America’s 63 national parks and 433 NPS-managed sites should remain fully “open and accessible” to visitors, despite the recent staffing cuts, according to Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum’s .

Burgum’s mandate included another order: before reducing operating hours or closing visitor services like trails and campgrounds, national parklands must first consult with the NPS director and the assistant secretary for U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

The statement has sparked a debate within the NPS and the advocacy groups in its orbit. Proponents say that the order provides a roadmap for the Department of the Interior to ramp up staffing at the NPS sites so that the general public can enjoy them.

But critics say that the move forces understaffed parklands to proceed with services and open infrastructure despite a lack of manpower.

鈥淭he way that it’s written is hugely problematic,鈥� Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淵ou can’t wait for a political appointee in Washington D.C. to get back to you on a closure you need to make right now.鈥�

Brengel referenced Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where the Kilauea volcano has been erupting on and off since December 2024. It鈥檚 currently on again and spewing lava. 鈥淧ark superintendents need to be nimble in order to keep visitors safe,鈥� Brengel said.

NPCA is one of several non-profit organizations that have sounded the alarm about the feasibility of implementing the order. 鈥淚t sets up a situation that could be highly dangerous for park visitors,鈥� Brengel said.

But Rachel Pawlitz, public affairs chief for the National Park Service, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the order is a win for the parks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not unusual for the staffing needs to fluctuate,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his order spells out a process that will allow us to coordinate closely with leadership in the Interior Department to meet the evolving needs of our visitors, adapting as needed, to ensure visitor satisfaction.鈥�

In Section 4 of the memo, Burgum orders the Interior Department to “take action to ensure that NPS is properly staffed to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit.”

Another group praising Burgum’s order is The American Bus Association, a trade group representing coach and tour bus companies.听鈥淥verall, this action by the Department of the Interior underscores a commitment to keeping national parks open, accessible, and welcoming,” the group wrote in a statement. “For tour operators who rely on predictable access to NPS-managed sites, the order offers much-needed clarity and assurance, ensuring their ability to deliver high-quality travel experiences in partnership with the nation鈥檚 public lands.鈥�

The order comes on the heels of a challenging two months for the NPS. Starting in February, the Trump Administration began enacting mass layoffs, firings, and hiring freezes across the agency. More than 1,000 NPS employees were cut, and another 700 took buyouts. Since then, the NPS has been quietly hiring back some workers and also bringing on thousands of seasonal employees for the busy spring and summer months.

Several NPS sites, including California鈥檚 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Yosemite National Park, have had to cancel programs and scale back on opening hours. Arches National Park in Utah hiking area on March 23 due to staffing shortages. A park spokesperson told听国产吃瓜黑料 that the move to close Fiery Furnace was due to safety.

“The Fiery Furnace is a labyrinth, and one sprained ankle can trigger a rescue,” Karen Henker, a spokesperson for Arches National Park, said. “And that鈥檚 five hours and ten staff people to carry someone out.”

On Thursday, April 10, Arches National Park announced on its website that to hikers on April 15. Ranger-guided tours will resume on May 4.

A National Park Service ranger speaking anonymously to 国产吃瓜黑料 expressed concern that reopening some closed areas could damage the parks. 鈥淪ure we can keep everything open,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut who wants to recreate in a park with broken down facilities and no maintenance and no search and rescue?鈥�

Bill Wade, the executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a non-profit group that advocates for NPS employees, said that the order puts park superintendents in a difficult situation. Under the Organic Act of 1916, NPS employees are to protect the nation鈥檚 parks and monuments while also providing for public enjoyment now and for future generations.

Wade, who was superintendent at Shenandoah National Park for ten years, said the order places the needs of the public ahead of conserving park resources.

“The law gives priority to protecting the resources, so if you are a superintendent, you must be able to do this, even if you have limited resources, before you put them toward keeping the trails open, keeping the visitor centers open, keeping the public restrooms clean, those sorts of things,” Wade said.

He added, 鈥淚 hate to say it, but I’m glad I’m not a superintendent right now.鈥�

The post The Feds Have Ordered National Parks to Remain 鈥淥pen and Accessible.鈥� Is That a Good Thing? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It turns out that the U.S. national parks are more popular than ever.

The National Park Service (NPS) this week revealed that a record-breaking number of visitors toured its sites in 2024. According to the agency’s , the 404 out of the 433 NPS sites that that report data鈥攊ncluding all 63 national parks鈥攕aw 331,863,858 individual visits last year.

That’s 6.36 million more visits than in 2023 and approximately one million more than the previous record, which was set in 2016 when the park service recorded 330,971,689 visits.

The report went up on the NPS website on Wednesday, March 5; however, the data was not distributed to media in a press release as in previous years. On Thursday, March 6, The听 that the NPS asked staff in an internal memo not to push the information via a release or social media to the public.

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS for comment but did not hear back by the time this story was published.

Buried within the report are a handful of compelling takeaways: NPS sites experienced major visitation upticks in March and June compared to the five-year average, while visitation during the remaining months was consistent with that of previous years.

NPS sites also saw an increase in overnight stays鈥攖his includes camping and nights spent at concession-operated lodges and hotels鈥攋umping 2.6 percent from 2023. Overnight stays at lodges increased 11.7 percent from 2023 numbers.

According to the data, 28 of the 404 parks set records for visitation鈥攂ut some of the most popular U.S. National Parks did not. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which historically sees more visits than any national park, saw a slight downturn in visits: 12.1 million in 2024 compared to 13.2 million in 2023. The Grand Canyon attracted 4.9 million visits鈥攗p from 2023 numbers鈥攂ut far short of its 2018 record of 6.3 million. Yellowstone National Park recorded its second busiest year, with 4.7 million visits, and Yosemite National Park its fifth busiest听with 4.1 million visits.

Instead, a handful of the NPS-managed National Recreation Areas and National Historic Sites experienced surges in visitation. Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California recorded 17.1 million visits, topping the previous record of 15.6 million in 2022. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. also experienced a record year, with 8.4 million visits. Gateway Arch National Recreation Area in Missouri also broke records with 8.4 million visitors.

The news comes as the NPS is weathering a staffing crisis after losing approximately ten percent of its workforce since the start of the year. On February 14, the NPS fired 1,000 employees with probationary status鈥攁 designation given to all workers in their first 12 months of employment. An additional 700 NPS workers reportedly took early retirement buyouts, further weakening the agency’s staff size.

The cuts are part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to shrink federal spending.

鈥淭he National Park Service just reported the highest visitation in its history, as the administration conducts massive firings and threatens to close visitor centers and public safety facilities,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA) in a press release.

On Thursday, March 6 the NPCA, a nonpartisan group that advocates for the parks, operated by the NPS. The collection includes visitor centers, rescue facilities, and offices of law enforcement.

Brengel said the information was released by the House Natural Resources Committee on Friday, February 28.

Included in the list of canceled leases are nine visitor centers and contact stations:

• Morris Thompson visitor center in Fairbanks Alaska
• Little River Canyon center in Center, Alabama
• New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park center in Louisiana
• Mississippi National River center in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Niobrara National Scenic River center in Valentine, Nebraska
• Salinas Pueblo Mission center in Mountainair, New Mexico
• Missouri National Recreation River center in Yankton, South Dakota
• Klondike Gold Rush center in Seattle, Washington.

鈥淎s peak travel season arrives, park visitors will have to contend with closed visitor centers and campgrounds, canceled ranger programs, and less search and rescue staff,” Brengel said in a release. “If building leases are cancelled, it will make these problems worse.”

The post America鈥檚 National Parks Set a Visitation Record in 2024 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Alex Wild, 35, has been a park ranger for 15 years, working seasonal National Park Service positions for five of the last six years. Then, in 2024, Wild landed his dream job as an interpretive ranger at California鈥檚 Devil鈥檚 Postpile National Monument. He was still within the 12-month probationary period that all NPS workers undergo when they start a new position when the Trump Administration began slashing NPS jobs on February 14. Like thousands of other federal workers, Wild was told that afternoon that he鈥檇 been let go.

鈥淚 was the one who interacted with the park鈥檚 visitors, who handed out the badges for the Junior Ranger program, who coordinated visits from churches and other community groups,鈥� Wild told 国产吃瓜黑料. He was also the park鈥檚 only EMT, and the first responder for emergencies, assisting in multiple incidents every week.

Like many cut NPS staffers, Wild to express his sadness. 鈥淢y heart is broken for all of the other people who lost their jobs and their housing,鈥� he wrote on Instagram. 鈥淢y heart is broken for the parks and landscapes that will be damaged. And my heart is broken for my country.鈥�

Wild is one of an estimated 5,000 employees working for public lands who have lost their jobs since February 14. About 1,000 of these were with the National Park Service鈥攁nother reportedly took buyouts and went into early retirement. The rest were with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

 

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In the days since the massive layoffs, media outlets and the public have sought to understand how these cuts will impact specific National Parks. After all, the busy spring and summer travel seasons are on the horizon, and in just a few weeks millions of Americans will descend on America鈥檚 parklands and campgrounds for their vacations.

Most NPS site have yet to publish details on which jobs have been lost amid the culling, and the NPS’s national office has not distributed a list of fired employees.听国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS national office to inquire about specific jobs that were terminated, but the agency didn’t respond. 听鈥淭he National Park Service is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management. We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks,鈥� read a statement released by the NPS on February 27.

Instead, the public has pieced together information via , , and crowdsourced information. This lack of details has caused headaches with the non-profit groups that work with the NPS and other agencies to assist with trail projects and fundraising.

鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 been any transparency from the administration about the layoffs or deferred resignations. The public is in the dark,鈥� said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of governmental affairs for the National Park Conservation Association. 鈥淭hankfully, many park rangers and staff who were laid off are speaking out and we are learning more about the positions lost. It should concern the public that maintenance technicians, wildlife biologists, interpreters, archeologists, ecologists who test water safety, fishery biologists, and EMTs were fired.鈥�

Amid the lack of information, social media posts like the one Wild published have helped media outlets and the general public get a sense of just how sweeping and damaging the cuts have been to the agency. This month, a non-profit group called the (ANPR) has shared crowdsourced information about how many layoffs have occurred at each park. The information was compiled by a seasonal ranger who has asked to remain anonymous. The ranger has maintained a detailed spreadsheet with the number of jobs lost at all 433 NPS sites, including the 63 national parks.

Bill Wade, the executive director of the ANPR, called the list “unofficial,” but said that the information has come from reliable sources.

