When the coronavirus pandemic took hold two months back, everyone went into lockdown, travel came to a standstill, and a lot of nonessential business, governmental institutions, and other places were shutdown. Amongst them were America's National Parks, which were closed to not only save resources, but to keep visitors safer too. Now that a bit of time has passed, and things are starting to slowly head back to some form of normalcy, those parks are starting to reopen too. This has left many wondering when they can expect to regain entry to their favorite national park. Thankfully, our friends at the Adventure Journal are keeping track of all of the openings, regulations, and ongoing closures for us.
AJ has launched a special page that will be continually updated with the latest information from the National Park Service. That page lists all of the parks in alphabetical order, making it easy to find whichever location you're looking for. Each entry on the list provides a brief, but helpful status report for the park. For instance, the current listing for Arches National Park reads: "Re-opening May 29, though campgrounds are still closed. Climbing permits available starting May 30," while the one for Yellowstone says: "Wyoming gates re-opened May 18. Montana and Idaho entrances not yet open. Travel largely restricted to Grand Loop Road. Camping not yet available."
Normally, the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend would kickoff the busy summer travel season. That doesn't seem likely to be the case this year, although there will no doubt still be some family vacations. Moving ahead, this page from Adventure Journal will serve as a good resource, with a round-up of all of the parks. Over the next month or so, they should all move to reopen, although it may be some time before camping or backcountry hiking will be allowed.
Book mark this page to stay up to date on everything going on in the national parks. It could be extremely helpful if you have a trip planned for the next couple of months.
