider, a ticket reseller, or a tourism board, and we do not accept payment to feature a city or a sight. We answer one question accurately: what are a city's notable attractions and the National Park Service sites near it, so you can plan a visit — and weigh whether a pass is worth it.
Where our data comes from
| Data | Source | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| City identity (metro name, metro-area population, rank, coordinates) | In-house U.S. Census metro spine (snapshot of the Census Gazetteer / metro estimates) — U.S. federal public-domain data | Every per-city page header and the comparison hub |
| Nearby National Park Service sites + annual recreation visits | NPS Visitor Use Statistics package — a U.S. Government work (public domain); matched by centroid within 150 miles, closest-first | The nearby-NPS blocks and the nps-sites-near-city pages |
| Cited attraction names & types | Each city's Wikipedia tourism / attractions article (CC BY-SA) — factual names and types only, no prose republished; the per-city source_url is the citation | The attractions tables and top-attractions pages |
We never quote a pass price. The dataset carries no pass prices and no included-attraction bundles — those are set by the pass providers (CityPASS, Go City, The Sightseeing Pass) and change often. A page may LINK to a provider for live pricing, but asserts no price in our copy. Population is metro-area (CBSA), not city-proper; nearby-NPS visitation is the NPS's own annual recreation-visit total (rendered “n/a” where the package has no total, never 0); and some attractions have no published official site (we don't mark those “official”).
How we calculate
Each city is enumerated from the Census metro spine (metro name, metro-area population, rank, centroid). Nearby NPS units are joined by a haversine match within 150 miles of that centroid, kept closest-first with the NPS's own annual recreation-visit totals. Attraction names and types come from the city's Wikipedia tourism article, cited per city. For the comparison hub, cities are grouped into Major / Large / Mid-size metros from their population rank. The whole table is re-reviewed on a regular cadence.
What we deliberately leave out. This is a travel-planning site, not a ticket shop: we publish no pass prices, invent no bundles, and promise no savings — the included set and the price are the provider's and change over time. We also give no medical, money or safety advice (non-YMYL travel), and our buyer's guides are neutral.
Independence & how we make money
Some links on this site may be affiliate links to city-pass providers; if you act on one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Providers never see or influence which attractions or NPS facts we publish, no placement is for sale, and we still never quote a price in our own copy.
Keeping it current
Census metro estimates republish annually and the NPS package republishes each spring, so we re-snapshot both and re-check the cited attraction articles a couple of times a year. Each page carries its verification date; current verification: June 2026.
Corrections
Spot an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Contact us →