“These numbers come from existing employees at national parks, or from friends groups that know what is going on at the park,” he told 国产吃瓜黑料.听Wade said that social media posts like the one Wild published have also helped his group tally the layoffs.

As of Friday, February 28, the group had charted 759 firings. 国产吃瓜黑料 was able to view the spreadsheet, and see how the layoffs impacted each national park. According to the ANPR鈥檚 data, these are the number of employees lost at each park:

• Acadia National Park: 8
• Arches National Park: 3
• Badlands National Park: 1
• Big Bend National Park: 5
• Biscayne National Park: 3
• Blue Ridge Parkway: 1
• Bryce Canyon National Park: 2
• Capitol Reef National Park: 1
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park: 14
• Channel Islands National Park: 6
• Congaree National Park: 1
• Crater Lake National Park: 1
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park: 4
• Death Valley National Park: 6
• Denali National Park and Reserve: 4
• Dry Tortugas National Park: 1
• Everglades National Park: 15
• Glacier National Park: 2
• Grand Canyon National Park: 10
• Grand Teton National Park: 4
• Great Basin National Park: 5
• Great Sand Dunes: 2
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 12
• Haleakala National Park: 7
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: 7
• Isle Royale National Park: 1
• Joshua Tree National Park: 6
• Kenai Fjords National Park: 1
• Lassen Volcanic National Park: 1
• Mammoth Cave National Park: 15
• Mesa Verde National Park: 2
• Mount Rainier National Park: 10
• National Capital Parks-East: 6
• American Samoa: 5
• North Cascades National Park: 6
• Olympic National Park: 5
• Petrified Forest National Park: 5
• Pinnacles National Park: 2
• Redwood National Park: 6
• Rocky Mountain National Park: 12
• Saguaro National Park: 2
• Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park: 10
• Shenandoah National Park: 15
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2
• Virgin Islands National Park: 2
• Wrangell-St Elias: 1
• Yellowstone National Park: 7
• Yosemite National Park: 9
• Zion National Park: 11

 

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Other areas managed by the NPS have suffered major cuts as well, according to the ANPR data. Lake Mead National Recreation area in Arizona lost 13 staffers, including an aquatic ecologist who tests water safety. Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey lost 11 staffers. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area lost 12, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area lost 10. The NPS鈥檚 Historic Preservation Training Center, a group that helps restore and maintain historic structures, let 34 people go.

The cuts have impacted a wide swath of jobs, from custodians and trail maintenance crews, to visitor center workers and听 fee collectors, as well as scientists and teachers. “We’ve been told that interpretive rangers and people who do education for kids and school groups were hit the hardest,” Wade said. “And people who are involved in collecting fees.”

Aubry Andreas, 29, was working as a visual information specialist at Rocky Mountain National Park when she became one of the park鈥檚 12 probationary employees fired on February 14.

Andres oversaw all of the park鈥檚 printed materials, which in 2023 was the fifth-most visited NPS site with 4 million visitors. Among her tasks were creating the annual visitor’s guide, maintaining the official park map and the area maps that get handed out to visitors, and helping with park signage.

At the time of her termination, Aubry was leading an initiative to develop a new accessibility guide to Rocky Mountain,听both for people with physical limitations as well as cognitive considerations. She was also redesigning the park鈥檚 junior ranger book using money from a grant.

鈥淭he crazy thing is, I鈥檓 the only Visual Information Specialist there,鈥� Andreas told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淣ow that I’m gone, all that work will either have to get dropped鈥攚hich obviously is going to impact visitors鈥攐r it’s going to get placed onto other people who already have their own full breadth of duties and responsibilities to carry out.鈥�

A group of former and current NPS workers plan to hold protests at more than 100 sites managed by the agency. The group is calling itself 鈥�.鈥�

Other Agencies Feel the Cuts

Thousands of employees with other agencies overseeing public land have also lost their jobs throughout February. estimates that the National Forest Service lost 3,400 positions. Throughout February, laid-off employees from these agencies have also posted about their plights online.

The day before she lost her job with the U.S. Forest Service, Arianna Knight, the Wilderness Trails Supervisor for the Yellowstone Ranger District in Montana, was working late. She traversed the backcountry adjacent to Yellowstone National Park by snowmobile, doing routine maintenance on one of her district鈥檚 ten public rental cabins. When Knight, 29, returned to the office, she received an ominous text from her boss. 鈥淭here were whisperings of the terminations starting,鈥� Knight told 国产吃瓜黑料.

At home that evening, Knight checked the /fednews page on Reddit and learned that probationary employees听were going to be fired. Since stepping into a management role earlier in the year, she had been given that designation.

鈥淚 went into the office the next day knowing it was a lost cause,鈥� Knight said.

Losing Knight will have a dramatic impact on the Yellowstone Ranger District. In 2024 her maintenance team鈥攕he managed between two and eight workers鈥攃leared 4,062 trees that had fallen across trails near Yellowstone. Knight believes her ranger district won’t have the manpower in 2025 to do the same job. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough support available from nonprofits and volunteers, and they’re not specialized enough to do the type of work that we do,” she said.

Nate Stickler, 25, who was a trails crew leader in Colorado鈥檚 San Juan National Forest, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he was two months away from finishing his probationary period when the cuts came down. The San Juan trails crew is comprised of seasonal workers, mostly novices, and volunteers. At the start of the season, it was Stickler鈥檚 job to train the crew, on everything from how to use a radio for communications in the backcountry to how to use a chainsaw.

鈥淭his is absolutely going to affect people鈥檚 experience of our public lands,鈥� Stickler said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that people will speak up and contact their congress person before the situation gets completely out of control.鈥�

Wild contends that by opting to fire people on probationary status, the federal government will lose some of its best public land managers. 鈥淭hese are the people who鈥檇 just gotten promotions,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r who鈥檇 performed so well in seasonal roles that they were offered permanent positions.鈥�

Sam Oseroff, 34, is one. In 2024 he was hired by the Middle Fork Ranger District in Willamette National Forest as a seasonal employee. After several months, the NFS offered him a permanent job as a forestry technician, starting in January, 2025.

鈥淚t was bad timing,鈥� Osteroff said. Doubly so because he鈥檇 just purchased a house鈥攁 decision he鈥檇 made after getting the offer for permanent work.

When Osteroff was let go, he was in the midst of replacing rotted beams on the roof of a shelter in one of the district鈥檚 campgrounds. He鈥檚 not sure who will take over the project, or how the rest of the maintenance that happens during winter is going to get finished. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a hot springs, a couple dozen trailheads, and about 15 campgrounds,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd only two people left to take care of them.鈥�

He’s also worried about the portion of the national forest closest to Eugene, Oregon, where unhoused people sometimes set up temporary camps, leaving behind garbage and human waste. 鈥淚n the fall, we filled a pickup truck and 26-foot trailer full of gross stuff from a campsite we found along Salomon Creek,” he said.

Knight said what鈥檚 happening is a devastating loss. 鈥淣ot only was my career taken from me in a way that can’t be replaced, but an entire industry is being dismantled,鈥� she said.

The post Here鈥檚 How Many Employees Each National Park Is Losing appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

By now you’ve probably heard about the staffing crisis gripping Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the nation’s other national parks.

On February 14, the National Park Service (NPS) , or about five percent of its total workforce. The move generated headlines in and , and over the weekend, dozens of recently fired NPS workers penned heartfelt essays on social media about losing the jobs they loved.

“I am the toilet scrubber and soap dispenser,” a fired NPS ranger named Brian Gibbs . “I am the open trail hiked by people from all walks of life. I am the highlight of your child鈥檚 school day.”

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS for comment, but did not hear back by the time this story published. The 听“The NPS is assessing our most critical staffing needs for park operations for the coming season and is working to hire key positions. The NPS is committed to protecting public lands, infrastructure, and communities while ensuring public access.鈥�

The workforce upheaval stems from the Trump Administration’s听, which in 2024 employed approximately 3 million people (not including the military). In January, the administration announced a hiring freeze on all federal agencies, and offered buyouts to government workers willing to resign. Since then, almost every wing of the U.S. government has been impacted by the belt tightening.

But the Park Service cuts are the ones that will impact the summer vacation plans of millions of Americans. 国产吃瓜黑料 spoke to NPS experts and former employees about the staff changes to see how they will impact daily life at America’s favorite vacation destinations. We asked these experts whether park visitors will be able to see a difference when they hike on trails, arrive at visitor centers, or use the restroom.

The answer? You bet.

“Expect fewer services, less help, and fewer projects like trails or construction getting fixed,” says Kristen Brengel, the senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA),听a non-profit advocacy group for the NPS. “You’ll need to lower your expectations.”

Which NPS Workers Were Cut?

Over the weekend, the NPCA tracked the layoffs and spoke to NPS staffers who lost their jobs. According to Brengel, the current cuts impacted all 63 U.S. national parks and all 433 areas managed by the Park Service. The cuts did not target specific jobs, she said, but were “indiscriminate.”

“We’ve heard from wildlife biologists, archaeologists, even wastewater treatment operators who were let go,” Brengel said. “We’re talking about people with incredible expertise losing jobs. It will throw some parks into a tailspin.”

Rather than target specific positions, the cuts impacted employees with “probationary” status, a designation given to federal employees for the first year of their employment in a position. the New York Times, the strategy was in-line with the Trump Administrations’ plan to dismiss the 200,000 or so federal workers with this designation.

The letter sent to laid-off employees read like a termination notice for low performance, according to the Times. 鈥淭he department determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the department鈥檚 current needs,鈥� read the letter distributed to some NPS staff.

Brengel points out that not every probationary worker is new or unqualified. Some veteran NPS workers were given the status after they were promoted to managerial positions; it was also given to seasonal NPS employees who had recently been hired to year-round positions.

“The ripple effect of these firings will be felt immediately,” she said. “It’s going to be a huge brain drain to lose a lot of these positions.”

Gibbs, 41, is one such employee. Prior to taking a full-time position at Iowa’s Effigy Mounds National Monument, which is managed by the NPS, he had spent four years working as a seasonal interpretive ranger at Glacier National Park. Interpretive rangers help visitors understand the cultural significance of an area.

Gibbs took that expertise to his job at Effigy Mounds, where he managed educational programs for kids, among other jobs. “At such a small monument I wore many hats,” he told 国产吃瓜黑料. “On the day I got fired I was creating a program to take kids snowshoeing in the park.”

What Services Will Be Lost?

