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39m ago

Shutdown Keeps Most National Parks Accessible With Skeleton Crews

Interior will rely on recreation fees to sustain basic operations during the funding lapse.

Tourist crowd around a window to view the Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Visitors are turned away from the the closed Visitors Center in Yosemite National Park in January 2018, during a previous federal shutdown. Visitors centers at major national parks are likely to be closed during this year's shutdown as well.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Yosemite Valley, El Capitan and Half Dome seen while driving into Yosemite National Park on June 19, 2025.

Overview

  • The National Park Service says roads, trails and open-air memorials generally remain accessible while visitor centers and staffed facilities close.
  • Roughly 9,296 of about 14,500 NPS employees are furloughed, emergency services are limited, and park websites and social media will not be maintained except for emergencies.
  • Parks that collect fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act will use retained balances for basic services, though a prior GAO review found Interior misused such fees during the 2018–2019 lapse.
  • More than 40 former superintendents and advocacy groups urge full closures, citing vandalism and sanitation failures during the last prolonged shutdown, including damage at Joshua Tree.
  • Access and services vary by site, with Yosemite largely open through concessionaires, some Bay Area units such as Muir Woods and Fort Point closed, and Utah stating its five national parks will stay open with reduced services.