Is it just a pandemic phase we're going through, or has the golden age of national parks slipped away while we struggled with reservations for camping and even entering parks, when the Instagram age has made photos seemingly more important than experiences in the parks, and when a Facebook page that tracks the "dumb, dangerous, illegal, and what-where-they-thinking exploits" of Yellowstone National Park gained traction?
In just eight years, we've gone from former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis fearing national parks had lost their relevancy with the American people to new NPS Director Chuck Sams trying to rebuild the agency's morale while millions of visitors wash over parks ill-equipped to handle them.
During a November visit to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, I watched as a couple ignored a rope barrier near the end of the Chain of Craters Road so they could stroll over and pose for photos next to the Pacific Ocean. The night before I listened in the darkness to a nearby conversation about ducking under another rope barrier so one could get a better photo of the flaming eruption in the Halema'uma'u Crater atop the Kīlauea volcano, never mind the worry about stumbling into the crater itself. That would indeed be a closeup.
Exploring the National Park System is getting more complicated, a bit at a time while the overall impact isn't recognized, much like the frog being boiled.
At Shenandoah National Park in Virginia you don't need a reservation to enter the park, but you will need one if you want to hike to Old Rag. Ditto at Zion National Park in Utah if you want to enjoy the vertiginous view from atop Angels Landing, and Yosemite National Park to count yourself among those who have stood atop Half Dome. Of course, you will most likely need a reservation to enter Arches, Glacier, or Rocky Mountain national parks this year, or to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia.
When I raised the question of why campsite reservations -- both front country and backcountry -- are needed in most parks during a good chunk of the year but not to actually enter a park, a superintendent replied that "in all cases it's a limited supply thing."
Isn't the front country of national parks a limited supply? Not only are we not seeing more wilderness being created, but there certainly isn't another Yellowstone or Yosemite or Zion or Grand Canyon in the wings waiting to be opened when the current versions are overrun by visitors.
The landscapes in those spectacular places should be protected from rocketing visitation and the resource-crushing and littering impacts, but how do you achieve that? Increase entrance fees and the cry of pricing out visitors becomes piercing. Require entrance reservations, and the Park Service is labeled a killjoy of spontaneity, apparently even for those coming from great distances.
"Like one of the commentors described, that it's nearly impossible to travel from the East Coast into the West to visit national parks, unless you navigate the complicated reservation system," read one of several dozen comments made on the Traveler to a poll about whether national parks are crowded. "I really feel sorry for the seniors. The park system is making it too complicated for them. What the park system is unexpectedly forcing, is a new industry to be formed, where you pay a service to plan the reservations for you for a big price."
Nearly 350 voted in the poll, and 74 percent -- 251 -- were of the opinion that national parks are too crowded. Fifty-five percent (186) said the crowds forced them to vacation elsewhere. Just 17 readers said parks weren't crowded.
In reality, outside of the brand-name parks, crowds are not an issue. And even in the Yellowstones, Rocky Mountains, and Glaciers you can quickly flee the hordes by heading down a trail. But then, not everyone who visits a national park wants to, or can, hike down a trail, as wonderful as it might be. And so they're stuck with the crowds. And if you couldn't rapidly navigate recreation.gov or afford a room in the lodge, which also requires far, far advance (and increasingly expensive) reservations, you might not be close enough to reach that trailhead.
I'm not sure when the golden age existed for national parks. It's likely a generational thing, as each generation takes away its own appreciation of the parks from what they experience. For me, growing up in the 1960s and '70s, social media didn't bring the parks into the national consciousness, Instagram wasn't around to spur a "counting coup" sort of race through the park system, reservations for lodging were made over the phone, and friendly rangers manned entrance stations and handed out brochures, information, and advice.
I remember a fall trip in the late 1980s to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park when we found solitude along the shoreline. This year from Memorial Day Weekend until October 10 you'll need a reservation to reach Bear Lake, and even that might not guarantee solitude.
Even a decade ago lodging and camping reservations were easier to make in most parks than they are today.
Things -- the park experience -- have changed drastically, and not always in a good way. If the Traveler's poll is reflective of the whole, if 74 percent of the more than 300 million who visit national parks each year feel they're too crowded, the National Park Service, and the parks, have a serious problem not just to confront but to solve before it's too late.
"We must find a way to lower visitor traffic in our parks before it's too late to rehab the destruction," wrote Kathy Haines in a comment to the Traveler poll.
Parks need advocates, and each visitor that enters one of the more than 400 units of the National Park System is a potential advocate ... if they come away with a great experience.
"Park users that don't like crowding need to convince legislators to support limits ... and additional parks," a superintendent told me.
Additional parks won't lessen the desire to stand in front of Old Faithful or on the lip of the Grand Canyon, but they could help spread out the visitation if travelers are given the incentive to visit some of the other jewels in the kingdom and come away amazed. That's one failing today, as neither the Park Service nor the Interior Department promote the parks, though Interior officials say it will happen.
More room to roam and good reason to roam are two keys to restoring the visitor experience. Achieving those keys, though, is the tricky part.
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Comments
The NPS is prohibited from marketing any parks with federal money so until that changes the idea of marketing less visited units is a pipe dream. As far as the golden age of park visits - be careful not to turn back the clock too much because those good ol' days weren't as welcoming to all Americans.
The national park experienc is often made by the people you spend it with - friends and family and strangers you meet along the way. Like everything else in society our world's are now scheduled and the concept of just "showing up" for anything in life is long gone. We need to not long for something that was -- but adapt for something that is and will be. So let's stop whining about recreation.gov Yes there is a reservation window - plan for it - just like you planned for having to wear a mask at the grocery store or stood in line because Trader Joe's was at capacity for social distancing.