It may take several weeks to determine which services will be eliminated at each park. Brengel and others have told visitors to expect to encounter long lines, overflowing trash cans, unkempt bathrooms, and other drop-offs in service caused by a lack of manpower. One anonymous NPS employee told Politico to . Brengel said that major construction projects started in 2024, such as trail maintenance or road paving, are likely to be left unfinished.

In the days since the layoffs, fired NPS employees have shared their stories鈥攁nd the jobs the NPS is losing鈥攚ith local and national media.

A worker named Olek Chmura told that he’d no longer pick up trash and scoop up feces at Yosemite National Park.

The New York Times interviewed multiple NPS workers impacted by the cuts, among them Helen Dhue, a park guide at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park in Brownsville, Texas, and Stacy Ramsey, a river ranger in Arkansas’ Buffalo National River. that she writes warnings for the general public when parts of the river are dangerous. 鈥淚f no one is there to educate, it increases the risk of someone getting hurt on the river,鈥� Ramsey told the Times.

an anonymous NPS ranger in California who wrote about his termination on Facebook. “I honestly can’t imagine how the parks will operate without my position,” he said. “I am the only EMT at my park and the first responder for any emergency.”

, 16 of the 17 supervisor positions at Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park were axed. At Shenandoah National Park, trail maintenance workers and fee collectors lost their jobs.

Gibbs’s job at Effigy Mounds was focused on education. He developed classroom programs, took schools on tours of the area when they arrived on field trips, and also visited local schools to discuss the cultural significance of the park.

Effigy Mounds preserves 200 or so prehistoric earthworks that were built by pre-Columbian people. Some of the mounds are in the shapes of birds and bears.

Gibbs was one of two employees at Effigy Mounds to be let go. Just seven rangers remain, he said.

“Educating kids about the cultural resources at Effigy Mounds will come to a stop, and schools visiting will have to self-guide at the park,” Gibbs told 国产吃瓜黑料.听“Kids and families are the ones who are going to lose out.”

What About the NPS Hiring Freeze?

Not all of the NPS news on Friday was bad. The Trump Administration published a memo from the federal hiring freeze to bring back some seasonal workers for the spring and summer.

The move allows the NPS to hire back 5,000 or so seasonal employees, whose jobs were rescinded in January when the freeze was announced across all federal agencies.听Most parks rely heavily on seasonal workers, and each year the NPS hires between 7,000 and 8,000 of them to help during the busiest periods.

The reaction to the news was mixed.

鈥淓xempting National Park Service seasonal staff from the federal hiring freeze means parks can fill some visitor services positions,鈥� said Theresa Pierno, CEO of the NPCA, in a statement. 鈥淏ut with peak season just weeks away, the decision to slash 1,000 permanent, full-time jobs from national parks is reckless and could have serious public safety and health consequences.鈥�

The timeline for hiring back seasonal workers has not been made public. According to Politico, had been granted exemptions as of February 18.

Brengal pointed out that seasonal workers might not be able to replace the full-time NPS employees who were lost in the layoffs. Some of the cut NPS workers who spoke to the NPCA were coordinators of seasonal labor, she said. For example, the 16 managers who lost their jobs at Grand Teton National Park help oversee seasonal workers.

“Seasonal workers can’t replace full-time positions,” she said.

Which Parks Have Been Hit the Hardest?

It may take until the busy summer months to assess the true impact of by Friday’s cuts on individual national parks and monuments. Brengel said that small parks with tiny staffs may suffer the worst, and that cuts there would force remaining employees to make tough choices.

“They may have to choose between keeping the visitor center open and the campground open,” she said. “These are the choices that smaller parks are going to have to make.”

But other parks are already feeling the pinch caused by the hiring freeze, layoffs, and other policy changes. , Yosemite National Park will abandon its reservation system, which was made permanent earlier this year.听Sources told the outlet that the park tabled the plan after the Trump Administration asked to review it.

What鈥檚 the Human Cost?

Like all mass-layoffs, the NPS cuts have upended lives and forced thousands to seek new livelihoods. Ramsey told the听Times that she lost her job after spending three years working a contract position with the NPS just to get her foot in the door.

Gibbs echoed this sentiment when he spoke to听国产吃瓜黑料.听He called his position at Effigy Mounds National Monument a “dream job,” and said that losing the position has forced his family into a dire financial situation. “We’re sad and frightened, and feel like we’ve had the rug pulled out from under us,” he said. Gibbs and his wife have a four-year-old son, and they are expecting a second child this year.听Gibbs said that his wife had to skip a monitoring appointment with her doctor after the family’s health insurance was terminated. “We feel frozen about what our next steps are,” he said.

The cuts have prompted action in some communities. Over the weekend, at Joshua Tree and Yosemite National Parks. On Tuesday, February 18, NPS workers and their friends and families just outside Rocky Mountain National Park, to protest.

Should You Visit a National Park this Summer?

The sources we spoke to still encouraged Americans to听visit National Parks this summer, despite the cuts. Yes, trails may be closed, parking lots may be messy, and lines may be longer than normal.

Instead, Gibbs said NPS visitors should do advanced homework before traveling to see which trails closed, and which services are limited. Reconsider trips deep into the backcountry, since manpower for lifesaving or rescues may be diminished. And stay on the trails.

“Know that there’s probably going to be a disruption in safety and resource protection,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs and Brengel urged visitors to have patience and understanding with the NPS employees who are manning the parks. Brengel said visitors should consider saying “thank you” to NPS rangers.

“Think about what a difficult time it must be for them, knowing that they may be next on the chopping block,” Brengel said. “They are going to be stretched thin, but they are the heroes for sticking it out.”

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Earlier this year, a PR rep from Fox News asked if I’d want to review the conservative network’s upcoming docuseries on the history of Yosemite National Park. Called Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner, the three-part series is the brainchild of the Academy Award-winning actor, and the follow up to his 2022 series . As I stared at the email, I wondered: What can Fox News teach me about the importance of the national parks? As it turns out, a lot. But their approach delivered a few surprises.

Yellowstone to Yosemite, which airs Saturday, February 8 on Fox’s streaming service, Fox Nation, tells the often-repeated story of a 1903 camping trip that then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt took with naturalist John Muir through Yosemite. Over four days and three nights, the听two men yukked it up around the campfire, admired the soaring monoliths and waterfalls, and became friends. Similarly, Costner, now 70, embarks on his own camping trip within Yosemite as he narrates the story.

In the first episode, Costner quickly establishes the significance of Roosevelt and Muir’s campout. It’s May, 1903, more than 30 years since Yellowstone was established as the first national park. Five other parcels of land have become national parks, but the designation has done little to actually protect their ecosystems. Loggers are plundering giant sequoias in Yosemite and poachers are decimating bison herds in Yellowstone. The federal government, meanwhile, lacks the teeth to stop them. “Congress saw the national parks as a zero-cost initiative. Each park has an unpaid superintendent responsible for enforcing regulations,” Costner says. “It’s not working at all.”

Muir, the famed naturalist, believes the only way to save America’s parklands is by harnessing the power of the president. He invites Roosevelt to Yosemite to show him the wonders of the park up-close, before pitching him on the bold idea of actually protecting the six natural wonders.

And we’re off鈥攐ver three 45-minute episodes Costner tells the story of the camping trip while weaving in other historic anecdotes and ecological tidbits about Yosemite National Park. Yep, there’s a heroic mini-biography of Teddy Roosevelt. There are Nature Channel-worthy segments about the lifecycle of a Sequoia and the geologic forces that carved the valley. Costner name drops Lynn Hill as the first rock climber to free climb the Nose of El Capitan. There’s even a reenactment of the massacre of Miwok tribespeople that preempted their forced removal from Yosemite in 1851.

But as the docuseries unfolds, Costner also performs some rhetorical jiujitsu that muddies the current political divide around a few topics. He frames the conservation movement as inherently patriotic, and funding the national parks as part of our American heritage. He presents the corporate interests of industry as evil, and the seizing of land from Tribes as cruel. He even tells the viewer that the reintroduction of grey wolves鈥�a wedge issue in many Western states鈥攊s something that Roosevelt, a Republican icon, would have supported.

Costner presents these perspectives with a sincere tone that lacks any hint of cynicism or moral superiority. After praising John Muir for advocating on behalf of Yosemite’s trees and rivers, Costner lays down in his sleeping bag as the temperature plummets. “God I love this country,” he says. “Everything about it. Even the cold.”

Costner’s melding of these concepts鈥攑atriotism, conservation, American heritage, and honoring Indigenous tribes鈥攈elps him sell a contemporary vision to his audience: national parks are worthy of our protection and our tax dollars.

Sure, Costner’s sincerity and mythical retelling of a camping trip may inspire some eye rolls. Still,听I couldn’t help but admire his approach. Perhaps somewhere in Yellowstone to Yosemite is a playbook for bridging the political divide when we debate protecting National Monuments from drilling, or the reintroduction of apex predators, or why we should save endangered species. I don’t watch Fox News, but my parents do, and I firmly believe that they would love Yellowstone to Yosemite, even though it’s essentially a three-hour pitch for the environmental movement.

Costner’s story concludes on a high note. Roosevelt is inspired by Muir, and after he’s reelected he signs the Antiquities Act of 1906, which grants him the power to protect federal lands. He sends the U.S. military to defend the national parks, and he establishes a series of national monuments to honor the legacies of indigenous tribes.

I recently asked Costner about the balancing act in Yellowstone to Yosemite, and whether it was challenging to blend so many disparate socio-political themes in an hour-and-a-half program听 He brushed the question aside with a laugh. You can read my interview below.

Why Kevin Costner Wanted to Tell the Story of Yosemite National Park

OUTSIDE: Why did you want to tell this story in 2025?
Costner: I was not waiting for the right year to tell this story. I recently did the film Horizon and I thought of it back in 1988. With Yellowstone: One Fifty, I realized that we just don’t know our history and the intricacies of the routes we drive and the mountains we look at. With Yosemite, we all think we know the park. But I knew there was a story to tell about Roosevelt and Muir. In this 30-year span after the creation of Yellowstone, there was nobody who could actually protect the parks. Nobody took into account that it would would take manpower and a governmental body to actually protect them. I like these parts of history that seem obvious, but aren’t. And this story had plenty of these elements, so I had a sense that I wanted to share it. I wanted to start with the Native Americans鈥攅ven if we’re going to highlight Roosevelt and Muir, it was important for me to go that distance and to talk about original inhabitants. I wanted to tell viewers just how tragic things were for them. They’re always in our history and we somehow forget them. They are a part of Yosemite as much as any story we tell.

