Visitor operations were shutting down in many areas of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah/NPS, Brent and Dawn Davis

Editor's note: This updates with Angels Landing Trail at Zion National Park being closed on Tuesday, with park campgrounds closing on Wednesday; closure of campgrounds at Mammoth Cave National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; closures at Natural Bridges and Hovenweep national monuments.

As the coronavirus pandemic slowly but steadily moved across the country, more units of the National Park System altered their operations Monday. Zion National Park moved to close the popular, and often crowded, Angels Landing Trail and the park's campgrounds, while lodging and concessions operations at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the other side of Utah shut down.

The economic and recreational pain of the viral march was felt along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where restrooms were shuttered along with one Appalalchian Trail hut, and on the West Coast where hikers eyeing the Pacific Crest Trail were urged to postpone their treks.

Pehaps the day's most sweeping closures came to Glen Canyon NRA, where concessionaire Aramark closed lodging and the Rainbow Room Restaurant at the Lake Powell Resort, the RV park and campground at Wahweap, and the Marina Store, the National Park Service announced.

"Takeout food only is available at the Driftwood Lounge. The Lake Powell Resort Gift Shop is closed to the public but will be available on an on-call basis for remaining guests at the resort," the release added. "Retail at the Sinclair Gas Station Store is closed; however, 24-hour pay-at-the-pump fuel is available. All boat tours and Horseshoe Bend rafting trips are suspended."

Concession operations that were open at Wahweap included the marina, boat rentals, fuel dock, and the Wind Coffee Bar.

Elsewhere at Glen Canyon, the Defiance House Lodge, Bullfrog RV and Campground, and Bullfrog Dock and Stock at Bullfrog were closed. Takeout food was available at the restaurant. At Halls Crossing, the RV park and campground closed; the Village Store was on-call with 24 hour pay-at-the-pump service. The Halls Crossing Marina Store was to be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Dangling Rope Marina (fuel and retail) will remain open at this time.

All visitor services at Antelope Point Marina were suspended (including boat rentals, boat tours, charters, marina store, gift shop and restaurant), the park said. The fuel dock was available on an on-call basis for emergencies. Access to private vessels was to be provided on an on-call basis. The public boat ramp at Antelope Point Marina remains open.

Crowding along the Angels Landing Trail, seen in this photo taken Saturday, played a role in the decision by Zion National Park officials to close the popular trail/NPS file.

At Zion, the plans to close the Angels Landing Trail from Scout Lookout to the end of the trail on Tuesday was not surprising, as crowds have continued to flock to the trail without great concern over spacing as they worked their way up the trail with its chain rope handholds. The park's two campgrounds in Zion Canyon, Watchman and South, combined hold more than 300 sites and routinely fill during the busy spring and summer seasons; they were to close at noon on Wednesday.

"With this closure, it is important to remember that no other areas in the park are authorized for camping," a park release pointed out.

On the Blue Ridge Parkway, all public restroom facilities were closed, as was the Paul Wolfe A.T. Shelter located near Afton, Virginia. Backcountry campers and A.T. thru-hikers with reservations for this location were authorized to pitch their tents outside the shelter to provide for social distancing.

Park trails and the Blue Ridge Parkway motor road remain accessible to the public in accordance with the latest federal, state, and local health guidance, where not otherwise closed.

At Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and Obed Wild and Scenic River in Tennessee and Kentucky, all visitor centers were closed for the rest of March, and all ranger-led programs were canceled.

On the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Cape Lookout National Seashore staff said that as of Tuesday the following services and operations would be suspended in order to comply with North Carolina and Carteret County COVID-19 guidance:

• Great Island Cabin Office will discontinue the sale of ice and fuel.

• All restrooms (except the Great Island Bathhouse, the Lighthouse Pedestrian Beach restroom, and the Shell Point restrooms on Harkers Island) will close.

• In addition, all restrooms on South Core Island and on Harkers Island would be closed from 5 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday for anti-virus treatments.

At Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California, Solstice Canyon closed Monday. All other sites, which include hiking, biking, equestrian trails, parking lots and restrooms, were to remain open for now.

Santa Monica Superintendent David Szymanski said overcrowding at Solstice Canyon had become a concern because the Centers for Disease Control and public health department guidance could not be met. Park and public health officials are closely monitoring public use and may close other locations if social distancing cannot be maintained.

“The health and safety of visitors, employees, volunteers and partners is our No. 1 priority as we work to limit the threat of exposure to the virus,” said Syzmanski. “There are more than 300 points of entry into the recreation area and this may be the ideal opportunity for visitors to explore less visited trails while we battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Hiking and being outside is healthy, but we must follow the local, state, and national guidelines that have been set by maintaining a safe distance of six feet from others who are also out enjoying nature.”

Point Reyes National Seashore staff in California said the following areas were closed: the Limantour access road, Drakes Beach, Drakes Estero, and Mt. Vision Road gates, in addition to the park visitor centers. Limited access would be allowed to Palomarin Trailhead area beyond Commonweal entrance, Pierce Point Road, Lighthouse and Chimney Rock parking lots.

The park was operating under an Incident Command System, and therefore has reduced staff presence at this time. Consistent with local guidance, the park asks residents to please consider staying local when enjoying the outdoors. Services within the park and local communities are limited at this time.

Acadia National Park in Maine had closed is campgrounds and restrooms, and the Bar Harbor Town Council posted a statement online asking that, “everyone stay home and avoid unnecessary travel. The town’s tourist services such as food and bathroom services are very limited.”

Also closing Tuesday were the Platte River Campground and White Pine Campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan, along with the lakeshore's restrooms. Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky also closed its campgrounds; the park previously had closed its visitor center and suspended cave tours.

Hikers looking to embark on a months long trek along the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada, and which crosses many national park units along the way, were urged to put off their trips.

Because no one can travel long distances on the PCT and be certain of avoiding any exposure to the coronavirus, and because anyone at any time can be a carrier of the virus without knowing it, it is clear that anyone traveling the PCT and resupplying in communities along the trail represents a serious risk to others on the trail and people in those communities—particularly high-risk individuals for whom the virus could be deadly.

Under these circumstances, choosing to travel to—and start or continue—a journey on the PCT runs counter to widely-accepted medical, government, and scientific recommendations for not only avoiding exposure to the coronavirus, but also for limiting the spread of COVID-19.

We recognize that many have planned their PCT journeys for years and made major life changes such as quitting jobs or selling homes. We also understand that some have traveled to the PCT and have no clear option aside from starting your trek. But these circumstances should not justify putting other lives at risk. Limiting the spread of the virus—and the associated economic fallout—requires sacrifice from everyone.