Many lodges around the National Park System are closing, and Friday evening it was announced that Kalaloch Lodge and its cabins in Olympic National Park would shutter as well/Rebecca Latson file
Editor's note: This updates with Rocky Mountain National Park closing.
Closings streamed in from across the National Park System on Friday, ranging from campgrounds and river trips to all of Yosemite National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park and most of Everglades and Biscayne national parks being shuttered as efforts ramped up to halt the spread of coronavirus in the park system.
"As of 3 p.m. today, Yosemite National Park is closed to all park visitors until further notice. This closure will be enforced 24-hours a day/7-days a week and there will be no access permitted to Yosemite National Park," a park release said.
Hours later, after the mayor of the biggest gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday wrote Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to ask him to close the park to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from sweeping over his town, the park closed to the public.
"Rocky Mountain National Park is closed to all park visitors until further notice. This closure will be in effect 24-hours a day/7-days a week and there will be no access permitted to Rocky Mountain National Park," stated a park release sent shortly before 8 p.m. local time.
Earlier Friday, Estes Park, Colorado, Mayor Todd A. Jirsa implored Bernhardt to close the park.
That was just the latest closing on a day full of them across the park system.
Campgrounds at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in California and the visitor center at Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota were among the facilities being closed, as were cabins at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina. Everglades officials announced that a large part of their park would close Friday evening, and soon thereafter Delaware North Parks & Resorts said Kalaloch Lodge in Olympic National Park would close Monday through April 10.
Delaware North previously had announced that it was pushing back the opening of Peaks of Otter Lodge along the Blue Ridge Parkway until May 1. Among park activities being suspended were river trips through Big Bend, Grand Canyon, and Canyonlands national parks, as well as Dinosaur National Monument.
Delaware North also has closed its lodging and dining operations at Sequoia and Kings Canyon, though Big Meadows Lodge and Skyland Lodge in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia were still expected to open in early to mid-April, though that could change. Another lodging operation, Volcano House at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, also was shut down by its operator, Ortega National Parks.
Elsewhere at Hawai'i Volcanoes, all events and guided programs, including hikes, walks and talks, are canceled; Kīlauea Visitor Center and the outdoor lānai are closed, but restrooms are open; the Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association store is closed,; online shopping is open; Mauna Loa Summit Cabin and Red Hill Cabin are closed; the Nāmakanipaio Campground is closed; Kilauea Military Camp is open with reduced services for authorized patrons; and the Volcano Art Center Gallery is closed.
At Grand Canyon the suspension, affecting administrative, science, and private and commerical float trips on the Colorado River through that iconic park, was to take affect March 24 and run until May 21. Big Bend's hold on river runners is to start March 23 and run until further notice. Canyonlands staff announced that float trips in their park as well as in Dinosaur National Monument would be suspended through April.
Everglades staff announced shortly after 5 p.m. local time Friday that "access is closing by the end of the day 3/20 to the public in Miami-Dade County. This includes Shark Valley, Chekika, and the main park road from the Homestead entrance to Flamingo. Park waters remain open for access from Everglades City and Florida Keys." The closure in Miami-Dade County affected Biscayne National Park as well.
"Where it is possible to adhere to the latest health guidance, visitors may enter Everglades National Park through Everglades City, located in Collier County, which has not yet enacted county-wide closures of public parks. Visitors may also enter Everglades National Park by boat from the Florida Keys, located in Monroe County, which also has not closed public parks. The Flamingo launch ramps and marina are closed," the Everglades release said. "The waters of Biscayne National Park remain open, but all land-based access is closed, including Convoy Point, Boca Chita, Elliott Key, and Adams Key."
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Superintendent Philip Hooge announced that his park's traditional visitor services opening of Memorial Day weekend would be pushed back to July 1.
Among closings elsewhere in the National Park System:
* At Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the Temple Bar Campground and the restroom, Nevada Telephone Cove, Six Mile Cove, and Nine Mile Cove closed, with current overnight campers at these locations given until noon March 22 to make alternate accommodations and leave the area. Also closing at the NRA were Arizona Hot Spring and trails in White Rock Canyon and Goldstrike Canyon;
* Denali National Park and Preserve suspended issuance of climbing permits for any expeditions attempting an ascent of Denali or Mount Foraker for the 2020 mountaineering season. Furthermore, the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station was closed until further notice.
* At Sequoia and Kings Canyon, all campgrounds typically open this time of year were to close at noon local time Friday. At 5 p.m. Delaware North was to close markets in Lodgepole and Grant Grove that had previously remained open;
* The visitor center at Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in California closed;
* The Memorial Visitor Center at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Indiana closed;
* At Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Island Express Ferry Service suspended passenger service out of Beaufort and Harkers Island on Friday, and the Great Island Cabin Camp and many of its facilities were to close Sunday at 10 a.m. The camp’s closure would remain in effect through Sunday, April 19, the seashore said;
* At Big Bend National Park in Texas, all visitor centers and contact stations were closed, including Big Bend Natural History Association bookstores. The Boquillas Port of Entry was closed, and all ranger-guided activities and special events scheduled for the next 60 days were cancelled. Park interpretive rangers were to be roving park trailheads and trails to provide park information and answer questions. As park staffing levels allow, park campgrounds were to remain open to advance reservations and first-come, first-served self-registration only. The Chisos Mountain Lodge was open;
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff canceled reservations for group sites at campgrounds and picnic pavilions through April 30. At this time, campsites for parties of six people or less and individual picnic sites remain open. Seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and restroom facilities located adjacent to visitor centers also remained open and accessible to the public;
* Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota closed its visitor center;
* Great Basin National Park in Nevada closed Lehman Caves and the Lehman Caves Visitor Center;
* The visitor center at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park was closed until further notice and all ranger-guided programs were canceled;
* In Washington, D.C., most indoor locations, including park visitor centers and historic sites, were closed.
Campground reservations made through recreation.gov can be canceled or modified, but the agency was not altering its cancellation policy regarding refunds; it was still charging a cancellation fee.
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