But I also wanted to show how these two men, of like minds, each had a level of poetry in them that helped them understand that saving the parks was the right thing. I wanted to tell this story without beating people on the the head. I wanted to educate them.

Your story navigates more than a few political topics that are still debated today, such as funding the NPS, reintroducing apex predators, and the constant tug-of-war between protecting federal lands and opening them to drilling or logging. How did you navigate these without seeming partisan?
Ha. I don’t care where the chips fall, and I’m honestly not that careful. I’m not looking to present a side here, I’m just looking to tell the story of who was doing what, who was saying what, and what actually happened. This project isn’t catered to any crowd. It had to get above my bar in terms of its intellectual literature. And I felt like we told the version of the story that I set out to tell. I don’t talk down to my audience or around them. I honestly don’t see the world as being dangerous when I’m telling historical truth. You have to tell the story with all of its warts. Other people might be worried about what I’m going to say. But I didn’t ever worry about it. I never had a single thought about this.

This is your second project around the U.S. National Parks. What about the Parks has attracted your interest in storytelling?
I’m really pleased that national parks are an American idea. Today there are like 1400 national parks around the world, but we set the tone. We came up with the idea that the land could have a higher economic use than just exploiting it鈥攖hat some day, people would come and visit. But when I think of environmentalism, it isn’t just about the fish in the streams, and the trees. It’s also about the connection to the past. That I can walk where other people walked 100 years ago. And also, to know that a place like Yosemite will be the same forever. And to know that these places aren’t just enjoyed by the wealthy, that everyone can enjoy them. Setting aside land for a national park is such a simple idea, but in reality it takes a fierce attitude to move an idea to being practical, especially when money is at stake.

You’ve spent several decades telling stories about the American West, from听Dances With Wolves to听Yellowstone.听What is it about the West that continually sparks your imagination?
I stumble on these stories, and I know that I’m only going to be able to tell so many of the in my lifetime. Right now I’m flirting with a very historical project that I’ll probably do, and it’s right in the vein of what you’re talking about, but I can’t discuss it here. As Americans, we think we know our history, but you never really know that much about it until you dig down. We read about the Native Americans somewhere in the fourth grade, like one chapter in one book, and that’s it. All of Yosemite was on the backs of people who were exterminated. This great park came on the heels of shipping them off to a river where they would die in anonymity. And they’re not even on a sign anywhere.

We rarely get down to what is human about them. I think that Yosemite gets down to what is human about John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt. People can be touched by the truth. They can be affected by lies, but they can be truly touched by the truth.

This interview was edited for space and clarity.听

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Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I love a good campsite. But sometimes after a big day of adventure, I crave the comfort and ease of a great hotel with a friendly staff, farm-to-table meals, gear rentals, and maybe even a sauna and cold plunge. Both in the U.S. and abroad, a plethora of brands are catering to guests who love the outdoors, such as glamping masters Under Canvas and community-centric LOGE camps.

But we all have limited vacation time and need to pick our getaway stays thoughtfully. As someone who’s on the road half the year, I can assure you that these are worth traveling for.

The newest outposts that excite me most are popping up in perfect locations, from the doorsteps of popular national parks听 to some urban gems bringing nature indoors with innovative biophilic design. Here鈥檚 my hotel hot list for 2025.

Snow Peak Campfield Long Beach

Long Beach, Washington

I鈥檝e long been a fan of the Japanese gear company , not only for its design-minded outdoor equipment, but also the creative ways it brings its brand to life. For example, the company flagship in Portland, Oregon, features an excellent, wood-fire-focused Japanese restaurant, Tabiki.

Across Japan you can stay overnight at 13 Snow Peak campgrounds, but last summer the company debuted its on Washington鈥檚 rugged Long Beach Peninsula, 110 miles west of Portland near the mouth of the Columbia River. The 25-acre site鈥攏o surprise鈥攆eels like an outdoor concept store, showcasing Snow Peak products like folding chairs and fire pits. Book one of 48 campsites and bring your own gear (or rent theirs), or glamp it up in spacious tent suites or minimalist wooden Jyubako cabins (the latter for up to two adults and two kids) designed by Japanese starchitect Kengo Kuma.

The area is full of adventure options, like kayaking Willapa Bay and hiking in Cape Disappointment State Park. My plan is to visit this winter specifically to enjoy long soaking sessions in the camp鈥檚 onsen-inspired .

Price:听Campsites from $77, tent suites from $119, and Jyubako cabins from $219

Populus

Denver

may be downtown, but the property鈥檚 biophilic design is meant to make guests feel as if they鈥檝e entered a large grove of aspens (Populus tremuloides), with 365 eye-shaped windows that allow light to filter in. The nature immersion continues at every step: the front desk is crafted from fallen cottonwood trees, the soundtrack of birdsong recorded in nearby Estes Park plays in the elevators, and the lobby bar is adorned with hanging reishi mushroom skins.

The hotel opened in October as the nation鈥檚 first carbon-positive hotel. It boasts 100 percent renewable-energy, eco-friendly materials, like low-carbon concrete and leather made from reishi mushrooms, and a biodigester that composts all of its food waste, which is then returned to local farmers. Moreover, the property plants a spruce tree in Colorado for every night booked.

Its sustainable initiatives convinced me to stay, and the friendly service, stellar farm-focused food, outpost of Little Owl Coffee, and welcoming coworking space and gym have given me many reasons to return. The Populus also overlooks Civic Center Park, where the 国产吃瓜黑料 Festival and Summit will take place from May 30 to June 1, and ticket holders get special deals on rooms booked here through .

Price:听From $299

Under Canvas Yosemite

Near Groveland, California

Scoring camping reservations in Yosemite can feel like winning the lottery. Don鈥檛 want to gamble? Treat yourself to a cushy stay at the new , slated to debut May 15 with 71 tents just ten minutes from the park鈥檚 west entrance on Route 120.

The upscale glamping brand is known for hotel-worthy touches like West Elm furnishings in its spacious safari tents and daily programming that might include yoga classes or nightly s鈥檓ores sessions. This 85-acre site is no exception.

You don鈥檛 even have to deal with the stress of taking your car into the park itself鈥攖his Under Canvas location is across from a Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) stop with regular park service to three major destinations.

Return at day鈥檚 end to a menu of California cuisine served beneath soaring black oaks and live music by the campfire. Families will love the El Capitan Suite鈥� two connecting tents, each with ensuite bathrooms; it can sleep up to six people.

Price: From $319

Firefall Ranch at Yosemite

Near Groveland, California

The Yosemite area has never had more choice for boutique accommodations, and this is another property on Route 120 I鈥檓 eager to recommend. The 300-acre opened last summer and is made for the active crowd. You can look forward to a spacious saltwater pool (complete with shave-ice service), forest disc golf, bouldering, and beach volleyball.

Pick up picnic supplies at the on-site general store or dine at the casual tavern or more ambitious restaurant, YOVA, which features dishes like salmon and caviar and boar chops, complimented by an impressive wine list.

For families, roomy accommodations include 55 standalone one- and two-bedroom cottages or three-bedroom villas with private decks and indoor-outdoor gas fireplaces.

Fun fact: this property was a stop on the original stagecoach route to Yosemite in the 1870s.

Price: From $650

Yellowstone Peaks Hotel

Island Park, Idaho

Wyoming and Montana are most often associated with America鈥檚 first national park. But 1 percent of Yellowstone鈥檚 2.2 million acres lies within Idaho (an underrated state for adventure, in my humble opinion). The park鈥檚 west entrance is just 30 minutes away from the small town of Island Park, which听 recently welcomed the family-owned .

The property鈥檚 19 Scandi-inspired accommodations are the epitome of cabin porn. Each A-frame cabin can accommodate up to six guests and has its own cedar-wood-fired soaking tub. There鈥檚 also a communal area with saunas and cold plunges.

While proximity to the park may lure you here, its location across the street from the fly-fishing mecca that is Henry鈥檚 Fork River will appeal to anglers. Nearby but off-the-radar attractions include the Caribbean-esque Wade Lake and the 114-foot-tall cascades of Mesa Falls.

Price: From $440 per night, two-night minimum

Cascada

Portland, Oregon

Portland is home to plenty of nature fixes, but the newest is the underground thermal-springs experience at the recently opened, 100-room (pronounced cascade) hotel in the Alberta Arts District. The Conservatory, the heart of the thermal-springs area, was designed by landscape experts, including members of the Portland Botanical Garden, and features a with a 25-foot-tall living wall and rare flora planted throughout the space.

Soak and socialize in the mineral-infused vitality pool, or complete a sauna, steam, and ice-bath hydrotherapy circuit in the silent sanctuary space. If you鈥檙e passing through the city en route to a wilderness adventure, you can still enjoy a soak, but you鈥檒l need a reservation ($100 for two and a half hours). You can feel good about knowing that Cascada is committed to using ethically sourced spa products.听Rounding things out are an excellent restaurant, Terra Mae, that fuses the flavors of Portugal and Japan (think: tonkatsu and linguica croquettes), as well as zero-waste kitchen practices.

Guest rooms feature kitchenettes, balconies, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Price: From $299

Edgecamp Pamlico Station

Outer Banks, North Carolina

One of my goals this year is to improve my kiteboarding skills, and I can鈥檛 imagine a better place to get back on the water than the Outer Banks. With steady winds, an abundance of sandy beaches, and calm, shallow sounds, it lives up to its nickname as the kiteboarding capital of the East Coast.

Professional kiteboarder Rita Arnaus takes off in Pamlico Sound. (Video: Courtesy Edgecamp Pamlico Station)

Thanks to the recent debut of , a 14-suite boutique hotel at Edgecamp Sporting Club on windswept Hatteras Island, travelers finally have a stylish base that offers everything from an on-site kiteboarding school with equipment rentals and lessons to a wellness deck boasting a sauna, cold plunge, and hot tub.

I love that the suites feel like residences, each with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, living room, wood-burning fireplace, and work desk. And after a day of kiting, you鈥檒l appreciate having in-room amenities like a Therabody massage gun and foam roller at your disposal.

Price: From $189

Trailborn Grand Canyon

Williams, Arizona

I鈥檓 embarrassed to admit that, for as much traveling as I do, I still haven鈥檛 visited the Grand Canyon. I really have no excuse now that , a new outdoorsy-focused hotel brand, is opening its fourth location in the town of Williams. The 96-room hotel is just down the road from the Grand Canyon Railway, the train that deposits visitors at the South Rim entrance of the national park.

