An Impending Government Shutdown Will Force Most National Parks to Close

U.S. Congress now has less than three days to avoid a government shutdown, as government funding will lapse at exactly 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday. The ramifications across the country will be huge, from furloughed employees to millions not receiving federal benefits. Our national parks will also be affected.

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a statement on Friday stating that in the event of a shutdown, visitors can expect that many of the services and facilities at national parks will be closed or off-limits to the public.

"In the event of a lapse in annual government appropriations, National Park Service sites will be closed," the agency said. "This means that the majority of national parks will be closed completely to public access. Areas that, by their nature, are physically accessible to the public will face significantly reduced visitor services."

"At NPS sites across the country, gates will be locked, visitor centers will be closed, and thousands of park rangers will be furloughed," the statement continued. "Accordingly, the public will be encouraged not to visit sites during the period of lapse in appropriations out of consideration for protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as visitor safety."

However, not all parks will close. Individual states and local governments have the option to keep certain sites open if they foot the bill, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per day. But considering the tourism revenue generated, it's still more than worth it for many of the larger national park sites.

According to the New York Times, governors of Arizona and Utah have already stated that they will fund to keep open parks such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, and Bryce Canyon. And in prior shutdowns, New York paid to keep open Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, while South Dakota did the same for Mount Rushmore.

The agency also said that parks with areas that are physically accessible to the public, such as park roads, lookouts, trails, campgrounds, and open-air memorials—including the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C.—will also remain accessible to the public. However, many services like restroom and sanitation maintenance, trash collection, and emergency operations "will vary and are not guaranteed."

The last time the government faced a shutdown, from December 2018 through January 2019, President Donald Trump opted to keep national parks open, ultimately to their detriment. Many parks experienced damage from unauthorized visitors such as poaching, graffiti, fecal matter in parking lots and on trails, and illegal off-roading.