But the fact that we do have these places is what matters and quite honestly, seeing Old Faithful or the Grand Canyon or Independence Hall is still worth the "hassle" and whether I am standing on Cadillac Mountain with 1000 people or 10 people it still means something to me because my family is with me and the time together is what matters the most.
Social media, & MANY FREE park days, exposed parks to a whole new segment of the population. The beauty, the magnificece eexposed to all versus the outdoor explorer type- plus a growing population, more time off.
We have actively used the parks since early 80's when we came & went without qualification or limits, or reservations, including Rocky Mountain & Bear Lake , as author refers to. Even with Limited entrance times & numbers restricted, Bear Lake parking is largely unavailable & walking around lake is crowded.
Parks today are an asset devalued for those old time USERS who knew " The way it used to be "
I do understand the need for reservations at this point, but find it sad these restrictions are making access even more difficult for many.
I always wonder if the recent over crowding can be a direct result of the "marketing" done for the 100 year anniversary in 2016. A great success or great failure depending upon your prospective.
Interesting read of comments form 12 years ago: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2010/01/should-national-parks-be-m...
Too early to judge. People are champing to get back overseas & participate in other group events that have been shuttered for 2 years. Once we have a season or two AFTER all COVID restrictions are lifted will can more accurately assess the state of affairs.
Much of the present crush is demographic. Even before the pandemic, Baby Boomers were retiring (we are still not at the point where the peak birth year of Boomers is at retirement age, by the way, so there are more coming), and they were setting out to do all those things they'd been putting off, like visit national parks. The "bucket list" chatter has been building for ten years or so.
The other problem, of "I'm exceptional and exempt from rules," is a social one that has its source in corrosive egocentrism, and for that, maybe add an extra rope barrier closer to the lava so they'll go under that one, too. Instilling a belief in individual responsibility for consequences is a little beyond the Park Service's brief, but penalizing people who break rules and publicizing it may help.
Not sure that it would really provide any useful conclusions but I'd be interested in seeing an analysis of the size of our parks in comparison to population over the last several decades. Or perhaps the size of the parks in comparison to the number of visitors over the years. It seems there's proportionally less space for us all to enjoy but if so how much less?
Assuming we actually used it optimally how much more (accessible, visitor friendly) land would need to be added to give each visitor the same proportion of space that was available in the past?
You think the Parks are crowded the past two years? Just wait until the hordes of foreigners show up again.
We were able to procure 2 tickets for the Zion shuttle because we had 4 people on 4 different computers the instant they went on sale.
(minutes later they were all sold) A LOTTERY SYSTEM is the only fair option. Now, just folks with means and tech savvy have a chance.
Also, I believe the entry should be free to US citizens. Others could pay a healthy surcharge to make up the difference.
Excellent article! Many parks are overcrowded, and behavior problems are getting worse. We live in Montana, and we've seen the park experience in both Glacier and Yellowstone go downhill in recent years. Many park visitors come expecting Disneyland. I favor: (1) reservation and limited entry systems for the most popular places, structured to give everyone a fair chance (2) more NPS law enforcement officers, and stronger prosecution of offenders (3) less promotion of parks. I'm not thrilled when some urge people to go to less visited parks, because then those places get overrun as well. Unfortunately, the congressional delegations of many western states are "owned" by concessionaires, boosters in gateway communities and the pro-development crowd generally.
My wife and I have been visiting National Parks every year for 43 years. The past several have been very disturbing and I do believe it will not get any better. It is not only the crouds that have increased it is the attitude that I find many have, "It's all abourt me." I believe we are two of the fortunate ones to have experienced true solitude in a National Park. I also believe that many park concesioners have taken away the ability for young familys to afford in-park lodging. There is no good or fair answer to this problem. On the bright side, we never fail to meet indivuals with a positive attidude and true concern for our National Parks.
With the excemption of the big names parks they don't suffer from overcrowding, they suffer from poor funding, lack of staffing, dated infrastructure and mismanagement. The parks were built and continue with infrastructure and staffing that meets a mid 20th Century nation: 1950-60. Just as the population of the nation has doubled since 1940, we need to be spending far more on the parks than we did in 1960, as there is so much more land to maintain. Congress likes adding more parks, but has made it a habit to under fund them. Congress needs to appropriate 20 times as much as they did last year to address FRONT country deficiciencies in camping facilities, roads, visitor centers, parking and crowd management. IF recreation.gov were simplified and used so that it was easy to make a reservation, then the crowding in front country areas could be managed better too. Lacking any real commitment from Congress to fund the major deficiencies there will be no improvments.
"I really feel sorry for the seniors. The park system is making it too complicated for them.
I am tired of always stereotyping seniors. You think we can't navigate Recreation.Gov or pay our bills online. Really? Seniors have seen Yellowstone and Yosemite, thank you. Have you all been to Voyageurs, Apostle Islands or even Indiana Dunes? How about Isle Royale NP? You always needed to have reservations - it's an islan. There are over 400 national park units in the country. No, the parks are not crowded if you're willing to walk a mile away from your car - anyplace. Danny Bernstein www.hikertohiker.net
I foresee a time when people get so fed up with how difficult it is to visit a national park like Rocky that they just stop going. Then some of the politicians will look at the dwindling numbers and decide parks aren't worth funding. Then what? Sell the park land off to the rich for exclusive gated communitie? Given the anti-environment and anti-public parks and lands attitudes of some in governmen, I can see that happening. I've about given up the idea of going to Rocky. I doubt I will bother going, see how it's nearly impossible to reserve a campsite or even just a timed entry permit for the day. Maybe I should just get the equipment for winter camping instead. The thing that gets me is that our tax dollars go to the parks. If we can't get in, we are paying for something that we can't even use.