Trailborn has partnered with hiking outfitter to run guided excursions in the park, like a private day hike along the challenging, eight-mile round-trip听 ($600) or a group excursion that takes in the South Rim鈥檚 greatest hits, like the ($340).

On property, a saloon-style Camp Hall hosts free concerts, movies, and bingo nights, and for $35 families can have their room transformed into a camping-inspired slumber party. This spring the property will open Miss Kitty鈥檚 steakhouse and bar.

Price: From $175

The Wildbirch Hotel

Anchorage, Alaska

For years I viewed Anchorage as nothing more than a gateway to epic wilderness adventures. When a cancelled flight stranded me in the city for 24 hours, I discovered that, actually, Anchorage was a destination in its own right, home to seriously great restaurants, a cool urban-arts scene, and a 500-plus-mile trail network that connects some 200 green spaces.

In听 April, the city will get its first true boutique hotel when the opens in the Mushing District. The 252-room property will showcase works by local craftspeople, such as carved topographic maps that double as headboards, and an art collection curated by the nearby Anchorage Museum. An on-site brewery, outdoor decks with fire pits, and sweeping views of Mount Susitna and Knik Arm are sure to attract just as many locals as visitors.

With the world-class salmon fishing of Ship Creek steps away and guest rooms that overlook the ceremonial starting line of the Iditarod sled-dog race, held each March, you can鈥檛 ask for a better address.

Price: From $199

LOGE

St. George, Utah

During the height of the pandemic, I rooted for a few fledgling brands. , which is pronounced 鈥渓odge鈥� and stands for Live 国产吃瓜黑料, Go Explore, is one of them. The original LOGE Camp launched in 2017 in coastal Westport, Washington, and I loved its adult-summer-camp vibes and affordability.

There are camp or RV sites, or choose from a variety of room configurations. All the gear and amenities you could wish for are available to rent, from Traeger grills to Wave Bandit and Lib Tech surfboards. The brand launched similar concepts in mountain towns in the Pacific Northwest, and I鈥檓 stoked to see it expanding into the Southwest in 2025. I鈥檝e marked my calendar for early February, when LOGE St. George starts taking bookings for its April opening.

The hotel will be a sweet base camp less than two miles southwest from the heart of the city. Perks include a hot tub, pool, and mountain-bike rentals, and the trails of nearby Zion National Park and Snow Canyon State Park are a short drive away.

Later this year, LOGE will open a handful of East Coast properties. Host towns include Asheville, North Carolina; the Catskills of New York; Mount Snow, Vermont; and Southport, Maine.

Price: From $137

Foreign Properties I Have My Eye On

The Caribbean and Mexico

Salterra Resort and Spa

On February 15, American Airlines will introduce direct flights twice a week from Miami to South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos. Around the same time, this up-and-coming island will welcome , a sustainably minded hotel that will offer adventures like kiteboarding, bonefishing, kayaking, and diving. But it doesn鈥檛 come cheap.

Price: From $1,300

Hotel Humano

I鈥檝e been plotting a surf mission to Puerto Escondido and am hoping to base myself at the new , located steps from famous Zicatela Beach (a.k.a. the Mexican Pipeline).

Price: From $190

Amet

On a recent trip to Cabo San Lucas, a guide clued me in to , an intimate new nature retreat in the town of Santiago on Baja鈥檚 Central Cape. You can choose between suites or glamping tents, and excursions range from hikes to nearby hot springs to ATV drives to waterfalls.

Price: From $315

Argentina

Glamping Los Palmares

El Impenetrable National Park in northern Argentina is a wilderness mecca, home to giant anteaters and jaguars, as well as a swath of Gran Chaco, one of the world鈥檚 fastest disappearing forests.听 recently opened on the park鈥檚 northern border with just four tents overlooking the Bermejo River.

Price: From $359, all-inclusive

Finland

Kotona Manor

If you鈥檝e jumped on the cool-cation travel trend, you should have Finland on your travel list and in particular. The family-owned, 11-suite waterfront property will听 debut in the Lakeland region this summer. Seasonal activities range from bear watching to snowmobiling and sailing.

Price: From $1,530

Madagascar

Voaara

One of my favorite far-flung places is Madagascar, and not just for the mind-boggling amount of biodiversity but also for the amazing, crowd-free adventures, like kiteboarding, freediving, snorkeling, and hiking. I visited last December and got a sneak peek at the newly opened , a barefoot luxe hotel on idyllic Isle St. Marie, just off the country鈥檚 northeast coast. Guests can snorkel the vibrant house reefs, whale-watch with the resident marine biologist from June to September, and learn to wing foil with pro surfer Willow Hardy.

Price: $1,230

Jen Murphy is an 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine correspondent and frequent contributor to 国产吃瓜黑料 Online. (Most recently, she wrote a guide to maximizing winter fun in Colorado鈥檚 mountain towns and reviewed the best compression socks for long-haul flights.) Murphy has been lucky enough to stay in some of the world鈥檚 best hotels, both rustic and luxe, and believes that warm service truly makes a stay.

The post 16 New Outdoor-国产吃瓜黑料 Hotels We Can鈥檛 Wait to Visit appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Our family trip to Maui was full of surfing, waterfall treks, and snorkeling with turtles. Catching the sunrise from the top of the 10,023-foot volcano in Haleakala National Park was supposed to be the crowning jewel. Some say it鈥檚 the greatest sunrise in the world. I wouldn鈥檛 know, though, because I forgot to make reservations two months in advance of the trip, and the only way you can see the sunrise from Haleakala is with a timed-entry permit.

These mandatory timed-entry reservations in national parks have become a hot topic the last few years. During the pandemic, when visitation to national parks soared, a few parks鈥攕tarting with Arches in 2022鈥攔esponded by implementing the reservation systems, which require all visitors to get permits for specific entry times during the busy season. Since then, other park units have implemented similar systems.

I recently spent a lot of time studying national-park visitor comments online, and the reservation system was the second-most frequent complaint. But you know what was the most frequent complaint among national-park visitors? Overcrowding in parks, which leads to traffic jams and a lack of parking, not to mention more pressure on the natural resources.

The National Park System has implemented these systems as a direct response. If you鈥檝e sat in near standstill traffic in Yosemite, or waited for your turn to take a photo in Glacier, then you know something has to be done to mitigate the crowds.

I鈥檓 notoriously bad at making reservations for dinner a week in advance, let alone for a vacation three months down the road, so I get user frustration with the new system. But until some bright mind comes up with a better way to handle millions of people wanting to hike to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, I think we鈥檙e all going to have to get used to planning certain national park experiences well in advance.

Here鈥檚 a look at the nine national parks that will require advance reservations for entry or on certain popular hikes in 2025.

1. Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is bringing back last year鈥檚 timed-entry vehicle-reservation pilot project for the popular west side of Going-To-The-Sun Road and the North Fork area. The reservations will be required from June 13 to September 28, 2025, daily between 7 A.M. and 3 P.M.

Going-To-The-Sun Road, which is only open during the warm months, usually mid June through September, is a 50-mile-long paved byway that cuts through the center of the park, delivering visitors to the most popular trailheads. West Glacier, near Whitefish, is the western entrance of the road, and St. Mary Visitor Center is the gateway to the eastern edge of the park.

How to Get a Glacier National Park Reservation: You can make reservations starting on February 12 on on a rolling basis, 120 days in advance of desired visitation dates, starting at 8 A.M. MST. Any remaining vehicle reservations will be available at 7 P.M. MDT for next-day entry for dates throughout the season starting on June 12, 2025. Reservations require a $2 processing fee.

In 2025, visitors can still access the park at the East Entrance of Going-To-The-Sun Road without a reservation, but entry might be restricted at certain times without advance notice if the road becomes too congested. You can visit the beautiful Two Medicine Valley, also on the east side of the park and with its own entrance, without a reservation. If you lack a reservation and don鈥檛 want to trek 100 miles to the east side of the park, vehicles can drive Going-To-The-Sun Road from the western entrance as far as Apgar Village, which is two miles inside the park鈥檚 west entrance.

Backup Plan: If you have a reservation for lodging, camping, transportation, or a commercial activity, you can access the park within the intended service area of Going-To-The-Sun Road without making a timed-entry reservation as long as you can show proof of that booking.

If you don鈥檛 have a reservation, you can enter the park before 7 A.M. or after 3 P.M. Or take your chances and enter the park through the eastern entrance of Going-To-The-Sun Road, remembering that access might be restricted due to overcrowding on the road. Better yet, head to the east side of the park to Two Medicine Valley, which is full of trails leading to ice-blue backcountry lakes and towering peaks. The 9.6-mile hike to passes waterfalls and ends on the shore of the lake, which is flanked by the Continental Divide.

2. Arches National Park

Arches is bringing back its previous timed-entry reservation pilot program from 2022 to be used from April 1 to October 31, 2025, although this year you will not need reservations between July 7 and August 27. The program is a continuation of a reservation system that began as a direct response to Arches鈥� increased popularity; the park had seen a 73 percent rise in visitation from 2011 to 2021. Timed entry reservations will be required between 7 A.M. and 4 P.M. daily.

How to Get an Arches National Park Reservation: Reservations are released three months in advance in monthly blocks, so April reservations open on January 2, May reservations open February 1, June reservations open March 1, and so on. Tickets can be reserved at at 8 A.M. MST beginning January 2. Beginning March 31, additional next-day tickets will be released at 7 P.M. MST each evening. Cost for booking a reservation is $2. No tickets will be available at the park visitor center. Once you have a reservation, you鈥檒l have a dedicated one-hour window to enter the park.

Backup Plan: You don鈥檛 need a reservation if you have camping, tour, or special-use permits.

You can also enter the park before 7 A.M. or after 4 P.M. without a reservation. Canyonlands National Park is only 27 miles southwest of Arches, and makes for a superb alternative if you can鈥檛 get inside Arches.

3. Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park has a two-tiered reservation system that, frankly, has confused a lot of people in the past couple of years. Still, it proved effective for mitigating crowds, so the park is bringing it back for 2025. Reservations will be required beginning May 23 through Oct. 14 or Oct 20 depending on the specific reservation you get.

