Social distancing was being practiced Friday at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C./Jason Strunk
Editor's note: This updates with some access closures in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
On Friday, March 20, a day when normally most people would be at work, Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park was teeming with cars. Although a growing list of parks have closed in the face of coronavirus concerns, some national parks, including two popular spots in the mid-Atlantic region—Shenandoah and the National Mall—remain open to park visitors.
Although Shenandoah’s visitor centers and entrance stations are closed, the park’s more than 500 miles of trails and all 105 miles of Skyline Drive were open (along with park restrooms), and entrance fees were temporarily suspended. Visitors have clearly gotten the message. Friday’s car traffic, at least in the park’s northern section between Front Royal and Thornton Gap, felt more akin to normal weekend numbers.
Despite the center itself being closed, the parking lot at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, the first major stop for visitors entering the park from the north, was completely full at lunchtime. The field behind the visitor center had several pockets of families picnicking, walking around, and taking in the commanding view of the Shenandoah Valley below—all at healthy distances from one another. Most park trailheads had multiple cars, and particularly popular trails, such as Compton’s Peak, saw cars overflow-parking on the grass beside Skyline Drive. Based on an informal license plate survey, most visitors were from within Virginia. Ample solitude could still be found on the trails, however.
By Saturday, though, that changed. So much so that park officials were "concerned that Saturday’s visitation patterns were in violation of CDC recommendations" regarding social distancing.
"If you are coming to the park, please choose to visit areas that are not crowded to allow for adequate social distancing. This would include NOT hiking at Old Rag, Whiteoak Canyon, Dark Hollow Falls and other high-use trails," read a park-written post on Shenandoah's Facebook page. "The Old Rag and Berry Hollow area became so congested on Saturday that local authorities had to close the road."
Visitor traffic was brisk Saturday at Shenandoah National Park, where staff were concerned visitors weren't practicing social distancing/NPS
"It’s a matter of time before (Shenandoah National Park) closes. C'mon people, be smart and listen, social distancing is necessary...don’t be selfish," Athea Langdon wrote in a comment to the park's post. "Do your part to flatten the curve. If you can’t have the intelligence to do this yourself, the government WILL step in and force the social distancing for you. Just sayin.'"
On Sunday, the Madison County (Virginia) Sheriff's Office, citing too many visitors trying to access Old Rag Mountain and Whiteoak Canyon trails, ordered a general closure for boundary access roads, Nethers Road, and Weakley Hollow Road. Only local residents would be able to access these roads.
The National Mall also remains open, including all outdoor memorials. With the cherry blossoms at peak bloom, the Mall would normally be lined with tour buses and cars this time of year, the walkways packed with tourists. Last Wednesday, however, the Mall felt far less crowded than normal, reports Sharon Hannon, a Washington, D.C., writer, who was out for a bike ride. “Everything is closed along the Mall, so I imagine most of the people there were locals who, like me, were out getting a little exercise,” Hannon said.
As Hannon headed for the Tidal Basin and its famous cherry trees, the number of people increased.
“There were families, young couples, couples that appeared to be in their 70s or 80s, solo walkers,” she said. “Again, nothing like our regular cherry blossom season, but not what you’d expect given the current pandemic.”
Although most people Hannon encountered gave each other ample space, the walkway around the Tidal Basin is narrow, making social distancing more difficult, especially as it neared the Jefferson Memorial. (Hannon avoided the most crowded sections.)
Park staff at both Shenandoah and the Mall are encouraging visitors to check park websites for updated openings and closures and to follow guidelines around social distancing and health precautions. For now, at least, these parks remain appealing places for visitors to get exercise and relief from mental stress.
Last week, artist Phyllis Northup and her husband Jim Northup, formerly Shenandoah’s superintendent, hiked the park’s Stonyman Trail, which leads to a rocky overlook. On her professional art page on Facebook, Phyllis summed up the park’s enduring popularity during troubling times: “Pausing to sit on a rock for several minutes at the top, I soaked up all the beauty of those mountain vistas. We will get through this, get outside if you can, it’s the best medicine we have for all that ails us, confounds us, grieves us, and frightens us.”
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