Park Service begins closures of visitor facilities
The National Park Service on Tuesday began initiating widespread closures of visitor centers, campgrounds, restaurants and lodges — from Point Reyes and Yosemite to the Grand Canyon and the Everglades — to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Most public lands, trails and roads at the country’s more than 400 national park sites remained open, but officials with the U.S. Interior Department directed administrators at each property to shut down facilities as they saw fit to comply with local, state and federal directives aimed at limiting human interactions.
In California, where shelterinplace policies are among the strictest in the nation, Yosemite National Park shuttered parkrun visitor centers and museums through March 31. Most privately run concessions, including the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge, shuttle service, restaurants and other tourist accommodations, were directed to close at noon Tuesday through the end of the month. All roads into the park remained open.
Nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks made a similar decision, shutting down parkrun visitor services until further notice, including Giant
Forest Museum. Visitors can still enter the park, and some privately run concessions, including the Wuksachi Lodge, continued to operate. Visitor centers also were closed at Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Redwood national parks, though roads and public lands remained open.
In the Bay Area, Point Reyes National Seashore closed visitor centers and campgrounds through April 7, with roads, trails and beaches still open. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area began shutting down several areas over the weekend, including Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center and visitor centers in the Presidio and at Lands End, the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods. The closures also remain in effect through April 7.
“Park superintendents are
assessing their operations now to determine how best to protect the people and their parks going forward,” David Vela, deputy director of the National Park Service, said in a statement.
Park Service officials advised people who plan to visit parks to maintain a “safe distance” between themselves and others and to wash their hands often to reduce the potential for infection.
The situation outside California was similar. Popular desert parks in the Southwest were closing visitor centers and canceling public activities. Zion National Park shut down its Human History Museum and suspended shuttle service, though the Zion Lodge and privately run dining spots in the park remained open.
The Grand Canyon National Park closed visitor centers on its South Rim, scaled back rangerled programs and began limiting how many people could board shuttle buses. Hotels and restaurants were still operating.
In Florida’s Everglades, visitor centers and campgrounds closed and all tours were canceled. The Washington Memorial shut down to the public over the weekend, as did the Statue of Liberty.
Officials advised that people planning to go to a national park visit the park’s website to find out what facilities remain open.