Two types of reservations are available: one is a permit for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which will also include access to the rest of the park, with reservations required from 5 A.M to 6 P.M.. The other is a permit for what is known as 鈥渢he rest of the park,鈥� excluding this corridor, with reservations needed from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. daily. Bear Lake Road reservations are required from May 23 to October 20, but 鈥渢he rest of the park鈥� reservations are only necessary from May 23 to October 14. Why the distinction? The Bear Lake Road area is the most popular section of the park thanks to its collection of picturesque lakes and relatively easy hikes.

How to Get a Rocky Mountain National Park Reservation: You can get reservations through one month in advance, so reservations for June (and the last week of May) will be released at 8 A.M. MST on May 1. Reservations for July will be released June 1 at 8 A.M. MST. The park will also hold 40 percent of the permits for next-day reservations, releasing those at 7 P.M. MST the night before. The only cost for a reservation is a $2 process fee. Visitors with a reservation will have a dedicated two-hour window to enter the park.

Back Up Plan: The Bear Lake corridor is awesome, and the deeper you go on the trails in that area, the better it gets. But Rocky Mountain is a big park, and with the 鈥渞est of the park鈥� reservation window so narrow (9 A.M. to 2 P.M.) there鈥檚 plenty of time to enter the park before or after those hours and still experience the iconic landscape. Driving Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved road in the U.S., topping out at 12,183 feet, is memorable all on its own. But I say set your alarm for an early wake up so you can hit the park before 9 A.M. and head to the Long鈥檚 Peak Trailhead for the 8.4-mile hike to Chasm Lake, a calm pool at the base of Long鈥檚 Peak where you鈥檒l see a picture perfect view of the mountain鈥檚 1,000-foot granite walls.

4. Zion National Park

You don鈥檛 need reservations to enter Zion National Park in 2025, but you will to hike to Angels Landing. The extremely popular hike leads to one of the most photogenic spots in the entire park: a narrow, rocky perch hovering 1,500 feet above the Virgin River. Reservations are required year round and released in a seasonal lottery beginning two months in advance of your intended hike. Next-day permits are also released, on the day before your intended hike.

How to Get a Reservation to Hike to Angels Landing: All reservations are released on . You鈥檒l enter the lottery and pick seven ranked days and times when you want to tackle Angels Landing. You can register for up to six people in the lottery. If you win the lottery, permits are issued on the 25th of the month that you registered.

Lottery-permit applications are $6 and if you score a reservation, the cost is another $3 per hiker. The park also releases last-minute permits for next-day hikers. The lottery opens at 12 MST and closes at 3pm MST each day. The same fees apply. The confirmation email from recreation.gov serves as your permit.

Backup Plan: Getting a reservation is the only way you can hike to the end of Angels Landing, but no permit is necessary to hike the up to Scout Lookout, a 4.5-mile out and back that encompasses most of the same trail, missing only the final push along the knife-edge ridge to Angels Landing. But you鈥檒l still get to hike along the Virgin River and through the breezy Refrigerator Canyon, and end with a great view of Zion Canyon from Scout Lookout.

5. Shenandoah National Park

No reservations are necessary to enter Shenandoah National Park, but you do need a permit to hike any of the several routes up the park鈥檚 signature peak, Old Rag, which is topped by a granite outcropping with a 360-degree view. After a two-year pilot program, Shenandoah National Park has made the Old Rag day-use permit system permanent. You鈥檒l need a day-use ticket from March 1 to November 30. A limit of 800 permits are allotted each day.

How to Get a Permit to Hike Old Rag: Every member in your hiking party needs a permit. Tickets are $2, purchased at . Half of the tickets are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis and the other half are open for grabs five days in advance. The permits are good from 12 A.M. to 11:59 P.M. of the date of your hike.

Backup Plan: Old Rag isn鈥檛 the only summit inside Shenandoah. The 3,514-foot Mary鈥檚 Rock, which requires no permit (only Old Rag does), is topped by a granite outcropping with a gorgeous view west into the pastoral Shenandoah Valley. You can reach the summit via a variety of trails, from an easy 1.5-mile out and back to an arduous that includes a slice of the Appalachian Trail. 听

6. Haleakala National Park

You don鈥檛 need a reservation to enter Haleakala National Park, a 33,265-acre gem on the island of Maui, but if you want to see the sunrise from the summit of its central 10,023-foot active volcano, you鈥檒l need to plan ahead and get a permit. Reservations are necessary to enter the Summit District of the park from 3 A.M. to 7 A.M. daily. The system has been in place since 2017 because catching the sunrise from the top of this volcano is supposedly a transcendent experience.

How to Get a Reservation to See the Sunrise on Haleakala: Reservations can be made on up to 60 days in advance of your desired day. All permits are released at 7 A.M. HST daily on a rolling basis. For those with less foresight, 50 permits are released 48 hours in advance on a rolling basis, but don鈥檛 count on scoring one: only 150 cars are allowed into the park during sunrise each day. You can only get one sunrise reservation per three-day period.听

Backup Plan: I tried to get last-minute reservations for sunrise on my recent family trip to Maui but had no luck. Instead, we showed up for sunset. Was it as transcendent as a sunrise? I can鈥檛 compare the two, but it was gorgeous and we didn鈥檛 have to wake up at 2 A.M. to drive into the park. If you鈥檙e dead set on experiencing the sunrise but can鈥檛 get an advance reservation, consider booking a couple of nights in the Summit District鈥檚 Each booking comes with a sunrise permit. Snag a campsite up to 30 days in advance. Sites are $5 per night, with a three-night maximum.

Hiking the Summit District is a delight even if you can鈥檛 catch a sunrise. My family spent our time poking around easy trails, but the is an 11-mile point-to-point that drops through the volcano鈥檚 crater, traveling through rust-red and black lava rock terrain that many describe as otherworldly.

7. Yosemite National Park

For the last couple of years, Yosemite has gone back and forth with timed-entry reservations: mandating and enforcing them, then taking the system away, then bringing it back. In 2024, the park introduced a Peak Hours Plus system for spring, summer, and fall that required reservations from 5 A.M. to 4 P.M.

The park hasn鈥檛 announced its plans for 2025 yet. But we do know that you鈥檒l need reservations from February 8 to February 23 on weekends because of the mass appeal of Horsetail Falls, which at that time of year glows when sunlight hits it. You need an even if you don鈥檛 want to see Horsetail Falls. We鈥檒l update this article with 驰辞蝉别尘颈迟别鈥檚 2025 plans when they are released.

How to Get a Reservation to See Horsetail Falls: Half of the reservations for the February Horsetail Falls were released in November of 2024. The other half will be released two days in advance of the target weekends at 8 A.M. PT on recreation.gov. So if you鈥檙e trying to get tickets for February 23, you can get reservations on February 21 at 8 A.M.. There鈥檚 a $2 reservation fee.

Backup Plan: If you want to see Horsetail Falls in its winter glory on a weekend, you need to score a reservation. There鈥檚 no way into Yosemite on a February weekend without that permit. Or you can hit the park on weekdays in February when no reservations are required.

If you make it inside the park in February and are looking for something else to do, head to the Bridge Pass Ski Area, which offers downhill skiing and is a hub of groomed and ungroomed cross-country trails. The is a 8.3-mile ski through meadows with a dramatic view into Yosemite Valley.

8. Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park did not require entrance reservations in 2024, but did require reservations for visitors wanting to drive Cadillac Summit Road from May 22 to October 27. The park has not announced its reservation plans for 2025, although Cadillac Summit Road permits are expected to be part of the management plan again.

How to Get a Cadillac Summit Road Permit: Last year, permits were required to drive the road from sunrise until sunset. The park released 30 percent of the permits 90 days in advance on on a rolling basis, while 70 percent of permits were released at 10 A.M. EST two days prior to desired dates. There was a $6 processing fee regardless of when you get the reservation.

Backup Plan: You鈥檒l need to score a reservation if you want to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain during the day time, but that鈥檚 not the only good view inside Acadia. Check out Great Head, a 145-foot tall summit with a dramatic view of Acadia鈥檚 beaches and coast, via this adventurous .

9. Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier is the latest park to enter the timed-entry reservation game, introducing a pilot permit system last year for vehicles accessing the park via either the Paradise Corridor and Sunrise Corridor. Reservations were needed daily from 7 A.M. to 3 P.M. from May 24 through September 2 for the Paradise Corridor and July 3 to September 2 for the Sunrise Corridor. The park is still evaluating the results of that pilot program and has not yet announced plans for 2025. We鈥檒l update this article when information is available.

How to Get a Reservation to Mount Rainier National Park: Advance reservations are made available on , and a small amount of next-day reservations are issued at 7 P.M. PT the day before on a rolling basis. A $2 processing fee is required for each reservation.

Backup Plan: If you can鈥檛 score a reservation, try entering the park before 7 A.M. or after 3 P.M. Also, visitors with camping, lodging, or wilderness permits don鈥檛 need a timed-entry reservation. Also, if you enter Sunrise Corridor on foot or bicycle, you don鈥檛 need a reservation. If you鈥檙e , State Route 410 (Sunrise Road) climbs 3,650 feet in 20 miles from the park boundary to Sunrise, an overlook sitting at 6,400 feet in elevation that offers a big view of snowcapped Rainier and the surrounding valley.

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. He still regrets not scoring reservations for the sunrise in Haleakala National Park, and knows he needs to be better at planning ahead for such adventures. He recently wrote about the year鈥檚 (best) worst national park reviews; surviving a hurricane in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina; and his choice for the country’s best state for adventures.

The post Timed-Entry Reservations Return to Our National Parks This Year. Here’s the Scoop. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This past fall,听Connor Herson decided to take a four-month break from his studies at Stanford University to go rock climbing. Herson, 21, is pursuing a degree in engineering, but his studies have often butted up against his desire to climb the toughest ascents in the country.

For the past three years, balancing college and climbing has meant squeezing as much of the latter as possible into winter, spring, and summer breaks鈥攑lus the occasional weekend trip to Yosemite during the school year. At age 15, Herson became the youngest person to free climb the Nose route on El Capitan.

鈥淚鈥檝e always balanced school and climbing but it鈥檚 gotten a lot trickier as I鈥檝e gotten deeper into both worlds,鈥� Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚 really wanted to see what I could do in a full season of Yosemite climbing.鈥�

Herson made the most of this most recent break from class. In November, he free climbed one of the hardest routes up 3,000-foot El Capitan听alongside famed American climber Tommy Caldwell. The ascent鈥攚hich only a handful of other climbers have done before as a free climb鈥攃emented Herson as 驰辞蝉别尘颈迟别鈥檚 next great star.

