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This is according to the title of a WSJ article https://www.wsj.com/articles/nationa...es-11623582002 (When I first read the title, I thought it meant that they are being closed, period -- but, no, that just refers to closing the gates after the capacity for the day is reached.)
According to the article, many parks -- Arches and Canyonlands in the Moab area was specifically mentioned -- have seen up to a 20% increase in traffic compared to 2019, and on some days, the parking lots are filled by 9:00 a.m. Additionally, some tourists are treating the national parks as some of the homeless do in major cities. (Think very unsanitary "bathrooms".)
Some people are suggesting that all national parks be on a reservations system, but some local tourist-oriented business owners are against it, saying that this would lose business.
Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Going-to-Sun Road in Glacier and the main canyon in Zion are all on a reservation system this summer and I suspect that will go forward in future summers in order to both protect the parks and improve the guest experience. The crowd in Zion in 2018 were a lot larger than they were in 2013, and that definitely impacted our second trip out there.
At this point, the reservation cost is something like $2 in addition to the cost of admission to the park/cost of annual pass and that pretty much is just covering the cost of the reservation system so I'm good with that. You don't have to be rich to do a day trip to Rocky Mountain from Denver.
I'd definitely rather see the summer 2021 status quo continued rather than them deciding to try to control admission by doubling admission fees or such.
Yosemite is on a reservation system right now and it was pretty darned crowded. And don't plan to stay in the park unless you made a reservation last year.
Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Going-to-Sun Road in Glacier and the main canyon in Zion are all on a reservation system this summer and I suspect that will go forward in future summers in order to both protect the parks and improve the guest experience. The crowd in Zion in 2018 were a lot larger than they were in 2013, and that definitely impacted our second trip out there.
At this point, the reservation cost is something like $2 in addition to the cost of admission to the park/cost of annual pass and that pretty much is just covering the cost of the reservation system so I'm good with that. You don't have to be rich to do a day trip to Rocky Mountain from Denver.
I'd definitely rather see the summer 2021 status quo continued rather than them deciding to try to control admission by doubling admission fees or such.
Couldn't agree more with the bold part. My other favorite hobby has been swamped like camping with many new people. Unfortunately in the other hobby they have quadrupled prices to slow down business.
Yosemite is on a reservation system right now and it was pretty darned crowded. And don't plan to stay in the park unless you made a reservation last year.
We got our Yosemite Valley Lodge reservations in April- if you're willing to haunt the Travel Yosemite web site, you can sometimes to often snare reservations that people made last summer and then cancelled if you're able to be very flexible with your own vacation dates.
I am sure glad we got to visit the wonderful national parks in earlier times. No crowds, room to camp or stay in lodgings. I have been to Yosemite twice, Arches twice, Yellowstone/Tetons 5 times, Glacier twice, Grand Canyon twice, Colorado national monument 3 times, Zion 4 times, Capitol Reef twice.
We now explore our public lands in the western states which aren’t as crowded such as wildlife refuges, state parks, BLM + USFS lands, recreation areas. Our Crown Jewels are spectacular but are severely overused and abused. Funding is critical in addition to educating the masses who seem to think that other people with clean up their messes. Of course, with the popularity of camping and boon docking, we are sometimes unable to find a place to camp. And, I still haven’t figured out why some people think their rental car or Class A/C RVs can travel on 4x4 roads.
This is according to the title of a WSJ article https://www.wsj.com/articles/nationa...es-11623582002 (When I first read the title, I thought it meant that they are being closed, period -- but, no, that just refers to closing the gates after the capacity for the day is reached.)
According to the article, many parks -- Arches and Canyonlands in the Moab area was specifically mentioned -- have seen up to a 20% increase in traffic compared to 2019, and on some days, the parking lots are filled by 9:00 a.m. Additionally, some tourists are treating the national parks as some of the homeless do in major cities. (Think very unsanitary "bathrooms".)
Some people are suggesting that all national parks be on a reservations system, but some local tourist-oriented business owners are against it, saying that this would lose business.
If someone doubts the problem, I suggest they go visit Arches National Park in Utah. The park is not large and there really is only way in and you have to leave the same way. It has become extremely popular because of its outstanding group of natural arches and natural bridges all contained within a very small area. Zion National Park also in my state is bigger, but full of narrow canyons and high mountains. This severely limits the amount of traffic that the park can accommodate. The park has moved to a shuttle system for visitors.
I don't like the idea of a reservation system because of the one true pleasures of living in this part of the country is being able to jump in your car on a Saturday and go for a visit without a huge amount of planning. However, these places are being "loved to death" and there really aren't many alternatives.
I live near Yellowstone. We drove through last October on a road trip. We have been numerous times in the month of October, and each time, nearly had the park to ourselves, with the exception of the Old Faithful area. Last year was quite a change, hoards of people everywhere. Many of these had plates from very distant states, and should be grateful for the good weather they had, that time of year is always a toss up in Yellowstone. It boggled my mind, we couldn't escape the crowds anywhere.
If someone doubts the problem, I suggest they go visit Arches National Park in Utah. The park is not large and there really is only way in and you have to leave the same way. It has become extremely popular because of its outstanding group of natural arches and natural bridges all contained within a very small area.
And that's why we went to Arches in December. Between the heat and the crowds, I don't think it would be as enjoyable in the summer. Our December trip was perfect. Cheap hotel ( over $400 more a night now), no reservations or waits to eat, trails to ourselves, and the weather was perfect.
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