> how rich this country is that some random little lake somewhere will have a full blown parking lot
Aren't the parking spaces required by law, instead of "because we're rich"? I don't know, but I just watched the latest Not Just Bikes video, where he mentions legal requirements for stores to provide lots of parking spaces, which makes everything more expensive.
Parking minimums are implemented during building permitting. Natural lakes don't have building permits, and the parking is often constructed by the state.