鈥淐onnor is part of this super young generation that鈥檚 incredibly strong from having been brought up in modern-day climbing gyms,鈥� Caldwell told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 also an outlier among people his age in that he鈥檚 chosen to apply that strength and skill to big-wall climbing, which is so awesome to see.鈥�

On El Capitan, Herson and Caldwell free climbed a route known as the Heart, one of the most technically difficult lines up the granite behemoth. Of the Heart鈥檚 31 pitches, a whopping eight of them are at the 5.13 level. 听

The Heart was first free climbed in 2015 by Mason Earle and Brad Gobright, following five years of planning and attempts. Free climbing is a style that requires climbers to rely on ropes and equipment only for safety鈥攖hey cannot haul themselves up the route with gear. Other than Gobright, Earle, Caldwell, and Herson, the only other person to have successfully free climbed the Heart is Alex Honnold, in 2023.

Herson and Caldwell spent three days ascending the Heart, hauling their food, water, and portaledges听as they went. Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料 that free climbing on El Capitan with Caldwell was the realization of a lifelong dream.

鈥淗e was one of my heroes growing up,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淥f all the El Cap legends, no one stands out as much as Tommy Caldwell.鈥�

Herson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His parents were avid climbers, and they听brought Herson and his sister, Kara, to the local climbing gym from the time they were toddlers. Herson started participating in competitive climbing events in middle school, and holds three national titles in sport climbing at the youth and collegiate levels.

He and his family also regularly traveled to Yosemite on weekends, and they took vacations to classic crags all across the U.S. Herson learned to trad climb (short for 鈥渢raditional鈥�) on these trips, placing his own gear for protection on the rock. His parents also introduced him to big-wall climbing鈥攎ulti-pitch routes that cover thousands of vertical听feet. Herson was just 12 years old when he first climbed 驰辞蝉别尘颈迟别鈥檚 2,000-foot Half Dome alongside his dad, Jim, who is a robotics engineer.

“My parents give me a lot of support with life in general and in climbing,” Herson told Climbing in 2022. “They have made a lot of sacrifices. There are times when we go to crags which might not have the best routes for them.”

Herson鈥檚 classes in engineering at Stanford don鈥檛 leave him as much time as he鈥檇 like to devote to big-wall climbing. He prepared for what he called his “gap quarter” this fall in Yosemite by cramming in a weekend of climbing there with Alex Honnold in May. Among other projects, the two completed the second free ascent of a route called New Leaf. Afterward, Herson had to hurry back to school for a midterm exam.

鈥淏eing in physical shape is one thing,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淏ut more for me is the mental stress of school assignments or just anything school-related.鈥�

He added, 鈥淓ven if I’m not overtly thinking about that while climbing, it’s in the back of my mind.鈥�

Herson spent the spent the past two summers in Canada’s climbing capital of Squamish, British Columbia, a world-renowned destination with multiple big walls. By the time he roped up with Caldwell for the Heart, Herson was already in very elite company, having ticked off all of the hardest single-pitch trad climbs in both Squamish and Yosemite, including Squamish鈥檚 iconic Cobra Crack. His preparations paid off on El Capitan.

鈥淗e was the most solid person I’ve ever seen climbing up there,鈥� Caldwell said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 also very level-headed and safe鈥攍ike he wore a helmet all the time.鈥�

Caldwell also started climbing big walls in Yosemite as a teenager with his dad. But that was 30 years ago, when rock climbing听was much more of a fringe sport. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just so much more advanced than I was,鈥� Caldwell said.

Still, some things never change. Big-wall climbing comes with logistical challenges, particularly how to haul your food and supplies up the route. Herson was eager to learn Caldwell鈥檚 best practices. 鈥淭here are a lot of small tactical strategies that he’s such a master at,鈥� Herson said. 鈥淚t was so cool to be able to climb with him and leverage that, and just learn so much from him.鈥�

One of Herson鈥檚 biggest takeaways from the experience is that even Caldwell struggles on El Cap. 鈥淗e doesn’t struggle that much, but when he does, and it was something I struggled on too, it鈥檚 just really validating,鈥� said Herson.

Herson plans to resume his studies at Stanford in January, following the holiday break. In the meantime, he鈥檒l continue climbing in Yosemite until the snow starts to fall. After the Heart, Herson told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he would like to try every free-climbing route on El Capitan. 鈥淣ot all in one season or anything,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust slowly working away at trying all of them.鈥�

鈥淭he combination of challenges on El Cap, of placing your own protection to keep it safe while at the same time pulling moves that are close to your limit, really speaks to me,鈥� he added.

 

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Caldwell can鈥檛 help but wonder what Herson would be able to accomplish in Yosemite if he pursued climbing full-time. 鈥淯p on the ledge [on El Cap], we mostly discussed how many semesters to take off from Stanford to climb,” Caldwell said. “As a parent, I鈥檓 in this weird position because I鈥檓 sure his parents don鈥檛 want him to drop out of school.”

Caldwell added, “But I鈥檓 also like, you could change climbing forever.鈥�

The post Connor Herson Took a Break from Stanford to Climb One of 驰辞蝉别尘颈迟别鈥檚 Hardest Routes appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Described as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 best idea,鈥� the National Park System was established in large part to protect the nation鈥檚 most precious landscapes, from the deepest canyons to the tallest peaks. Some of the parks are so dang beautiful, they鈥檝e been known to make people contemplate their own existence.

But not everyone traveling to a national park is moved to existential enlightenment. Some visitors come away angry, frustrated, or disappointed, and they turn to the internet to express themselves. Recently, for my annual end-of-year wrap up of the worst national-parks reviews,听I spent an unhealthy amount of time perusing visitor comments on national parks on Google Maps, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to find the best of them.

I learned a few things in the process. I learned听that a lot of people don鈥檛 like the timed entry and reservation systems that many parks have put in place to combat overcrowding. Like, a lot of people; I saw thousands of complaints on that topic. Also, the general lack of parking gets people fired up.

I discovered some really interesting and funny one-star (out of a possible five stars) reviews that spanned quite a spectrum, from someone complaining about the weather (apparently Canyonlands is too hot and sunny) or questioning humanity鈥檚 fascination with nature in general (to this person, Joshua Tree听is just a load of big stones).

Here are my favorite bad national-park reviews of 2024. As ever, we nod to , grandmaster collector of such information, which, as autumn lit up the multitude of colors in the national forest of Vermont, noted this doozy: 鈥淣ot a memorable place to go.鈥�

(Note: Some reviews below were edited for brevity, but I left spelling errors and grammar mistakes intact.)听

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park protects 500,000 acres of mountains, rivers and historic farmland that is widely recognized as the most biodiverse landscape in North America. But not everyone loves it.

鈥淭his is the Walmart of national parks.鈥� 鈥�Google Maps

鈥淎 terrible experience! This national park is the largest and most popular park in the middle of the United States and famous for their beers (sic). Every staff of the park told us that beers (sic) were everywhere. However, this park was really disappointing that I did not see any beer (sic). I only saw many turkeys and one fox鈥S]ummer might not be a good time to visit here because beers (sic) or other wild animals could hide in trees and bushes.鈥濃��Google Maps

2. Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada

This 3.4 million-acre park, straddling California and Nevada, is known for its deep canyons, salt flats, and ghost towns. The first commenter reviewed it without ever having been there.

鈥淗aven’t gone yet, will go soon, sounds hot tho.鈥濃��Google Maps

鈥淒on’t go, nothing to see鈥�.The rock formation is not that great, quite dusty, hot, etc. Feels like an open pit mine. The only use case I can see is if you want to 鈥� test yourself or your car AC.鈥濃��Google Maps

3. Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

Designated a national park in 2019, Indiana Dunes protects dunes and forest on the edge of Lake Michigan, all less than 50 miles from downtown Chicago. But apparently the park has some policies on parties.

鈥淐an’t grille, can’t smoke, can’t drink, can’t play loud music…who wants to just sit on sand.鈥�鈥擥辞辞驳濒别 Maps

4. Redwood National and State Parks, California

This collection of state and federally protected parks houses the world鈥檚 tallest trees, with landscapes spanning from rugged coastlines to thick interior woodlands. Tree color may be a subjective thing.

鈥淐alifornia sucks so I don鈥檛 know why I was surprised when I was very disappointed. The trees aren鈥檛 as big as everyone says and they鈥檙e not red either, terrible name. The National park should just sell the land and turn the trees into paper.鈥濃��Google Maps

5. Joshua Tree National Park, California

One of my personal favorite units in the park system, Joshua Tree is home to gorgeous desert landscapes full of boulders that attract climbers and gawkers alike.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a load of big stones. If you go make sure to take a packed lunch and drinks, you鈥檒l certainly thank me.鈥� 鈥�TripAdvisor

6. New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia

The newest unit to be granted full park status, New River Gorge is a multi-adventure playground with world-class paddling, rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. Other than that鈥�

鈥淚f you hike or like white water rafting, this is a great place. Otherwise, not much else to do.鈥濃��Google Maps

7. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

I haven鈥檛 visited Dry Tortugas yet, but it鈥檚 on my list because these islands west of the Florida Keys offer some of the most remote spits of land in America, with beautiful snorkeling and paddling. Some feel waterlogged though.

鈥淚 paid full price for only 1% of land??? Park is literally 99% water….. my shoes got wet too like what????? More like the NOT dry Tortugas鈥濃��Google Maps

8. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Couple the tallest sand dunes in North America with long-range views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and you鈥檝e got鈥�

鈥淭he only reason people go here is to buy a piece of fudge or a T-shirt. That’s about it. This is literally a dumping area for the fine sand used to make volleyball courts. The funniest thing to do here is simply people watching. They act like they never seen dirt before.鈥濃��Google Maps

9. Everglades National Park, Florida

Everglades protects the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi. This review is close to being a haiku.

鈥淣o cocodrilos.

no crocodiles seen

money is lost.鈥濃��Google Maps

10. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

This national park encompasses the 14,000-foot peak Mount Rainier, which also happens to be an active volcano. The duality of the situation is driving one visitor crazy.

鈥淭hey market this place as a beautiful mountain paradise full of pastoral hikes and woodland creatures but at the same time remind you it is ready to kill you and your entire family and surrounding towns without a moment’s hesitation. Come here if you want to be gaslit by a mountain.鈥濃��Yelp

11. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Picture alpine lakes set beneath craggy, 13,000-foot peaks, and you鈥檒l have an idea of the scenery within Grand Teton National Park. Meh.

鈥淚’ve seen better in video games smh. Mother nature better step it up.鈥濃��Google Maps

12. Sequoia National Park, California

California鈥檚 jointly managed Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are famous for their groves of giant Sequoia trees, a species that only grows on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The drive in to reach them is irking some visitors.

鈥淎 road that is truly too long and winding鈥’m still recovering from the tiredness and motion sickness of the 5 hours driving around tight curves.鈥濃��TripAdvisor

13. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

I recently decided that Capitol Reef is the country鈥檚 most underrated park for adventure. It has arches, canyons, domes, rock climbing, and gravel rides galore. One reviewer seems to be upset that the park didn鈥檛 take enough of his money.

鈥淭HIS PLACE SHOULD NOT BE A NP. It鈥檚 beyond mids and a waste of taxpayers money. Doesn鈥檛 even have a fee station to support itself鈥rotect the land no doubt but either charge everyone that comes through or make it a monument.鈥濃��Google Maps

14. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most visited parks in the country, with more than 4 million people clamoring to experience it annually. The park is so popular that management deemed a timed-entry system necessary to mitigate crowds. A visitor was not psyched.

鈥淲hat kind of communist came up with this system and why? I thought I lived in America, land of the free …. For all the Americans that didn’t even protest at all, thanks for nothing.鈥濃��Yelp

15. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

North Dakota鈥檚 Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the lesser-visited of our national parks, shown in the annual listings as attracting 750,862 visitors, when each in the top five attracts over 4 million (and Great Smoky Mountains NP receives over 13 million). So maybe it鈥檚 unsurprising that one visitor mixed it up with a different park.

鈥淢aybe I missed it but I didn鈥檛 see his face in any of the cliffs or mountains. Probably erosion. Time for a touch up.鈥�鈥擥辞辞驳濒别 Maps

16. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

Is there a landscape more dynamic than what you find inside Yellowstone National Park, where water boils and shoots into the sky like the fountains in Las Vegas?

鈥淲ater bubbling out of the ground. Wow.鈥濃��Google Maps

鈥淪ame thing (e.g. geysers) everywhere. I got bored the second day.鈥�鈥擥辞辞驳濒别 Maps

17. Yosemite National Park, California

驰辞蝉别尘颈迟别鈥檚 granite peaks, valleys, and mountains might have captivated Ansel Adams, but nobody ever mentions how uncomfortable nature is, do they?

鈥淎ll the hikes are uphill, and you’re practically climbing cliffs. I got soaked by several incredibly large waterfalls just by standing at the bottom.鈥濃��Google Maps

18. Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Dubbed 鈥渢he land of stone and light,鈥� Badlands holds 224,000 acres of vast prairie and striking geological formations that seemingly rise out of nowhere. That didn’t satisfy this reviewer.

鈥淣ot enough mountain.鈥� 鈥�Google

听19. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

This national park is known for its deep, steep gorge and rugged terrain, and it has a savvy reviewer who wants it all to himself.

鈥淛K. It鈥檚 the best spot in CO. I went one star so that everyone stays away and keeps it this way!鈥�鈥擥辞辞驳濒别 听

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. He has complained about many ridiculous things during his life, but never once looked at the Teton Range and thought 鈥渧ideo games are cooler than that.鈥� See also his recent articles on ten years鈥� worth of awful reviews on the revered Grand Canyon, or what makes the perfect mountain town, loving surfing and surf towns, and why he plays golf two days a week and thinks about it even more.

The post The Worst National-Parks Reviews of the Year appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Alex Honnold’s latest climbing project has taken him back to Yosemite National Park.

Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning 2018 climbing film Free Solo has spent the last few weeks attempting to free climb El Capitan’s famed route The Nose, the 2,900-foot vertical climb that is among the most famous routes in American rock听climbing.

You might be wondering:听Hasn’t Alex Honnold already climbed The Nose? He has, maybe 50 times by his estimation. Honnold actually set the speed record on the route with Tommy Caldwell (1 hour, 58 minutes, 7 seconds) in 2018. But Honnold has never free climbed the route鈥攁 style that allows climbers to use ropes and climbing gear for protection but not to aid the ascent.

Since Lynn Hill first freed the Nose in 1993, about 15 other climbers have ascended it in this style, including Caldwell. Honnold has been working on the endeavor for one month now, climbing with a variety of different partners. He caused a big reaction on Instagram on November 29 when he posted photos of his attempt to free climb the Nose with the actor Jared Leto.

国产吃瓜黑料 caught up with Honnold in Yosemite while he was hunkered down in his van with his family, waiting out a storm. He opened up about his latest project, why he roped up with a Hollywood heartthrob, and why the Nose remains the greatest big-wall climb in the world.

OUTSIDE: What was the catalyst for you to attempt to free the Nose? It鈥檚 been done more than a dozen times before so it鈥檚 obviously not a world first. Is this personal?
Honnold: It gets done and it’s certainly doable, but it’s still a very significant thing in climbing. The Nose means a lot to me personally. It鈥檚 been there throughout my entire climbing life. It was my first El Cap route; I aid climbed it in 2005 or 2006. I started working on the speed record with Hans Florine in 2012, and then working on the speed record again with Tommy 听years later. The Nose is part of big linkups I鈥檝e done like the Triple Crown.

It鈥檚 been this yardstick against which I can measure my own progress as a climber, starting from just the aspiration of climbing the Nose, and then trying to climb it faster, and then trying to climb it free. There鈥檚 always something hard you can do on the Nose.

 

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It’s also sort of unfinished business. I made some preliminary attempts to free it the same season that Tommy and I were working on the speed record. I thought it would make sense to try to work on a free climb at the same time. But it turns out they’re mutually exclusive goals because the style of climbing is so different [speed climbing the Nose involves aid climbing, among other tactics]. It’s too hard to train for both at the same time. So I focused on the speed record. This season, I鈥檓 re-focusing on free climbing it.

You鈥檝e been posting photos to Instagram of some of the people you鈥檝e crossed paths with on the Nose while attempting to free climb it. There鈥檚 a lot of them. How do you manage that?
It was particularly crowded this fall season. I think there are more climbers now and the level of climbers is rising over time. People are just more able to do things like that. Which I think is great.

There鈥檚 definitely been some complaining about overcrowding on walls in Yosemite. It’s hard for me to say because I always have positive interactions with everybody on the wall. Climbers I encounter say, 鈥極h my God, can I take a selfie?鈥� And they’re all really nice. It’s all听really chill and fun. But I don’t know if that’s the experience that everybody has.

I think the key is clear communication, for passing parties, rappelling through parties, whatever. Just being like, 鈥楬ey, how are you guys doing? What are you planning to do? Here鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing. How is that going to impact you? How can we work together to make sure that nobody is held up by the things that we’re each trying to do?鈥�

In my experience on the Nose, everybody is up there having the big adventure of their life. And generally everybody wants to have a good time up there.

How do you prepare to free climb the Nose?
The main way I鈥檝e been practicing is by rappelling it, and I did that mostly with Brette Harrington. She was also working on free climbing the Nose. Brette and I rappelled it together maybe like a half-dozen times. You rappel the whole wall, stopping to work on the key pitches as you go down.

There are two hard pitches: Changing Corners and the Great Roof. I mean, there are a lot of other pitches that are challenging in their own ways, but those two pitches are so much harder than the rest that they’re kind of the only two that matter.

I鈥檓 doing a variation on the Changing Corners which has never actually been done, which has a long and storied history of various people checking it out, but never quite committing to it. I did it on top rope years ago, so I know that it goes, but nobody’s quite done it that way yet.

Tommy gave me a lot of grief for it. Changing Corners is super historic, because that’s the way Lynn Hill did it. And there are iconic photos of her on it. There are iconic photos of Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden, when they did the second and third ascents. Everyone’s grown up seeing these cool images of the Changing Corners. So Tommy was like, What are you doing going around it? You’re ruining a classic! You鈥檙e destroying the Nose!

But then he belayed me on it [last week], and after watching me on it, he was like, Okay, you’re not destroying a classic. Because basically [the variation] is still very high quality, it’s still quite hard, and it looks pretty. It鈥檚 also really sharp granite that鈥檚 so far split open every one of my fingertips.

Has your perspective on the Nose changed at all since you鈥檝e started trying to free climb it? Has it taught you anything new in these past four weeks?
It鈥檚 more that my perspective on it hasn’t changed, and that it hasn鈥檛 changed all that much in the not quite 20 years since I first climbed it. The thing with El Cap is that despite all the things that I’ve done on it over the years, you still look at the wall and you still think, Man, that is impossibly big and looks so hard. It鈥檚 just still so inspiring.

El Cap is still the most magnificent wall on Earth , and the Nose is still the most striking line up it, and when it really comes down to it, is still quite hard to climb. It always commands respect.

Okay so then how does Jared Leto fit into all this?
He鈥檚 always wanted to climb El Cap, and we were both in the Valley and it just kind of worked out. He鈥檚 been wanting to climb it in a day, but hasn鈥檛 had the time to get that kind of fitness. I was planning on going up wall-style [spending multiple days and nights camping on the wall] to try to free the Nose. I texted him, half-joking, Why don’t you join us? We can camp together. He texted back, 鈥榃ait, like actually, can I come?鈥�

 

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We’ve been climbing together for almost ten years, just very sporadically. It started when he first got into rock climbing, which I think was 2015, and decided to make a little film project about it. He hired Renan Ozturk to film him going rock climbing around the West. One day Renan鈥攈e鈥檚 a friend鈥攖exted me, 鈥楬ey, would you go solo Matthes Crest with Jared?鈥� I was in Yosemite climbing anyway and was like, 鈥楥ool, an active rest day.鈥�

At the time, Jared was training to be the Joker in a movie and was super fit for it. He was really muscular. And he had green hair. We had a great day climbing. Since then, we’ve climbed in the same places a few times. I took him up one of the Flatirons in Boulder once, because he was in Denver for a concert, things like that.

He was great on the Nose. It was awesome. He top-roped like ten of the 31 pitches and jugged the rest. It was pretty impressive. Nick Ehman, who was the third person climbing with us, commented, 鈥楯ared doesn’t get scared.鈥� There鈥檚 all these weird things on the Nose, like lower outs and swings, and one part where he was basically dangling on a rope in mid-air at the very top of El Cap. It just does not bother him at all.

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